Class of '86: Merkur XR4Ti

[Stéphane Dumas]

From Hemmings blog, a retrospective about the Merkur XR4Ti
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2...-merkur-xr4ti/

[BlackGTP]

I always wanted to drive one, but never loved the styling - never looked cohesive to me. How times have changed with the competitors. SAAB, Audi and BMW. I think SAAB would no longer be mentioned today and Merc in it's place. Back in the 80's Mercedes wasn't very sporty....

Amazing the disparity in HP between the automatic and the stick.

[germeezy1]

I always wanted to drive one, but never loved the styling - never looked cohesive to me. How times have changed with the competitors. SAAB, Audi and BMW. I think SAAB would no longer be mentioned today and Merc in it's place. Back in the 80's Mercedes wasn't very sporty....

Amazing the disparity in HP between the automatic and the stick.

The gap in performance was far larger than the hp difference, amazing cars to drive never owned one but have driven a few. I owned its American step son the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe.

[Ttple]

The styling grew on me after I sat in one. It was incredibly spacious and comfortable.

[BlackGTP]

The gap in performance was far larger than the hp difference, amazing cars to drive never owned one but have driven a few. I owned its American step son the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe.

I didn't know the xr4ti and t-bird were on the same chassis. That's around when I was first getting interested in cars, so it's fun to get to understand the background of the 80's vehicles for me.

[johnstarnes]

I always loved the looks, inspired by the Probe III concept car as I recall.

[MrCritical]

They're a rare sighting because they rusted away.

I had the privilege of working at a LM/Chrysler dealer in those days, and we had the Merkur and I believe the Chrysler Laser (sp?).

The dealer was away one day and the sales manager had the idea that we should have a drag race between the 2.3 turbo Merkur and the 2.2 turbo Laser.

I was the Merkur driver. Unknown to me, the Laser would run overboost for x number of seconds, and it smoked me to 60 mph. Might have had a weight advantage too. I was catching up when we ran out of real estate.

You can rest assured that the new car you purchased has been thoroughly tested by our service department.

[Ed753]

I didn't know the xr4ti and t-bird were on the same chassis. That's around when I was first getting interested in cars, so it's fun to get to understand the background of the 80's vehicles for me.

I believe he was talking about the 2.3L Turbo that was found in both.

I'm not sure what platform the XR4Ti car was on, there also was a Mustang SVO about the same time that too had the 2.3L Turbo, I drove all of them, as this was the era of my Ford Technician days, they were fun in M/T trim, spool-up the turbo and release the clutch........ (even though you could literally feel the car twist beneath you.

Should give a shout-out to the Scorpio since we are talking Merkur, I remember well, my father-in-law had one, when I first saw it I said cool a high-end Taurus, then I saw the drive-shaft!? (it was RWD and looked like my Ranger under the hood with its 2.9L powerplant)

[BlackGTP]

I believe he was talking about the 2.3L Turbo that was found in both.

I'm not sure what platform the XR4Ti car was on, there also was a Mustang SVO about the same time that too had the 2.3L Turbo, I drove all of them, as this was the era of my Ford Technician days, they were fun in M/T trim, spool-up the turbo and release the clutch........ (even though you could literally feel the car twist beneath you.

Should give a shout-out to the Scorpio since we are talking Merkur, I remember well, my father-in-law had one, when I first saw it I said cool a high-end Taurus, then I saw the drive-shaft!? (it was RWD and looked like my Ranger under the hood with its 2.9L powerplant)

I always wondered what the 0 to 60 was on the SVO turbo - do you remember?

[germeezy1]

I didn't know the xr4ti and t-bird were on the same chassis. That's around when I was first getting interested in cars, so it's fun to get to understand the background of the 80's vehicles for me.

They were not the Thunderbird shared the Fox platform with the Mustang at that time. The main thing the Sierra based XR4ti shared with the Fox based Thunderbird was the engine with many names aka Pinto, Lima, T88, Taunus Inline engine. This engine is not as well known as some of the high hp capable import 4 cylinders, but has made over 1,100 hp with a built engine and enough boost.

I always wondered what the 0 to 60 was on the SVO turbo - do you remember?

The times varied considerably, apparently some went as fast as 7.0 0-60 and 14.80's through a range of about a second on the slower side. The high range is about 7.8 seconds 0-60 and 15.60's to 15.80's in the 1/4 mile. They were not Mustang GT fast but they were very stout in their day. The SVO's benefits were its aero, stability at speed and better handling than the Mustang GT.

My brother had a Merkur Scorpio, what a fine car in many ways including the strong for its time Cologne V6.

[MCGARRETT]

My brother had a Merkur Scorpio, what a fine car in many ways including the strong for its time Cologne V6.

Have not seen one of these in forever!

[BlackGTP]

They were not the Thunderbird shared the Fox platform with the Mustang at that time. The main thing the Sierra based XR4ti shared with the Fox based Thunderbird was the engine with many names aka Pinto, Lima, T88, Taunus Inline engine. This engine is not as well known as some of the high hp capable import 4 cylinders, but has made over 1,100 hp with a built engine and enough boost.



The times varied considerably, apparently some went as fast as 7.0 0-60 and 14.80's through a range of about a second on the slower side. The high range is about 7.8 seconds 0-60 and 15.60's to 15.80's in the 1/4 mile. They were not Mustang GT fast but they were very stout in their day. The SVO's benefits were its aero, stability at speed and better handling than the Mustang GT.

My brother had a Merkur Scorpio, what a fine car in many ways including the strong for its time Cologne V6.

Thanks for the info - back in the 80's anything under 8 seconds was pretty quick. Even Ferraris and Porsches were in the 5's.

[Quixote88]

A friend of a friend still has two of these cars and both are in pretty good shape... Not showroom fresh, but very good "driver" quality. Turns out, he's a Merkur nut... He also owns a Scorpio which is also in pretty good shape. He let me drive one of the XR4Ti's last summer. Even though he told me that I could really push it, I took it easy. The car was sporting its original engine that had never been out of the car. I really didn't want anything to happen when I was driving it! After all, with my racing experience, when I "push it," it's a little harder than most folks.

After cruising with the car for about 10 miles, I came to really like the Merkur. The suspension was supposedly tuned to factory spec and the car handled well. The seats, which were the originals that were reupholstered, were pretty comfortable. The XR4Ti had pretty good pick up, which would have been great acceleration back in the 80's, and the tranny had a pretty good shifter. Overall, it was a nice package. I know they can be had for a song nowadays, if you can find one in decent shape, so I would recommend one as a cheap weekend car for those who want something a little different than a Camaro or Mustang...

[vcs2600]

My brother had a Merkur Scorpio, what a fine car in many ways including the strong for its time Cologne V6.

Growing up, my neighbors had a matching pair of Scorpios. Always thought they were quite handsome cars.

[FamilyTruckster]

I worked at a Ford dealer is high school. We had a new one on the lot for a couple of years before it sold.