Ford introduced the Mercury Comet as a companion to its own Ford Falcon compact in 1960. The original Comet was styled by Bud Kaufman, marrying a stretched version of the Falcon body with a formal roof inspired by the 1959 Ford Galaxie. The Comet shared the Falcon’s 144 cu. in. (2,365 cc) and 170 cu. in. (2,780 cc) sixes. Mercury's Comet was built on 114-inch wheelbase compared to the Ford's 109.5 inches. Bodies offered were a 2-door coupe, 4-door sedan and Station wagons in 2 or 4-door versions. Two 6-cylinder engines were offered along with a 4.3-litre (260) V8 later offered in early Ford Mustangs and AC Cobras. Early Comets did not carry 'Mercury' badges because the car was intended to have been an Edsel model, but was pulled out of that brand just before it died and marketed until 1962 simply as 'Comet'. As S-22 sports option was offered, but in reality this was only sporting trim. Chassis and suspension were changed in 1963 at the same time as the 260 V8 was made available, and this formed the underpinnings of the re-skinned 1964 model. The 1964 models were offered as '202', and more expensive '404' then 'Caliente' and the most expensive 'Cyclone' (which replaced the S-22 option). Ford offered the 289 V8 engine, and a new fastback body, and then built 50 special edition Comet Cyclone coupes equipped with a racing 427 engine. Ford also campaigned the equivalent Ford Thunderbolt, but the Ford and Mercury competed in different race series so that they were not pitted agasinst each other. Vertical quad lamps were given for the 1965 model year, and the 260 V8 dropped in favour of 3 versions of the 289 V8; a six cylinder engine was still an option. Mercury introduced a new larger Comet for 1966 based on the Ford Fairlane.