Rare Rides: The Singular 1989 Mercury Sable Convertible

Today we head deep into the purest sort of Rare Ride: A vehicle which exists as a singularity, a one-off. It’s a two-door convertible version of the first-generation Mercury Sable.

The lightbar will guide our way.

Taurus and Sable were a big risk for Ford when it introduced its new midsize twins for the 1986 model year. The company went big on cohesive product development, aerodynamics, and a new, modern take on a family sedan and wagon. Six years in development paid off: The Taurus and Sable were an instant hit. They readily found favor with customers eager to leave their boxy rear-drive sedans behind.

The twins’ first generation ran from model years 1986 to 1991, and cars were available solely in sedan and wagon body styles. Sable remained in its original guise until 1989, when it was lightly refreshed via some new parking lamp lenses and different tail lamps. But over at Cars & Concepts, some designers had an idea for additional Sable development sans roof.

The project started with a standard Sable sedan that wore silver paint and a burgundy cloth interior and was powered by the reliable Vulcan 3.0-liter V6. Extensive surgery was required to turn the sedan into a convertible, and the first order of business was ditching the rear doors. Front doors were then made longer to aid rear-seat access, which meant the interior door panels were reworked entirely. A redesign of the rear suspension also occurred. Somewhere in the process, the roof and windows went away too.

Many engineering hours were spent to design a fully automatic hydraulic convertible roof. It folded behind the rear seats and was hidden by a solid tonneau cover. And speaking of the rear seats, tiny 3-inch televisions were added to entertain passengers who found Gameboy screens slightly too small.

The convertible transformation was finished in time for the 1989 SAE Expo, at the very first edition of the NAIAS. There’s no evidence to suggest the project was anything other than Cars & Concepts showing off what they could do. The concept was put in a warehouse for many years until it was titled properly and sold via eBay in 2006. It’s currently for sale via a car dealer in Austin, who used the Sable as a display at his dealership.

The car has accumulated slightly less than 300 miles between 1995 and today, and its odometer presently reads 9,800. This very unique Sable is all yours for $18,900 or thereabouts.

[Images: seller]