1971 Cougar

For 1971 the Cougar was completely restyled. Starting to move upmarket as a near-personal luxury car the Cougar looked bigger but actually weighed less and had the same wheelbase as its predecessors. The front end now featured four exposed headlights; the disappearing headlights were gone for good. The center grill piece or cat's nose was now larger and more noticeable than ever. The rear featured a semi-fastback with a "flying buttress" sail-panel. However the convertible returned as did the XR-7 as well as the GT package. The Eliminator package was gone forever but the Ram Air option remained. The engine lineup was shuffled slightly for 1971 as well. Now only three engines were offered?the standard 240 hp (179 kW) 351 Windsor 2-barrel V8 the 285 hp (213 kW) 351 Cleveland 4-barrel V8 and the 370 hp (276 kW) 429 Super Cobra Jet 4-barrel V8. However the end of the muscle car era which was caused by high insurance rates and rising gas prices would spell the end of these high power engines.