The Comet was produced by the Mercury division of Ford from 1960-69 and 1971-1977. It was based on the compact Ford Falcon and later the Ford Maverick. The early Comets were given a higher grade interior trim than the Falcons and had a slightly longer wheelbase. The 1960-1963 Comets are often referred to as the “round body” Comets because of their shape relative to later models. The original 1960 model had a low performance 144 cid engine with a single-barrel carburetor. In 1961, the Comet was upgraded to a 170 cid straight-6 producing a maximum 101 horse power. In 1963, an optional 260cid V8 engine with a double-barrel carburetor produced 164 horse power. The 1964 Comet was redesigned with more of a square shape although it was built on the same unibody as the 1963 version. The performance version was the Cyclone with a new 289 cid engine available mid-year. These models were known as “1964½” Comets. In 1964, Ford also produced about 50 ultra-high performance Cyclones equipped with a powerful two-barrel carburetor 427 cid engine.