The hype that surrounded the Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable in it’s gestation begs belief. Ford hadn’t had the smoothest of times in the beginning of the Eighties. While the Fox platform had done well enough, it had as many misses as it did hits: the Granada and “box” Thunderbird and Cougar were failures and the hope for a utility in the lineup pretty much vanished after the couple hundred Ford Durango trucklets were produced. Chrysler had come out swinging with the K-cars and a lot of Ford’s lineup seemed aged. The Fox-based LTD/Marquis sedans were outdated relics that needed to be replaced with something that would capture the buying public’s attention. They had to be aerodynamic, efficient, built to a high level of quality and they had to sell…Ford would’ve had to file for bankruptcy if they didn’t. Fortunately, that was a hedged bet that paid off. The Taurus/Sable sold in large numbers and garnered tons of praise when they appeared in 1985 as a 1986 model and still garner praise to this day.

One thing that you really can’t say about a Taurus/Sable is that they were sporty. We aren’t talking about the SHO, of course, but the regular, run-of-the-mill cars. They were by and large family sedans, meant to drive here and there with minimal issues. They were not meant to excite or to stir up emotions. But there’s always a “what if?” thought in someone’s head, and in the case of what you are seeing, that was a question that got answered in 1989.

This Mercury Sable Convertible is an original Ford Concept car that was built for the 1989 auto show. Ford never produced a two door Sable so this is the only one “prototype” in existence. The milage on the car is 9,800 miles and has been stored for many years here in Austin. I manage a car dealership so the car has been well taken care of. I have had the car fully serviced in my service department and it’s been kept waxed and clean by my detail department. The car is in great shape but needs a little light touch up. It is truly one of a kind hand built Ford concept car that as a rule vehicles like this do not normally make it out into public hands.
I do have news paper articles and the full press release package along with other verification artifacts. If the cost to purchase the Mercury was based on the cars prototype build expense it would be valued well over $400k. Its not exotic but it is unique in the fact that no other will be cruising in a Mercury like this one. As a collector this is a chance to owen something very different. I will consider a trade for something of equal interest. The vehicle has been appraised by a national appraiser and based on condition has given his opinion of current market value.

You know what this Sable really needs? SHO swap, five-speed and all. Screw originality. If it’s going to look like this, it should run like it’s trying to play the part.

Craigslist Link: 1989 Mercury Sable convertible concept