By Steve Eitzen

Imagine trying to capture the essence of classic Cougars in a single image. Such a picture would need to reflect Cougar's unique styling, its racing heritage, the legendary limited production models, and a large measure of the Cat's "Untamed Elegance." Sound impossible? Perhaps, but muscle car artist Michael Irvine has come pretty darn close in a new painting he calls "Elimination Round." Scroll down and see for yourself.

This small reproduction of Michael's painting doesn't do justice to all the detail he has included in "Elimination Round," so we'll take a closer look in a minute, but first, let's meet the artist.

Like many of us, Michael Irvine has been fascinated by American muscle cars since he was a kid. He purchased his first car at age 16—a 1970 Mustang, and since then, Michael has owned a total of five 'Stangs. Along the way, Michael also developed his artistic talents. Combining his interests seemed only natural, and the result is a gallery of water color illustrations that includes Mustangs, big block Fords, Chevelles, Camaros, Mopars, and now, Cougars.

Today Michael lives in southern Ontario, Canada, and continues his love of muscle cars, both on and off the easel. Besides his main ride—a lime gold 1967 GTA ragtop—he has two project cars out in the shop, a pewter 1971 Mach 1 and a CJ 429. His collection also includes a '71 Firebird Formula. What? No Cougar? You Cat enthusiasts up in Ontario need to get with Michael and show him what he's missin'!

If you would like to learn more about Michael and his art, visit his website at michaelirvine.com. In the meantime, let's get back to "Elimination Round" and take a look at some of the painting's extreme detail. It's a busy day at the old raceway, and just like in real life, it's hard to decide what to see first.

For a Mustang guy to capture all this Cougar detail, it's a safe bet Michael did a fair amount of research and put a lot of thought into this painting before he ever picked up a paint brush. Here's how Michael describes the evolution of his Cougar project, "This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the Mercury Cougar and I really wanted to create the ultimate Cougar tribute painting! A while back someone emailed me a couple of shots of their cars. When I saw how they were parked, I instantly thought of a drag race . . . a street race actually . . . but as I did my research I learned a bit about the cars' racing history. The track, drag strip icons and the rest of the setting evolved."

If Michael Irvine's "Elimination Round" doesn't raise your pulse a notch or two, you'd better check to see if you have any pulse at all! I'm betting that right about now you're wishing you could have a copy of Michael's Cougar 40th anniversary tribute to hang on your own wall. Well, (surprise, surprise) you can! Michael will send you a 28" X 22" limited edition reproduction print on satin finish, acid free, museum quality paper for $140 (USD). Production of this print is limited to 800 copies, and each one is numbered and signed. Prints also come with a certificate of authenticity. For the rest of the details and to place your order, hop on over to the Michael Irvine Studio website. While you're there, check out the other muscle car paintings Michael has created.

We thank Michael Irvine for applying his considerable talent to Mercury's classic Cat. You can be sure that a copy of "Elimination Round" will soon be hanging on my office wall!