1974 · Mercury · United States
1974 Mercury Cougar: Outside the Muscle Focus
Outside the muscle focus: 91,670 Cougars for 1974 per Wikipedia's table.
United States · researched through 2026-09-22
The Cougar Club of America's luxury registry lists the 351 two-barrel as standard for 1974, this record's own overview states, with the 351 Cobra Jet, 400 two-barrel and 460 four-barrel optional, on a 114-inch wheelbase. This record's own production notes are explicit that 1974 sits outside the 1967-1973 muscle focus the record otherwise carries in detail, so only a total and configuration context are documented for the year, the key fact this record leads with: 91,670 Cougars, a figure the Cougar Club of America's own table matches exactly against Wikipedia's, with this record's own note stating the club figure is not shown to be an independent lineage from Wikipedia's.1,2
This record's own key facts describe the 1974 XR-7 as offered only as a hardtop with an opera window and Landau vinyl roof, standard equipment including the 351 two-barrel V8, Select-Shift automatic, power front disc brakes, power steering and steel-belted radials, all drawn from the brochure text the registry reproduces. Four engines are documented by name only, the 351 two-barrel, the 351 Cobra Jet, the 400 two-barrel and the 460 four-barrel, none carrying a horsepower or torque rating in this record's own engine table, a gap this record does not fill.1
This record carries no price section for 1974; its own price notes explain that a prior J.D. Power valuation figure was pulled from every page on the site because those live pages can change without notice and cannot be independently checked, and that no replacement source has yet been found. The Select-Shift automatic is documented as the year's standard transmission, with no manual option carried in this record's own transmissions section and no other transmission choice mentioned anywhere in the record for 1974.1
Six paint colors are documented, but this record's own sources list them only as spanning 1974 through 1976 without specifying which model years actually carried each shade: Silver, Medium Chestnut, Orange, Maize Yellow, Medium Gold and Wimbledon White. Twelve interior descriptions are carried without codes, drawn from the brochure's own text: five solid-color standard all-vinyl bucket-seat trims (black, copper, white, tan and medium green), two two-tone Sports Accent Trim combinations, four optional leather-and-vinyl bucket-seat colors, and a green Twin Comfort Lounge velour-and-vinyl option.1
This record's own specifications section carries three figures for the XR-7 specifically: a 114-inch wheelbase, 214.2-inch overall length and 16.5 cubic feet of luggage capacity, all scoped to the XR-7 alone rather than the Cougar line as a whole. No performance figures, identification codes, documented conflicts or unpublished leads survive in this record's own performance, identification, conflicts and unpublished-leads sections, all four left empty for the year.1
What the record documents in full is a year deliberately carried at lower resolution than the muscle-era Cougars this record covers on either side of it: a 91,670-car total agreed on by two sources that may share one lineage, four named engines with no published ratings, six paint colors this record cannot pin to a specific model year, and twelve interior trims known only by description, never by code.1
Fact sheet · 1974 · United States
The numbers
1974 Mercury Cougar — Outside the muscle focus: 91,670 Cougars for 1974 per Wikipedia's table.
Coverage: Partial — researched sections are shown; missing ones are not yet sourced. Researched through 2026-09-22.
Every figure is labeled with how sure we are. Reported means a manufacturer, registry, or reference figure we cite but have not reconciled against factory records ourselves. Disputed means credible sources disagree and both are shown. Rows are separately scoped; don't add them together unless the note says they make up a total.
Key facts
- The 1974 XR-7 was offered only as a hardtop with an opera window and Landau vinyl roof; standard equipment included the 351-2V V8, Select-Shift automatic, power front disc brakes, power steering and steel-belted radials, per the brochure text the registry reproduces.1
Production
| What was counted | Count | Basis | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| All 1974 Cougars2,1 as published The Cougar Club of America table matches Wikipedia exactly and is not shown to be an independent lineage. | 91,670 | built, model-year | Reported |
Rows are separately scoped; do not add them unless a note says they partition a total.
These years are outside the 1967-1973 muscle focus; the record carries only totals and configuration context.
Prices when new *
No price is shown here. One was, until 2026-09-24: a figure from J.D. Power's live valuation pages, pulled from every page on this site because those pages can change without our knowing and we have no way to check them independently. We haven't found a source we can stand behind to put in its place yet. A price for this car elsewhere that looks suspiciously exact may be quoting that same J.D. Power figure rather than confirming it — several sites we checked turned out to be doing exactly that, without saying so.
Engines
| Engine | Factory rating | Availability | Built |
|---|---|---|---|
| 351 V8 2-bbl1 351 cu in · 2-barrel | standard | Not yet sourced | |
| 351 Cobra Jet V81 351 cu in | optional | Not yet sourced | |
| 400 V8 2-bbl1 400 cu in · 2-barrel | optional | Not yet sourced | |
| 460 V8 4-bbl1 460 cu in · 4-barrel | optional | Not yet sourced |
Ratings are the manufacturer's advertised figures under the standard shown (SAE gross before 1972, SAE net after). They are not dyno results, and gross and net ratings can't be compared directly.
Transmissions
| Transmission | Availability | Built |
|---|---|---|
| Select-Shift automatic1 | standard | Not yet sourced |
Paint
| Code | Color | Built |
|---|---|---|
1G |
Silver Poly. (listed for 1974-76; year not specified by the source)1 | Not yet sourced |
5M |
Medium Chestnut Poly. (listed for 1974-76; year not specified by the source)1 | Not yet sourced |
5W |
Orange (listed for 1974-76; year not specified by the source)1 | Not yet sourced |
6N |
Maize Yellow (listed for 1974-76; year not specified by the source)1 | Not yet sourced |
8C |
Medium Gold Poly. (listed for 1974-76; year not specified by the source)1 | Not yet sourced |
9A |
Wimbledon White (listed for 1974-76; year not specified by the source)1 | Not yet sourced |
Color names are the factory's. We don't show color swatches, because a screen color is no guide for a restoration.
Interiors
| Code | Trim | Built |
|---|---|---|
|
Bucket seats, standard all-vinyl: black1 | Not yet sourced |
|
Bucket seats, standard all-vinyl: copper1 | Not yet sourced |
|
Bucket seats, standard all-vinyl: white1 | Not yet sourced |
|
Bucket seats, standard all-vinyl: tan1 | Not yet sourced |
|
Bucket seats, standard all-vinyl: medium green1 | Not yet sourced |
|
Sports Accent Trim, two-tone: medium blue/silver blue1 | Not yet sourced |
|
Sports Accent Trim, two-tone: saddle/tan1 | Not yet sourced |
|
Optional vinyl with leather seating surfaces (bucket seats): black1 | Not yet sourced |
|
Optional vinyl with leather seating surfaces (bucket seats): white1 | Not yet sourced |
|
Optional vinyl with leather seating surfaces (bucket seats): tan1 | Not yet sourced |
|
Optional vinyl with leather seating surfaces (bucket seats): copper1 | Not yet sourced |
|
Twin Comfort Lounge seats, optional velour cloth and vinyl: green1 | Not yet sourced |
Specifications
| Measure | Value | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Wheelbase1 | 114 in | XR-7 |
| Overall length1 | 214.2 in | XR-7 |
| Luggage capacity1 | 16.5 cu ft | XR-7 |
Same model year
Also in 1974
- AMC AMX The final Javelin AMX: 4,980 built, with the Go Package's cowl induction dropped and a production run that stretched into November 1974.
- AMC Gremlin X and Spirit AMX The Gremlin X gained a 'hockey stick' stripe. The 304 V8 remained available, but no X or V8 counts for the year were found.
- AMC Javelin The Javelin's final year: 22,556 non-AMX cars on a production run extended into November 1974.
- Buick Riviera Colonnade pillared roof; 20,129 built, 1,698 with Stage One and 4,119 with the GS handling option.
- Buick Skylark Gran Sport, GS and GSX The last year a 455 Stage 1 could be had in a Buick intermediate Gran Sport; 3,355 were built, 478 of them Stage 1.
- Chevrolet Chevelle and Malibu SS The SS was gone; the new Laguna Type S-3 coupe carried the Chevelle's performance image, with a 235 net hp 454 still on the engine list.
- Chevrolet Chevy II and Nova Spirit of America Nova (RPO Z51) offered on the Custom hatchback per the source. Enthusiast-compiled production: 390,537 cars; Super Sport 21,419.
- Chevrolet El Camino SS Colonnade-era El Camino; Chevrolet's 1974 data pages define the RPO Z15 SS option for the El Camino Classic. Team Chevelle's production totals give 51,223 El Caminos built, 4,543 of them with SS equipment.
- Dodge Challenger The last original-era Challenger shared a catalog with the Dart; the 360 replaced the 340 as the optional engine and production ended in April 1974.
- Dodge Charger The last B-body Charger before the 1975 personal-luxury redesign, with 5-mph bumpers, carried-over powertrains and an SE that accounted for 30,957 V-8 cars.
- Dodge Dart GTS, Swinger and Demon The 360 replaced the 340 in the Dart Sport, and Flory's production table counts 3,951 Dart Sport 360s at a $3,244 base price.
- Ford Maverick Grabber Grabber production fell to 23,502 by Classic Industries count.
- Ford Ranchero GT The Ranchero GT continued on the 1972-76 Ranchero; 11,328 GTs were built, per reference-site counts in the Standard Catalog lineage.
- Ford Thunderbird Sixth-generation personal-luxury Thunderbird; the record holds the production total and the luxury-group option prices only.
- Ford Torino The 1974 Torino grew again and added the Gran Torino Elite; the Gran Torino Sport survived only as a formal-roof hardtop, with 23,142 built.
- Oldsmobile Cutlass, 4-4-2 and Hurst/Olds The Hurst/Olds paced the Indianapolis 500 again and offered a 350 for the first time: 1,800 coupes, 380 of them with the 455 W-30.
- Plymouth Barracuda and 'Cuda The final year: Barracuda and 'Cuda hardtops with a standard 318 and a new optional 360, and 11,734 built before the line ended.
- Plymouth Duster 340 and 360 The 245 net hp 360 replaced the 340 in the Duster's best sales year: 3,969 Duster 360s among 281,378 Dusters, with Twister, Gold Duster and Space Duster packages priced separately.
- Plymouth GTX, Belvedere and Satellite In 1974 a GTX nameplate came with the Road Runner's optional 440 four-barrel, TorqueFlite required; Mueller's Muscle Car Source Book counts 386 of them.
- Plymouth Road Runner The last Satellite-based Road Runner; production roughly halved from 1973.
- Pontiac Firebird and Trans Am A new nose and the last Super Duty: 10,255 Trans Ams, 943 with the SD-455.
- Pontiac GTO The last original GTO: a package on the compact Ventura with a 200 hp 350; 7,058 built.
- Pontiac Grand Am A revised nose and 17,083 built, only 342 with a four-speed.
- Pontiac Grand Prix The 455 remains the SJ engine as Grand Prix volume falls to under 100,000.
- Pontiac Tempest and LeMans With the GTO moved to the Ventura, the LeMans GT package became the intermediate performance choice, backed by 350, 400 and 455 V8 options.