Mercury didn’t have quite the reputation that Ford did when it came to street machines. Not that they didn’t have power: with NASCAR racing at DEFCON 1 against the Mopar teams, both Ford and Mercury were at war and Mercury had an answer in just about every field: For the Camaro, there was the Cougar. For the Fury GT, there was the Marauder. And for the Chevelle SS396 and A12 Road Runner, there was the Cyclone CJ. The first application of the 428 Cobra Jet in the Cyclone lineup, the CJ was the visual and performance package, ready to go. The Cyclone CJ was meant to play with the Road Runner, Super Bee and undercut the Charger R/T in price by a few hundred bucks. Unfortunately, Mercury only moved a couple thousand CJs for 1969 and the model got rolled into the Spoiler package for 1970.

More or less a Torino with a different look, the Cyclone isn’t a common sight anywhere, let alone in top-tier trim looking this neat. But for a 335-horsepower pinnacle musclecar, with the big engine option, the bright paint, the stripes and the features, would you consider it a relaxed cruiser? Normally, the spin made when showing off a car of this caliber is tire smoke, revving and tales of street racing supremacy. Hell, the whole name of the car is meant to envision violence, a “cyclone” being a name for the most terrifying natural weather phenomenon that can decimate whatever is in the way. Petrolicious’s take on this car is something else altogether…one as a relaxed cruiser, with the big 428 burbling away at the pipes, just rolling along at a cruise that isn’t even stressing the mill. It’s a rolling cruiser tracing the hills on a lovely late afternoon, a summertime car where you wish the sun would never completely go down until after you pull into the driveway. If the true personality of this car is Mr. Hyde, enjoy it’s Dr. Jekyll moment here.