Merkur XR4Ti Turbo Drag Racing - Autocross - ProjectCarTVArchive - YouTube - ProjectCarTV

The Merkur XR4Ti was a short-lived United States and Canada-market version of the European Ford Sierra XR4i. It was the brainchild of then Ford Vice President Bob Lutz. It was sold in the US from 1985 to 1989. It was the first vehicle of Ford's Merkur range, followed in 1988 by the Merkur Scorpio. Ford had hopes of importing its top European models under this brand, including the Sierra Sapphire but the venture was ultimately unsuccessful due to branding issues, increasing Deutsche Mark exchange rates, generally poor marketing tactics and the introduction in 1990 of new safety requirements such as airbags that would have increased retooling and production costs.

The cars were hand assembled and built entirely by Karmann Coachworks in Rheine, Germany. Unlike with the Scorpio, the XR4Ti didn't carry over the Sierra badge from Europe, since at the time it was also being used by General Motors in North America for two completely different vehicles: the GMC Sierra (which as of 2010 remains in production) and the similar sounding Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera.

The XR4Ti was distinguished mechanically by its turbocharged Ford Lima 2.3 L 4-cylinder SOHC engine and independent rear suspension, and stylistically by its large bi-plane spoiler (replaced in later years with a single rear spoiler). It came with either the C3 3-speed automatic transmission or the Ford Type 9, 5-speed manual transmission. Mechanically, it differed from the European Ford Sierra XR4i, which had a 2.8l Ford Cologne V6. Airbag legislation for the 1990 model years and weak sales as are frequently cited as the cause for the Merkur range to be discontinued.

The XR4Ti sold for approx. US$18,750.00 and the Scorpio for just a little over US$27,250.00

The XR4Ti was on Car and Driver's Ten Best list for 1985. In 2009 however, the magazine's staff apologized for including the XR4Ti in their 1985 "Ten Best" list, and effectively recanted the award, citing that in hindsight it did not meet the criteria because it was 'odd looking'.


Drag Racing - Autocross - ProjectCarTVArchive - YouTube - ProjectCarTV

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[0MattAttack]

Clearly, Anyone who has every owned an Xr4ti, Would know they are not exactly built for straits.

[at8tc]

Car and Driver= fail! this body shell is the most dominant touring car platform to ever race in the BTCC WTCC and DTCM

[Drougth]

@whitelx aint they like the Sierra xr4i we have here in europe so simple to tear apart fix whats broken and you can put it back together over a weekend engine takes a bit longer to tear a part and put back together but its not that complex :) and really fun once you put a turbo or two in them :)

[1Gmmm]

what the camera??



[whitelx]

@iflyxinfinityx yes, it is my car. Sorry, it is not for sale. Not sure what it gets for fuel economy, I never really check. I drive it so infrequently that I always forget. They are cheap to buy, but due to previous owners lack of maintenance, they aren't usually very reliable. Fix all of the poorly performed repairs and keep up on maintenance and they can be just as reliable as anything else.

[iflyxinfinityx]

@whitelx this is your car? would you be interested in selling it? whats the mpg on these suckers btw/0-60! thanks! pretty reliable/cheap cars?

[ilvanezzo]

"Odd looking" my ass! What the hell, Car and Driver?

[jvepps]

i like the wiki copy paste!

[bmxadam57029]

you have good taste in old skool fords il give you that =]

[whitelx]

That's my XR4Ti! :)