Story
A new middleweight with four ways in
The 1968 Montego MX was Mercury's better-trimmed mid-size model, offered as a two-door hardtop, four-door sedan, convertible, and station wagon. That breadth matters. The MX was not a single performance package and it was not a Cyclone GT under another name. It was a model series that could start with a 200-cubic-inch six and three-speed manual, then move through 302 and 390 V8 combinations without changing the public identity of the car.
MX is the model; GT is not
Mercury's factory line booklet lists Montego MX and Cyclone GT separately. The factory AMA sheet makes the distinction even clearer. Regular MX sedan, hardtop, and convertible applications could receive a 390 four-barrel rated at 325 horsepower. The 335-horsepower "390 4V GT" appears on separate Cyclone GT hardtop body codes. Calling the regular car a "Montego MX GT" combines two identities that Mercury did not publish.
The MX Brougham is handled here as its own richer package path, not as another duplicate car page. It was limited to the sedan and hardtop, used a 302 V8 as its base engine, and added more formal cabin materials and trim. Its production was reported within the broader MX totals rather than as a clean separate count.
Power from six to FE V8
The factory power-team table begins with the 115-horsepower 200 six. The 302 two-barrel was rated at 210 horsepower, while the 302 four-barrel reached 230. The regular 390 choices were a 265-horsepower two-barrel and a 325-horsepower four-barrel. Three- and four-speed manuals and Cruise-O-Matic automatics appear across the table with body- and engine-specific axle ratios.
The same sheet advertises a 427 hardtop path, except on the Brougham. Later research summaries report that the 427 was never installed in the 1968 Mercury mid-size line. With no production record recovered to reconcile those positions, this page preserves the conflict and does not present the 427 as a verified MX production configuration.
Four bodies, two wheelbases
Sedans, hardtops, and convertibles rode a 116-inch wheelbase. The wagon used a 113-inch wheelbase and a shorter overall length. All shared Mercury's unit-body construction, short-long-arm coil-spring front suspension, and leaf-sprung live rear axle. Self-adjusting drums were standard, while power front discs were optional. The AMA weight table identifies the 390 GT brake path separately, another reason not to use Cyclone hardware as automatic proof of a regular MX configuration.
What identifies one today
The warranty plate and stamped vehicle number establish the starting point. Factory body styles are 54D for the MX sedan, 65D for the hardtop, 76D for the convertible, and 71C for the wagon. MX Brougham uses 54C and 65C. Paint, trim, transmission, and axle codes should agree with protected finishes, body structure, installed components, dates, and surviving paperwork.
Badges, a hood scoop, styled wheels, or a 390 do not turn a Montego into a Cyclone GT. They also do not prove how an individual MX left the factory. The photographed cars on this page show both stock-looking presentation and obvious later changes; every modified feature is labeled as context rather than factory evidence.
Production and value
Published MX production totals are 15,264 sedans, 25,827 hardtops, 9,328 wagons, and 3,248 convertibles, for 53,667 cars across the four bodies. Those figures do not establish engine, transmission, Brougham, color, brake, or option rarity. A separate archived Mercury claim reported by Hemmings identifies only twenty 200-six, three-speed convertibles, but that unusual combination still requires car-specific documentation.
Three public observations provide market context rather than a price promise: a $15,000 Bring a Trailer sale in 2022, a $14,900 dealer asking price in 2024, and a $15,950 Mecum sale in 2025. Body style, drivetrain, condition, documentation, and modifications differ, so the numbers are not interchangeable.