Bordinat Cougar II (Shelby Cobra) coupe

Back in the early 1960s, when Detroit still had a sense of style and some serious ambition, Ford cooked up something that looked more like it belonged on the streets of Modena than Dearborn. It was called the Cougar II — a sleek, low-slung fastback coupe powered by a genuine 289-cubic inch Cobra V8, built on an actual Shelby Cobra chassis, and wrapped in a curvaceous fiberglass body that seemed ready to take on Ferrari at its own game.

At the center of it all was Eugene Bordinat, Ford’s Vice President of Design at the time. He wasn’t just a suit with a title — Bordinat was the kind of executive who actually liked cars and had the design chops to back it up. He helped bring about everything from the Mustang to the original Lincoln Continental Mark III, but the Cougar II? That was something more personal. Something exotic.

The car debuted in 1963, when Ford was experimenting with all kinds of wild ideas — this was the same era when they were busy collaborating with Carroll Shelby, secretly wooing Ferrari, and trying to build a youthful, performance-focused image. The Cougar II fit that mood perfectly. It looked like a European grand tourer, all long hood and tapered tail, but under the skin it was very much American muscle. A proper Cobra drivetrain, full gauges, air conditioning, and even power windows — this wasn’t a pipe dream made of clay and cardboard. It was fully functional and could have easily been a production GT if Ford had been bold enough.

In hindsight, it was a glimpse of a Ford that could have been — one that dared to compete with Ferrari in more than just racing. Bordinat’s vision was never about copying the Europeans — it was about showing that Americans could build something just as beautiful, just as fast, and just as refined… but with a little V8 thunder underneath.

A Shelby in a tailored Italian suit. That’s the Cougar II.