Since this was once again a Cougar anniversary year, and since Ford had great success with the previous two anniversary models, the 30th Anniversary model became available midway through the model year. This time, Ford put a great deal of thought into the car well before production, so as to not get swamped with orders as they did before. In fact, the 30th Anniversary Cougar was ready so far in advance, its photo and specs were printed in the dealership sales literature for the fall of 1996. Still, demand greatly outpaced supply and an additional run of cars was eventually needed. Total output of 30th Anniversary Cougars is believed to be between 5,000-6,000 cars.

From the start the 30th package could be ordered with the 3.8 V6 or the 4.6 V8. In other words, it was not a model, just a package added to the XR7 model.

	The unique 30th C-pillar emblems were simply the standard Cougar emblem placed on top of a special 30th surround. The gold colored surround was only found on Toreador Red cars; subsequently, the red surround was only found on the white and tan cars.
	LEFT: The special interior treatment again surfaced. All 30th Cougars had the auto-dimming inside rearview mirror. Note the 30th emblem embroidered in the seats.
	LEFT: The 30th logos on the front seats were embroidered (top), as were the floormats (bottom).
	LEFT: The 30th Anniversary Cougar 16" wheel. This was simply a Lincoln Mark VIII wheel with black painted insets. Note the lack of a Cougar emblem on the center cap.

ABOVE: A shot of the 4.6 V8 engine bay. The radiator core build tag has the letters ANNIV stamped at the top to denote this anniversary edition.

The 30th Anniversary Cougar XR7 also came with a special commemorative package which included the following items, all featuring the 30th Anniversary logo:
	LEFT: Two ignition keys (note: these are blank).
	LEFT: Mini Maglite car flashlight in its own case.
	LEFT: 30th dash plate.
	LEFT: Maglite in case, Cross pen in case, key blanks, dash emblem, keychain and umbrella.
	LEFT: A special portfolio (top), which also included a letter from the Cougar brand manager (bottom).

The first run of 30th Cougars was painted a unique color called Dark Toreador Red Clearcoat Metallic. Due to high demand and pressure from Mercury dealers, especially as it was feared that this would be the last model year for the rear-drive Cougar model, a second run of 30ths were produced. These cars were not Dark Toreador Red but one of three different colors: Light Prairie Tan, White Opalescent (pearl), and Performance White. Despite what you information you may find on the Internet about the 30th colors (such as the listing of 1997 Cougars at autotrader.com), no other colors were offered on the 30th. These second run cars are considered extremely rare.

	LEFT: The Sport option could also be ordered on the 30ths, although all one got was the spoiler, since the Sport suspension was already standard on all 30th models.
	LEFT: 30th Anniversary Cougar in Light Prairie Tan.
	LEFT: 30th Anniversary Cougar in White Opalescent (also rumored to be available in similar Crystal White Tri-Coat Metallic).
	LEFT: 30th Anniversary Cougar in Performance White.

A workers strike at the Lorain, OH assembly plant during the 1997 model year necessitated Ford to move production to the Wixom, MI Lincoln plant to build this second run of 30th models. The 11th digit in the VIN number of Wixom-built Cougars is W, while all Lorain cars have an H. At this time it is unknown how many 30th Anniversary Cougars were built at Wixom.

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