The Rarest Muscle Car Mercury Ever Built — The 1965 Comet Cyclone 427 !

Discover the story of one of the rarest and most overlooked muscle cars ever built by Ford Motor Company — the 1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone 427. While the Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt gets most of the recognition, Mercury's competition department was quietly building an equally ferocious factory drag car using the same playbook: a stripped-down lightweight body, a race-bred 427 cubic inch FE big block, and some of the fastest drivers of the era behind the wheel. Built in partnership with Dearborn Steel Tubing, these factory experimental Comets featured fiberglass body panels, plexiglass windows, and a high-riser 427 officially rated at 425 horsepower but capable of well over 500. Driven by legends like "Dyno" Don Nicholson, "Fast Eddie" Schartman, Ronnie Sox, and Jack Chrisman, these Comets dominated NHRA A/FX competition throughout 1964 and 1965. The introduction of Ford's SOHC "Cammer" 427 engine — banned by NASCAR before it ever raced — pushed these cars even further, helping give rise to what would eventually become known as the funny car class in drag racing. Today, only a small handful of genuine factory-built 427 Comets are known to survive, making them some of the rarest and most historically significant muscle cars of the 1960s. This video explores the full history of the Comet Cyclone 427: its origins in Ford's Total Performance racing program, the engineering behind its lightweight construction and high-riser big block engine, the drivers and rivalries that defined its racing career, and the surprising legacy it left behind in modern drag racing. Mercury Comet Cyclone 427, Ford Total Performance, Dearborn Steel Tubing, NHRA A/FX class, Ford FE 427 high riser, Ford SOHC Cammer engine, Dyno Don Nicholson, classic American muscle car history, 1960s drag racing, factory experimental race cars, rare American muscle cars, funny car origins #MercuryComet #Cyclone427 #MuscleCarHistory #ClassicCars #DragRacing #FordHistory #RareCars #AmericanMuscle #VintageDragRacing #CarHistory Sources: Wikipedia — "Mercury Comet" Street Muscle Magazine — "Muscle Cars You Should Know: '64 Mercury Comet 427 A/FX" Dragzine — "Inside The 427-Powered Mercury Comet That Dominated A/FX" autoevolution — "1965 Comet Cyclone: A Look Back at Mercury's Most Underrated Muscle Car" Curbside Classic — "Great 28 Car Number 9: 1964/65 Mercury Comet" Hagerty Valuation Tool — "1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone Base" Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. I do not own some or all of the video materials used in this video. In the case of copyright issues, please contact me at [email protected] for credit or removal.