Along with the Torino Talladega, Ford launched a second NASCAR competitor in the face of the 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II.

The Spoiler II started out as a regular production 1969 Mercury Cyclone, which itself evolved from the Comet product line.

The strategy was the same as the Talladega – take last year’s intermediate, which performed very well, cut up the front and make it more aerodynamic.

The fenders were cut right in front of the front wheels. New stamped extensions were welded in, extending the car about 6 inches forward. A new panel was added in front of the factory hood with a more aggressive 35-degree slope vs the Talladega’s 30 degrees. The new extension also smoothed out the Cyclone’s signature W-shaped grille.

To save on some labor and development costs, Mercury equipped the Spoiler II with the same flush-mounted grille, and repurposed, V-style front bumper that appeared on the Torino Talladega. In the same fashion, these parts were mounted with special attention to minimize any gaps to reduce turbulence and drag.

The rocker panels on the Spoiler II were re-rolled as well and the car lowered 1 inch, just like the Talladega.

As its name indicates, the Cyclone Spoiler II was supposed to have a rear trunk-mounted spoiler. For whatever reason, the NASCAR vehicles only ran a ducktail spoiler, which was essentially a piece of sheet metal bolted onto the trunk panel.

The production street Cyclone Spoiler IIs did come with the rear wing, however, it was a dealer-installed feature and a number of them came without it.

Many people believe the Ford Torino Talladega and Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II were rebadged versions of the same vehicle, however, that is not true. They share many similarities and design cues, however, each model was modified individually and used unique sheet metal.

In fact, thanks to its unique modifications, the 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II was actually the faster car, claimed to achieve between 2 and 8 mph on top of the Talladega.

Mercury won its debut at the Atlanta 500 and three races in 1969, with pole speeds between 150 to 160 mph.

Ford Motor Company, however, was adamant about winning both the driver’s cup and the manufacturer’s title with a Ford. Halfway through the season, Ford pulled LeeRoy Yarbrough from Mercury’s roster and left just 2 Cyclone Spoiler IIs running on the field.

Five hundred cars needed to be produced in order to homologate the model for NASCAR. This is quite easy for Ford, who churns out thousands of cars per month, however, it was a significant challenge for the Mercury division.

The legend tells Mercury only managed to produce 351 cars from tip to toe. In order to fool the official NASCAR inspection, the company painted 152 regular cars in the Spoiler II livery colors. All 503 vehicles were parked in rows and columns with the real Spoiler II models positioned at the periphery and the fake ones bunched in the middle. You couldn’t notice the difference in the field of cars unless you looked at each one individually. So, NASCAR officials came in, counted 503, and gave Mercury the green light.

It’s not clear whether or not Mercury actually produced the rest of the homologation models.

While the racing Spoiler IIs were powered by the purpose-built Boss 429 engine, the street versions only came with the 351 Windsor small-block V8. Crowned with a four-barrel carburetor, the 351 produced 290 horsepower – not exactly NASCAR level performance, but enough to get a sleek intermediate moving.

An FMX three-speed automatic transmission and a 9-inch high-performance rear axle with 3.25:1 gear ratio completed the power train. Finally, the argent style, 14-inch stamped steel wheels wrapped in F70 raised-letter Goodyear tires took the power where it mattered.

The Spoiler II came standard with the Cross Country Ride Package, which added stiffer springs and shocks.

To promote it’s racing program, Mercury decided to market the homologation cars as bold special edition vehicles piggybacking on its two most successful drivers – Cale Yarborough and Dan Gurney.

The production streetcars were split between a Cale Yarborough Special and a Dan Gurney Special, each with their specific color scheme.

The Cale Yarborough Spoiler II was two-toned – white with a red roof, pillars, and trunk. The interior featured bucket seats and was all red, as was Cale’s actual race car. The trunk received the signature spoiler, which was either left in its natural black plastic color or painted in the body color.

Two red stripes started from the turning indicator, made 90 degree bends at the top of the fender and contoured the body all the way to the back. The hood was decorated with two thick black stripes.

The Dan Gurney Spoiler II substituted the red for blue. Decals with either driver’s names were added to the front fender, while Cyclone Spoiler decals were added to the rear fender. These were dealer-installed features, so it’s possible some cars came without.

The street version of the 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II had all the looks but few of the hooks of a real race car. Classic special edition model!

Notice, there was no “Spoiler II” decal, it only read “Spoiler”. The reason for this might lie in the fact that Mercury actually created a Spoiler (one) model, of which 969 units were produced.

It was a regular, W-nose Cyclone body, dressed with the Yarborough / Gurney livery and the rear spoiler. To set it aside from the regular Cyclones, the Spoiler received the Cyclone CJ blacked out grille, a decent-sized hood scoop, and a couple of hood pins.

The Spoiler came standard with the same 351W engine and FMX automatic as the Spoiler II, however, unlike the homologation model, this one could be fully optioned with every piece of kit available from Mercury.

If you wanted a Mercury Cyclone Spoiler with proper power, you could have it equipped with the 428 Cobra Jet, at which point the hood scoop became functional, ramming cold air into the intake. Now, 335 horsepower and 440 lb-ft of torque WILL absolutely get you going. On the street, you’d hardly reach speeds where the aerodynamic nose would have a significant performance effect,  except get you a couple more miles to the gallon.

Today, 1969 Mercury Spoiler II is the rarest of the aero warriors. Their true production numbers are shrouded in mystery thanks to the existence of the Cyclone Spoiler (one) model and Mercury’s naming convention consistency or lack thereof.

There are records indicating that Mercury built all 503 units of the 1969 Cyclone Spoiler II, however, it is unknown whether they actually did. The Talladega/Spoiler Registry only has records for 171 VINs, not all of which are discovered, on the road, or even complete.

Stay tuned for new articles in the series to be published each Monday. Links will appear below as they get published.

• Part 1 – Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday – NASCAR’s Evolution in the 1960s
• Part 2 – Before the Aero Wars, There Were the Engine Wars
• Part 3 – First Shots Fired – 1968 Aerodynamics in NASCAR
• Part 4 – The First Aero Warrior – 1969 Ford Torino Talladega
• Part 5 – Blinding Speed – 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II