When this big, purple Mercury showed up on the side of the road for sale a couple weeks ago, we didn’t think much of it. Then it kind of struck us that had never laid eyes on a fullsize, late-‘60s Mercury convertible.

Upon further investigation, it’s not surprising that we haven’t seen any before as this is one of only 1,500 of these cars produced in 1968. It’s pretty rare.

As you’d expect, the car with the convertible top shipped heavier by several hundred pounds over the models with roofs. The rest of the line hovered around 3,800 pounds, whereas this lard bum comes in at a shade below 4,200.

Power is probably from a two-barrel 390 that Mercury rated at 265 hp. That was the base engine and there is no sign that this is anything but a base model. There were a few other optional FE mills available up the performance chain.

It’s not a secret that I’m no fan of convertibles but I’d actually consider owning this thing because it does not look goofy with the top up. The fact that it is purple does detract major points though.

Ford freak? If you want it bad, hit us up at [email protected]. The car is located in Southeastern Massachusetts and they want $9,900 for it. Hell, we’ll even check it out for you. This is one rare mother!