Waiting to pounce

By Alastair Sloane

The Ford Cougar, a front-drive sports coupe built on the platform of the Mondeo, will go on sale in Australia later this year.

But such are the fluctuations of exchange rates and the difference in vehicle specifications and volumes that there is no guarantee Ford New Zealand will pick up the car.

Ford Australia spokeswoman Louise Teesdale said she expected the Cougar to sell well in Australia but that its appearance in New Zealand would be entirely up to Ford New Zealand.

Ford New Zealand chief Nigel Wark said that the Cougar "is not in our product planning at the moment." But he left the door open slightly: "That is not to say it won't be in the future."

The Cougar is powered by a choice of two all-alloy engines - a four-cylinder 2-litre Zetec producing 93kW, or a 2.5-litre V6 delivering 125kW. Both engines are mated to either a five-speed manual transmission or four-speed automatic.

The suspension is tuned to produce similar handling and ride characteristics to the high-performance Mondeo ST24.

The car is a product of Ford's New Edge design, a touch/feely concept where lines don't begin and end but rather flow throughout the car.

Ford launched the Cougar in America with a clever computer-generated advertising campaign that showed actor Dennis Hopper, as he is today, driving the car and being passed by himself on a Harley-Davidson as he was in the 60s movie hit Easy Rider.