1981 Mercury Cougar: Outside the Muscle Focus

This record's own overview states, citing Wikipedia, that the 1980 Cougar was offered only as the XR-7 coupe with a 255 V8 standard and the 302 optional, and that for 1981-1982 standard Cougar sedans joined it, with a 2.3-litre four standard and a 3.8-litre V6 replacing the inline six for 1982. Total 1981 production reached 90,928 cars, this record's own dek and production table agree, though this record's own note explains that Wikipedia is a single tertiary source here and the underlying record it draws on is not stated. The 1981 brochure's own fuel-economy estimate for the XR-7 is given "with standard 3.3 liter engine," this record's own key facts section states, meaning a six, not a V8, was the standard XR-7 engine at the time that brochure was printed.¹

Cougar XR-7 production for 1981 is given as 37,275 by Hagerty Media's own account, this record's own production table states, scoped specifically to the two-door XR-7 coupe body, with this record's own note explaining that the 90,928-car table total also includes the new Granada-based Cougar two-door and four-door sedans, and that no sedan-specific split was found for the year. This record's own production notes state plainly that rows are separately scoped and not to be added together unless a note says they partition a total, a caution that applies directly here since the XR-7 and total rows are not shown to reconcile.²

This record's own paint table carries 19 colour entries for 1981, drawn from the brochure's own chip numbers: 15 standard colours split by model, including Black, White and Medium Red across the line, Dove Grey, Silver Metallic, Dark Cordovan Metallic, Light Medium Blue and Medium Grey Metallic restricted to the XR-7, and Light Pewter Metallic, Medium Pewter Metallic and Medium Dark Spruce Metallic restricted to the Cougar, plus 4 optional Glamour paints, Medium Fawn Metallic, Medium Bittersweet Metallic for the XR-7 only, Medium Blue Metallic, and Light Spruce Metallic excluded from the Cougar LS.

Six interior descriptions are carried without codes for 1981, this record's own interiors section shows: standard cloth Flight Bench seats for the XR-7 with vinyl optional; XR-7 LS Twin Comfort Lounge seats in luxury cloth with leather-and-vinyl optional; low-back vinyl bucket seats with console optional on the XR-7 and XR-7 GS; XR-7 GS Twin Comfort Lounge seats in cloth with recliners, standard on the GS and optional on the XR-7; an optional Recaro cloth seat for the XR-7 GS; and vinyl bucket seats standard on the two-door and four-door Cougar, with Flight Bench optional and Twin Comfort Lounge standard on the Cougar LS.

This record's own specifications section carries eight 1981 dimensions from the brochure's own specifications and gas-mileage page, each split between the XR-7 and the Cougar sedans: a 108.4-inch wheelbase for the XR-7 against 105.5 inches for the Cougar, an overall length of 200.4 inches against 196.5, an overall width of 74.1 inches against 71.0, a shared 53.0-inch overall height, fuel tanks of 17.5 and 16.0 gallons, curb weights of 3,080 pounds for the XR-7 against 2,804 for the two-door Cougar and 2,849 for the four-door, an EPA estimate of 18 city and 24 highway for the XR-7 with its standard 3.3-litre six and automatic, and 23 city and 34 highway for the Cougar with its standard 2.3-litre four and manual transmission.

This record carries no 1981 price, engine, transmission or option documentation at all; its own price notes explain that a 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 has yet been found. No performance figures, identification codes, documented conflicts or unpublished leads survive in this record's own respective sections either, consistent with this record's own production notes describing 1981 as outside the 1967-1973 muscle focus the record otherwise covers in depth.