1969 Mercury Cougar Used in James Bond Movie Sold for $610,000
Most people agree that On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is one of the worst James Bond movies of all time. George Lazenby’s lone appearance as 007 just didn’t cut it.
Likewise, the 1969 Mercury Cougar Convertible that was featured in four separate scenes from that movie can’t compare with the Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger or many other cars made famous by their role alongside the world’s top secret agent. But guess what? It was recently sold for an insane amount of money at the Bond Street Sale hosted by Bonham's.
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After much "spirited and protracted bidding," the sale closed at £356,500, or approximately $610,000 CAD at the current exchange rate.
This Cougar is one of three that were specially ordered by Eon Productions for use in the filming of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, in which it belongs to the Contessa Teresa 'Tracy' Di Vicenzo, played by Diana Rigg. Most of the action takes place in the Swiss Alps and the cars were fitted with a chrome ski rack for Tracy's Kneissl skis, which were the 'must have' brand of the day.
The amount of the winning bid is made even more remarkable by the fact that the car previously changed owners at least seven times for much less money.
The difference this time is the 30-year restoration process that brought it back to commensurately excellent condition. The Candy Apple Red body and black roof obviously received plenty of love, but a quick glance under the hood and inside the car reveals a superbly finished engine compartment and leather-trimmed cabin.
Incidentally, since this is an XR-7 variant of the original Cougar, the engine is a 428 cubic inch (7.0L) V8 producing 335 horsepower. Don’t leave this page until you check out the photo gallery above.
