No wannabe here! Bodaciously beautiful '86 Merkur XR4Ti in the CAR WIZARD shop! Minty fresh!
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- Опубликовано: 13 апр 2022
- It's like the 1980's in the CAR WIZARD's 🧙♂️ shop. This 1986 Merkur XR4Ti is so clean, so perfect, it's like it was locked in a time capsule before coming to the Wizard's shop. You just GOTTA see this epically radical car!
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Thanks for finding the missing bolt guys. Keep in mind, these inspections on video are just a quick run down. My guys in the shop do a much more time intensive check over for making an estimate for the customer.
Thanks though guys!!
These videos need a donate button.
Coming from Michigan we have Salt in the Winter for the Icy Roads. That Merkur looks Great Coming from Michigan.
i was about comment on the missing bolt… then i see this post… made me smile… p.s. i’m the guy who bought Wartortle
It's passion..car mechanics it's art..you are the teacher and I am the student I learn from you...
Not the biggest deal, but the way they pronounced it when it came out was "Mair-core". I remember them, I think it was the Ford Scorpio in Europe and they just rebadged it & brought it to America. Great video 👍
Ford Sierra m8 just call it the Ford Sierra 😁
Always.
He needs to get a cozzie powered one in the shop..
My first "real" car (I had a short-lived old banger when I was a student), was a 1.6L with optional 5-speed.
"Strange for a first car" I hear you say, why not an Escort? Well it was something to do with being 6'5" tall!
@@zhardoum I remember when the Sierra first came out. It was something else back then. Based on a Porsche design.
@@pulaski1 my dad was a Cortina man, je even had a Lotus Cortina look alike. Loved that car, i was only a kid but it looked great. Ford's where great back then.
Over here in the UK it was known as the Ford Sierra XR4i and came with a 2.8 Fuel injected V6 engine and rear wheel drive. It later became a 2.9 in the Sierra Sapphire XR 4 x 4, which was also 4 wheel drive. No turbo on either model. The Sapphire was the 4 door saloon version of the Sierra. The massive boot spoiler was also deleted on the Sapphire XR 4 x 4. Ironically enough the 3 door body shell l was initially only offered in the very basic 1.3 version of the Sierra. I used to drive both models when I was a Police Traffic Officer in the ‘80s. They also became amongst the most stolen cars in the UK as well.
Yep we also had smaller bumpers
Ford Sierra sounds so much better than a Merkur? What an awful name.
My brother had one of these things and it did get stolen. Twice. From what I remember of it, I didnt like it at all. Too harsh ride, seats too uncomfortable, just a bleh car. Its only redeeming feature was how fast it was but that was it.
Back in the day i desperately tried to get my dad to buy a XR4i new, he couldn't stretch to it so he bought a 2.0is instead, man did i loved that car, not the fastest but it handled like a dream. I didn't at the time realise the XR4Ti existed so thought the car in Robocop was an XR4i imported as the XR4i looked so futuristic, ah to be young again.
That car is gorgeous, always loved the Sierra. :)
Love these cars. It was my first car at 16 back in 1994. It was an 86, and I paid 2500 for it with 50k miles. Looking back, they had depreciated like crazy. I went and bought it with my grandpa, he co-signed and I put the down payment. Brought it home and my parents flipped. They hated that car from day 1. I absolutely loved it. I went from a nobody to a somebody in school, simply because of the kick ass car I drove. Every kid in school was so jealous. They were ridiculously quick for their day too, and the handling was amazing. Man that takes me back.
It's really puzzling how with this dirt simple suspension the handling is amazing. The rollbar serves as a half of the front wishbone, and in the end there are semi-trailing arms on a tubular subframe. It can't be simpler, but it works. I've used a trashed Ford Sierra as a donor for a sevenesque Haynes Roadster. These sights bring me warm fuzzy feelings, it's the first car that I've taken apart.
I had a Mare koor XR4Ti a couple years ago. If Sir Jackie Stewart calls it a Mare koor it's a mare koor! I took the car to the mechanic that worked on Rick Byrnes Salt Flats XR4Ti. It had been so long the mechanic couldn't remember how to tune the engine. I tried a couple other shops, that worked on classics. They never heard of the car. I said it has the same engine as SVO Mustang (ok no intercooler), Thunderbrid Turbo Coupe, and same block as Ranger. Got a blank stare. Couldn't find anyone to tune it! Sold it to a teenager, he was able to get it running correctly.
Hats off to the collector/customer! This is a beautiful example. I remember these when I was 12 and 13 yrs old. I thought they were the coolest thing ever.
Agreed, so unique looking
I used to sell these hunks of shit about a million years ago.
The Scorpio was about as good as a cadilllac cimarron. Slow, gas guzzling unreliable overpriced junk.
The xr4ti was unwanted by everyone. Couldn't get out of it's own way and the build quality was atrocious.
After 3 or 4 unhappy customers, we refunded the money and sent them back to the auction.
I was in high school when I saw this car for the first time and fell in love with the styling.
My grandfather, who I mentioned before was a Scorpio owner, called it a “Mer-cure” (phonetically). When I questioned him about it, his response was that since he paid for it, he’d pronounce it the way he wanted!!
I had two of them. As I recall, it is pronounced "Mare-coor". First was beautiful new blue 86' auto. Wife hit black ice and totalled it. Replaced with a white one that I swear was possessed. I miss the blue one. Super fun to drive.
I remember Ford marketing pronouncing it "mare-coor" in their commercials. I'm going to keep pronouncing it "mare-coor", whether the Wizard likes it or not. :)
I had 3 of them. They were awesome. The only negative was they put the battery next to the turbo. I never got more than a year out of the battery due to the heat.
You are right the way you saying it because Merkur is Mercury in German since Mercury sold these cars in US/CAN.
Google it. He said it right.
@@JoelMcLaughlin This pronunciation discussion happened in the 80's and was settled during it's launch. Now that decades have passed, we have people who don't even know what the car is.
It's quite rare to find a non sunroof, leather heated seats xr4ti. That one has a lot of parts from a catalog that used to specialize in merkur parts, called Rapido. You can see the rapido logo on the speedometer which was a conversion piece to get rid of the 85mph speedometer. The steering wheel was offered by them, also the rims and the borla dual exhaust. They also sold cosworth front grilles like that with the merkur logo rather than the Ford badge, as well as the glass lensed headlights, as US cars had plastic lenses. The intercooler isn't original.
Somebody definitely dropped some coin into that car.
Looks like the bumpers are a tad sturdier than the ones made out of egg shells in Europe, you almost never saw one without cracks in them.
I was going to say.. I'm pretty sure XR4Ti's didn't come intercooled, stock. At least not the early ones. 👍
@@Bratfalken I think those bumpers are off an 87 or later. Red trim piece on bumper polished aluminum pre 1987 i think.
@Mark Simpson what are the wheels called ?
This was my dream car in my teenage years, growing up in a South American country. It sold as a Ford Sierra in 4 trims, being the XR4i the top of the line, not the XR4ti. I loved the yellow color.
Same here in Argentina
Man… that is probably the best looking original XR4ti I’ve ever seen! I’d love to have one again. My wife unfortunately rolled mine 20 years ago.
The Wizard mentioned that this same customer recently had another Merkur, a Scorpio, in for service. I worked for a subsidiary of Ford for around 20 years in a field rep capacity, and as a part of the job we were given a Ford car for our field travels. One year I was given a Scorpio as my company car. Not many people went out of their way to praise this car, but I am one of them. Over a period of time we were given everything from Escorts to Lincoln Continentals and Mark VIII's. The first year that the Taurus SHO was available, I had one of them. Yamaha V6 and manual trans. Out of all the cars I drove over this 20 year (+/-) time, I enjoyed driving the Scorpio more than any other car I ever was provided with. On the road, it just ate up the miles like it was eating lunch. It had a 2.6 liter V6 and 4-spd auto transmission., leather interior and all the bells and whistles. Got very good mileage, caused no problems, rode like a dream. That I could see, its only problem was it was given an MSRP that was a little higher than its Bimmer and Mercedes competition. I had a chance to buy the car when I turned it back in, and I tried to find a way to keep it, but just couldn't make the numbers come out in my favor. As I say, it was my most favorite car, and this is even comparing it to the 1st generation Taurus SHO and 1st year Lincoln Mark VIII that I also drove.
Very cool! I remember all of those well. Had 3 xr4ti, one Scorpio, one LSC, business partner had the sho Taurus. I was always jealous of that Yamaha engine, even front wheel drive. Fun times.
I test drove a brand new one of these when they were first introduced in the U.S. Ford had this big promotion, where if you test drove it, Jackie Stewart would send you a check (I think it was $25, iirc). I test drove, sent in the form, and sure enough got a check in the mail signed by Jackie Stewart. I remember it being a good performer and ahead of its time.
Well done getting some money out of a Scotsman :)
It was an old ass design
Back then $25 would get you 20 gallons worth of gas
I did the same thing - a test drive and the check in the mail. It was a fun and really cool looking car. Fun to zip around the hills in SoCal during the test. A memory flogger for me.
My father before he died when I was 15 was planning to have me start driving with one of theese. I always wanted to see if any still were in decent shape. This is great to see.
Without a doubt my wife’s absolute favorite car of all time. Still raves about it. Parts were the only issue and the reason we sold it. Beautiful example. Thanks for sharing.
How many times did she listen to Phil Collins' "No Jacket Required" on the Blaupunkt cassette deck? If you bought a sporty car in the 80s I think that it came with the car.
The reason it was sold as a Merkur in the US was because GMC had the rights to the Sierra name. I've had 5 Sierras during the 1990s. They're getting quite rare now.
Yeah! And Ford took GM name FIESTA for the city car, that in US was (I think) a mid size truck.
Another idiot spreading misinformation. No the hell that was not why they were badged under the Merkur nameplate. Merkur was an all new nameplate created by collaborative effort between Ford of North America and Ford of Europe to bring younger buyers into Lincoln-Mercury showrooms. It had nothing to do with the Sierra nameplate. They wanted an all new name for this model. The Scorpio kept its European model name under the name marque Merkur. Another dumb redneck spreading misinformation. Typical trump supporter.
In the UK it’s called a Ford Sierra XR4i
With a 2.8 V6 , next step up was the Sierra RS Cosworth
all so here in denmark 😍
You beat be to it :-) But I had forgotten all about the Sierra
Cossi are so cool but still out of my wallet. Well they are not but the insurance is :D
It`s like you guys calling Opel Vauxhall...
You mean the RS500? :) Think after 1986 the hood or "Bonnet" is different incl many other bits. the bonnet sweeps over a bit. I'm from the UK & loved these. Insurance was out of this world!
I still remember seeing my first Mercur back in the 80s. Always thought they were cool. The double spoiler was unique.
This was Ford Sierra in Europe. Very popular car. It was a futuristic 1982 replacement to Ford Taunus (Cortina in England). It actually looks pretty damn good. That shape has stood the test of time very well.
Yes, this was about the time Ford went heavy into the very aerodynamic look. I believe the 1st one we got here in the US was the 1st Gen Taurus which at the time reminded me a lot of the Audi 5000.
That thing has some upgrades done to the suspension and exhaust. I saw polyurethane bushings, aftermarket springs (along with the Bilsteins) and a custom exhaust with no catalytic converter. Those Toyo's were nice tires, too. Almost makes me think somebody autocrossed that car. They at minimum cared about handling. It was missing a bolt in the right front sway bar chassis mount.
In the UK these were called Ford Sierras back in the 80's.
Thanks for posting Wizard!
Finally! As an owner I’ve been waiting for this since the Scorpio video!
When I owned my '88 XR4Ti (single spoiler in the rear) I also pronounced it like you. I bought it new in '88 and had it 6 years. A wonderful running I4 turbo that took us on many road trips in FL. The FL heat literally destroyed every plastic interior piece over the years and the a/c failed as well. Outside of these issues, we enjoyed the German Ford very much. I wish I could post some photos here.
I was right there with ya. Had 3 of them 85, 87, 88 in Jupiter during high school. Finally sold the last one when I moved to Miami. You’re right, all the plastic cracked, especially if we armorall’d it. I used lexol on the seats and it helped them from drying out. Fun times
@@aussie2uGA Very cool, even though it wasn't the Armorall as I used that with no issues on other cars. That plastic would have cracked with any product. Not designed for those 120+ degree interior temps in the summer months.
Thanks for sharing Mr and Mrs Wizard. Brought back memories of my virtually identical 88 Merkur! FYI-my heated seats never worked either and the dealer couldn’t fix them despite numerous attempts. Good luck!
When I was a kid in the UK everyone's dad had one of these.
They came in every engine size, speck, from basic get you to work to cosworth engined monster with massive whale tail!
cotsworth ?
Cosworth !
I think the terrible bumpers were a American regulation requirement.
@@cappaculla not looking at what I'm writing. Lol
@hypertechcoffee what the other guy saying is in the UK we had the xR4i but we also had a Cosworth version bigger body kit arch kit and a whale tail over the rear glass and they would make up to 300 plus hp very easy to tune and get a lot more. Now theses cars in the UK are around £40 to £50 grand. The Cosworth is worth anything from £60 grand plus.
At 12:08 you can see the entire lower sway bar bushing is loose, along with the frame stiffener rod.
My son and I immediately noticed that missing bolt. I hope it's addressed in future videos.
Stuck out immediately to me as well
Merkur was an early adopter of front heated seats and optional ABS Brakes.
I've always liked these cars. In Canada, they were sold under the Mercury banner, and were really kind of common, but still cool. I don't know if it was ubiquitous, but we called 'em Eurostangs. This one's mint! I want it! Thanks for another unique review, Mr. and Mrs. Wizard! ✌️❤️🙂🇨🇦
For those who ask why it wasn’t sold as a Ford Scorpio:
1. Ford had to sell these at a premium price in the US, to make up for the expense of importing and Federalization, and exchange rates at the time made European goods fairly expensive. So they decided to sell it under a separate marque through their Lincoln-Mercury dealer channel and made the unfortunate choice of the German word for Mercury (“Merkur”).
2. Using Sierra as a model name was seen as problematic, because GM was using it at GMC and at Olds with the similar-sounding Ciera.
Ford desperately wanted an import luxury brand to compete more effectively with Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, since Baby Boomers were defecting from Lincoln at a massive rate and the World War II and Korea veterans weren't going to keep buying Town Cars and Continentals forever (but, in the meantime, were still buying quite a lot of them, to the extent that Ford didn't want to totally alienate them by taking the Lincoln brand in a totally different direction, they preferred to get a new name for a fresh start). Initially, Ford actually did try to buy BMW in the mid 1980s, but were blocked by the Quandt family, and then decided to just create their own "fake" German brand by just selling upscale West German-built Fords under the Merkur name. When Merkur didn't really pan out, they tried to buy Rover, but were blocked, since Margaret Thatcher's government was under a lot of pressure to keep the company under British ownership during privatization, so, eventually, Ford just bought Jaguar in 1989, finally giving them the real "import" brand they always wanted.
This was the replacement for the Ford Cortina , the Scorpio was the Granada replacement in the UK and Europe.
The Scorpio is a bigger sedan like the Taurus. This beauty was always a Sierra.
They should have just badged it as a Mercury.
@@11sfr to this day Lincoln has a geriatric stigma. The LS was the most youthful and well styled car they built probably since the 60s.
They were such great cars when they first came out. Over here in the U.K. they were called Ford Sierras and came in an enormous range of engine and performance levels as well as station wagons. The U.K. XR4s and XR4x4s all had V6 engines and were great for towing as well.
Were they ever used in rally car racing?
@@stewartmckinley7058 i believe the Sierra Cosworth was used quite a lot. Amazing cars, especially the 80s models with the whale tail.
@@stewartmckinley7058 ruclips.net/video/y6N6SViw8s0/видео.html
@@stewartmckinley7058 Hi Stewart, (as Trono has mentioned here) they were occasionally used for the odd rally but were a little large and the Ford R/S and Cosworth engined Escorts were dominating the rally scene in those days. However the Sierras were very successful on track across the whole British touring car and European touring car championships during those years with the Sierra Cosworth RS 500 cars regularly dominating the field. They are still raced now with considerable success. Best regards buddy.
@@philtucker1224 The Sierra RS Cosworth was built specifically for Touring Car racing. They had to sell a certain number (5000 ?) in order to be homologated.
Gorgeous example in the best colour! I wanted one of these for many years and even decades ago I never saw one this nice. I just don't know where people find these cars. All the Merkur dealers disappeared years ago and I can't imagine where you find parts and service for them now.
I owned one just like it, a really fun car to drive and a great highway cruiser.
Wizard, be sure to check the clutch cable.
One of the most underrated cars of the 80s.
Not in Europe. We know how good it is
@@jonathangrunig8288 You guys got the Cosworth version in Europe! Merkurs are amazing, but the Cosworth is drool worthy. Always find it funny Europe gets better/cooler Fords than we did in America lol.
@@drewpickard554 even the 1.8 turbo diesel is a good car.
But yes, we have the best Fords (XR, RS, ST)
The intercooler setup is from Rapido. This came with a different ford computer module from mustang SVO. The ford computers were not reprogramable. The exhaust was also from rapido, a borla.
The Borla twin exhaust really let the turbo spool up much faster the. With the computer replacement and intercooler I put out significantly more power than the stock
Rapido sold a T5 transmission modification kick, this car might have the T9 installed but in the day Rapido sold the T5.
As someone else said the the front grill was sold by Rapido so the car would have the grip of the European Ford Sierra Cosworth. The stock twin wing, on the first couple XRTi model years was similar but upper wing was much smaller than the Sierra RS500 Cosworth.
Rapid also sold the hood vents used on the Sierra Cosworth.
The Merkur was a repowered Ford Sierra two door, in Europe the car also came in a 4 door and was the standard form midsize.
The Sierra remains the tenth most popular car ever to have been sold in Britain, with 1,299,993 registered over an 11-year production cycle.
The car wizard will hate it but the type of people who used to buy Sierras buy BMW 3 series now.
Yeah, the T9 is the stock transmission whereas the T5 is the stronger transmission from the Mustang. Who ever installed the inter-cooler should have mounted it higher as well as the pipes but they didn't for some reason. I converted my Xr4Ti into a Sierra Cosworth in my teen days. I found a engine in Europe and had it shipped to Canada.
@@davidestate I bought one new, it was my first new car. My understanding was the reason the boost was limited from the factory was the t-9 could take the extra hp/torque of higher boost or the inter cooler/ soviet computer.
I'm glad someone else noticed all the Rapido parts on the car!
Russ and Renata at Rapido 😊
What a great company.
I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the XR4Ti. Loved the styling. Had a chance to drive one back in the '80's with a auto trans. When you floored it, It took off. Wish they would have marketed it better. To me it deserved a longer life in this country.
When I worked at a ford dealer in the late 90/early 2000s, apparently our lead guy was a Merkur expert locally, because I saw him working on several of them. I always thought they were quirky, but cool cars. Way cooler than the run-of-the-mill stuff I was doing as a newer tech. Firestone tire recall wasnt nice to us, trust me.....
Thanks for sharing that oh so clean Merkur XR4Ti. I remember seeing a few of them on the roads of NorCal back in the late 80s. As much as you want to say it is stock, Wizard, the car is not. The XR4Ti did not come from the factory with an intercooler, so that intercooler is an aftermarket unit (Forge Motorsports?). Also, the wheels are aftermarket as well. None the less, the mods are done well enough that it is easy to think car came that way.
I believe the intercooler is rapido. Also it has glass headlights off a euro sierra and a 160 mph speedo, the original only went to 85.
These XR4 Merkurs/Sierras had 14 inch pepper pot style wheels, but these turbine like fit quite nicely on it honestly.
It is basically Euro Ford Sierra with funny bumper
@@altergreenhorn yup. Those awful US bumpers need to go.
Likely all Rapido gear. Intercooler, exhaust, front grille isn't stock etc.
It’s pronounced “mare” “cour”. I had two of them, both 88 models. One with a manual that I bought new and the other that I bought used with an automatic. I still have the factory sales brochure. I also saw what appears to be a missing bolt on the passenger side front sway bar at 11:25.
Wow thats a very clean Merkur, I had a 85 red one almost exactly like that one. Super fun and cool cars. Couple quick history notes, Wizard was right it kinda looks like a Escort, because it is a Euro escort! The famous version of that was the Escort Cosworth that rocked Group B rally in the 80s with a amazing Cosworth 2.0 Turbo engine. Cool thing about the 2.3 Turbo in there, they actually put it in the 85 Mustang SVO but stopped because it was faster than the V8 of the time. Also thats not a Stock intercooler setup, its probally off the Turbocoupe. His Headlights and grill isnt stock either, but they look really good. I think you need to give the owner of that car a gold star for keeping it so nice and making good and classy choices with mods. I do pronouce it Mer Coor but whatever theres few enough people who even know they exist say it however you want if your going to make a video about it hahahaha.
I have always loved these Merkurs, such a cool and unusual car. Scorpio was cool as well.
I leased one when they first came out (black over black} 'cuz they were drop dead gorgeous! I really enjoyed the car.
It was fantastic with no problems. Sadly ford refused to allow me to buy it or extend the lease, they weren't the car back. So I sent the car back and bought a Sable instead. What a let down! Not that there was anything wrong with the Sable mind you, but it wasn't in the same league as the Merkur sadly, it was the last manual transmission car I owned. Your show brought back sorrowful memories of a time gone by...
In Argentina it was also called a ford sierra. However the 2.3 liter was carburated with a double barrel solex. The engine is as solid as an anvil, extremely simple and easy to work on. It was also used in the ford taunus and ford falcon.
Here in Venezuela it only came with a 3.0 (maybe a 2.9) V6, it came either carbureted or if you get the XR4i fuel injected, but sadly, no turbo
I have always loved the way these look. It's hard to believe someone has one in this kind of cosmetic shape. Gorgeous.
"Mare-core" is how we use to say it. Had one years ago. Amazing handling on dry Korean no name tires. I couldn't figure out what Ford did to make it handle so well.
They had it developed in Europe!
Hi,
Over here in the UK that body type was known as the Sierra, which was built by Ford Europe from 1982 to 1993.
It was designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz & Patrick le Quément, the code used during development was "Project Toni".
(Its name came from the Spanish word for mountain range)
Regards
I had no idea Merkur's were rear wheel drive, and independent at that. What a great little ripper for the beginning of the FWD dark era.
yeah, this car competed head on with BMW e30, Mercedes 190, Opel Omega, Peugeot 505turbo, Volvo 240turbo, 740turbo, Alfa Romeo 75turbo. All similar sized front engine RWD cars.
@@jfv65 the Ford Sierra came first and it went up against some pretty basic fare, so basic Ford thought nobody would want FWD.
My dad had one that was completely worked over and made 425hp he used to take it to scca invites and race it against the Porsche guys I can remember not being able to move when my dad would lay into it just be stuck in the seat when he'd take it ripping through turns he sold it to some guy who bought it for his son for a graduation present in 1992 the kid totaled it and tore it in half on a telephone pole and messed himself up pretty bad my dad tried to talk the guy out of buying it but he insisted his son would be fine because he raced go carts
I had one...87 Black Double Wing. Loved it. Was obsessed with it too. Learned how to buff and detail owning it. My favorite Car ever owned.
My Dad had one while I was in college in KC, Mo. Circa 85 to 87. He lived in Joplin. I would borrow in frequently. It drove and handled amazingly. So fun and fast. Most people didn't know what it was...good times.
Such a gorgeous car. One of those timeless styles. Unless you were there, it really doesn’t look dated.
Nice car!
I've seen an XR4ti around town and spoke to its owner once. He was pleased that I recognized that it was special and knew that it was a U.S.-spec Ford Sierra. His only complaint is parts availability.
my FIL had a silver one for a while with that turbo 2.3 - the one funny story about that car was my future sis-in-law had inadvertently left her keys on the huge wing one day while it was parked in their garage. My FIL drove the car all the way to work - 20 miles on the freeway - and parked it in his office garage when he gets a call from his daughter asking if he had seen her keys. He went down to the garage where he parked the car and sure enough, her keys were still on that huge double wing.
I had one back in 89. Fun car for sure. If I had the garage space I would pick up another one in a heartbeat.
"MARE COOR" - same 2.3 in the T-birds and Foxbodies from that era....I remember it being sold as a (like a lot of cars of that era) as a BMW competitor
Great video, great car ! I'm not sure the correct pronunciation for Merkur is but I can tell you that fudge came from the island pronounced "Mack - in - Naw " Keep up the great videos !!!
Love the intro shot of the yacht slicing gracefully through the lake water.
Highest speeding ticket over the limit I ever had (it was 55MPH then) was in an '84 XR4ti. These things out-ran most every car of the day. They had handling and aero for the Autobahn and the Ford XR series was the rally car version. Truly an example of judging a book by its' cover, people were not impressed by the looks and never drove these to see what it could really do!
South Africa could get a V8 Sierra, called the XR8. I liked these cars, sold them new. The only real letdown for me was interior quality. Lincoln Mercury told us to call it a “mare coor.” Thanks for showing it to us. Hope the repairs go well. Have a good day.
in South Africa it had the Mustang Engine, due to sanctions we were not allowed to import the Mustang, so Ford SA did the next best thing.
I had a 1990 Sapphire Sedan version 2.0L
@@lloydtucker The XR8 was built to homologate the car for touring car racing in SA, they only built 250.
Basil Green did the XR8s
In South Africa we did not have a coupe version, but a four door with a big hatch called a Sierra, or a four door sedan called a Sapphire. These came in 2 litre, 2.3 litre and 3 litre, the latter being a V6.
The Sierra was also available as the XR8 and had a 5 litre V8 Mustang engine and the wing as we see on the Merkur.
A friend of mine here in the UK had a black Xr4i with the Turbo Technics conversion. Most Xr4i owners over here i seem to remember were fitted with alloy wheels, the ones on the car in the Wizard’s shop look like covers, though i could be mistaken. Amazing vehicles though.
The wheels are very typical 80's aftermarket aluminum wheels. The design was common on rally cars.
@@marcusjosefsson4998 yes i think they were compomotive based on the split rim designs.
I really like the look of this car. What a great example!
Wow ! Ford Sierra XR4i, over the pond here in England, it was a 2.8 v6 injection engine no turbo !
When the sierra came out early 80’s it was nicknamed the jelly mould ! Looks awesome 👍🏻
Front engine rear wheel drive stick shift, fairly easy to get 300hp+ and it's slightly lighter than the SVO. Fun!
Also IRS unlike the SVO.
@Robert Anna yes
@@flacjacket Excellent point
This guy is in our merkur club, its definitely a clean car, rare with Rapido stuff and no sunroof.
You need to teach him how to pronounce the name of the car correctly. I cringe hard every time it is said so incorrectly. I owned 8 XRs/Scorpios back in the early Y2Ks.
@@bassntruck same, as the owner of two (one full Cossie clone one mostly stock) it ground me the wrong way that car wizard was going to insist on saying it wrong. Mare coor dude, Mare coor!
@@bassntruck Iv owned 3 of em as well, with my Blue 85 being my current, and i feel the exact same lol
Oh my God the memories, I had a UK version called the XR4i which was just immense all the way back in the 80's....what a great blast from the past and back then it just looked so futuristic. It had a 2.8 litre injection engine...
I love those. I worked for a guy from Detroit in the late 80's that bought one of those new. He let me drive it for a couple days while he was gone, I fell in love with car. Fast, solid and comfortable especially compared with us cars of the Era.
Random fact about the Merkur XR4Ti: Ford selling it allowed them to homologate the 2.3 litre turbo engine for touring car racing in Europe, even though it was never offered in the European Sierras. But it only lasted a couple of years until the Sierra Cosworths came in.
Really? The 2.3 was never available for sale in Europe though. Perhaps that didn’t matter.
At 2:50 you state that the 2.3 Lima in this Merkur is used today. Not so…the 2.3 Ecoboost is a totally different engine, and debuted in the 2015 Mustang and Lincoln MKC, 14 years after the Lima was discontinued. The only things the two engines share is their displacement.
Well, he called it an ecotech... 😂😂
Yeah I caught that too I don't think this 2.3 has anything to do with Mazda or the new 2.3EB (didn't it start with the Pinto?) but that said the new 2.3EB design was somewhat borrowed from the 2007 Mazdaspeed3 MPS wasn't it? Again nothing to do with this 2.3 turbo though other than the same displacement and FI of course. That said simple mistake on the Wizards part and I gotta say I love this car!
That car is Beautiful! Thanks for showcasing it
I had one back in 91 - 95. What a BLAST !!!!!
Not one, but two of my friends back in the day, bought one of these when they first hit the dealers. Funky looking, quick, but that turbo lag is a mother! When I drove one of them, the rear end always came around.
WOW, she's clean! Amazing.
I have a 2.3t out of an '85 XR4Ti swapped in to an '89 long bed 5spd Ranger XLT. It's a blast!
2.3t's are a lot of fun and can be built to be absolute monsters! 😎
Yep and the iron block and head they can take abuse and high boost levels for days.
My friends mom had one back in the day and it was awesome. 🙂
Love the video, I've owned quite a few of these xr4ti, tuned them, tweeked them. After almost 30 years of playing with these cars, I decided to build the biggest and baddest Merkur on the planet. (Street driven) I built a 1200hp supercharged intercooler 8.4 litre dodge viper motor for the street . I call it Merkur XR10SC. It won't be done for a while yet but ots not far from being fired up. This is what happens when Merkur guys go nuts. I love seeing these cars on the street they are alot of fun to drive and so easy to make them go fast . They make excellent road race cars they have a very ridged chassis. Fun cars all the way around. Keep up the videos enjoy watching.
The body styling is strikingly like that of the Ford EXP which was manufactured from 1982 - 1985.
It's a Ford Sierra. A car designed and built in the UK
thats a lovely car too. wish we had exp in europe
@@veryrancid3128 It is not a Ford EXP. I said that the body styling is strikingly similar.
@@hfvhf987 I know what it is. I stated that the styling is strikingly similar.
@@williamjones4483 I learned how to drive in an EXP - it was a stick shift to boot
Wish they'd make cars like this again. I'm no fan of modern technology, hybrid or electric. Just want long term reliability and the ability to repair with relative ease.
I remember seeing these cars in the east coast (new England) back in the 80's. I love these. Unfortunately most Americans didn't buy them. These Murcurs were just re-badged Ford's. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
10:00- I had a black ‘86 that I hit a parking curb with when I was 17 (1990ish). It pushed the intercooler into the Kevlar radiator and broke the tanks. Couldn’t get a replacement, so I had to have the radiator shop custom make one. The car never ran the same. Owning an XR4Ti was a love/hate relationship. I loved that car, but wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
That car must've spent its life protected in a garage. It's rare to see one without the double wing droop.
If it had sat outside for any amount of time all of that black plastic trim would be dried and faded as well
Had nearly the exact car back from new. Always wanted to add an inter cooler to address the heat soak issue, but didn’t get around to it. You could feel the power level drop once you started to really have fun. Loved the old turbo lag, because power came on with a wooosh. Made it more fun to drive that my more modern turbo cars.
I added a “Group 6” chip to mine and that woosh would really hit hard. Had so much lag but when it finally came on...
Sweet I've had 4 of those. Two 86s and two 87s. Was my first car. Loved that 2.3 turbo.
I bought one of these new in 87 at a lincoln dealership for a steal. They couldn't sell these. Mine was a darker red, fully loaded. They were awful in the snow regardless of any kind of tires and used to keep in the garage during the winter. I did drive it one day in April (in Central PA) and they had a snow storm and totaled the car. They were a ton of fun back in the day for the $$.
Rear wheel-drive turbocharged cars and snow don't mix - I learned that the hard way in a '95 300ZX Turbo
I remember in the 90's seeing lots of normal version of this car, called Ford Sierra here in Europe. And I also remember that it looked cheap and poorly made even for 90's standard. Although, Sierra RS Cosworth had really nice look for the period, and engine sound was really nice.
That wasn't the case in South America. Interesting ... 🤔
Even the standard L trim looked fine.
I had a Ghia, which had better looks and interior.
The Sierra was first released in 82 so I'm not surprised it didn't live up to 90s cars. Had one of the run out 91 models that had most of the extras bolted on and was a good car. The Mondeo was a much better car as was the Sierra when it replaced the Cortina. Do still miss my Sapphire GLX with it headlight washers and wipers.
@@Chriswales yes, exactly.
We had a Mondeo v6 after the Sierra. That engine was a monster.
Just remember, what you might call poorly made compared to a BMW/Merc would be standard fit and finish in USA!
@@juststeve5542 yeah after all this was made by Ford, I think the quality was par for 80's Fords
This is such a gorgeous example. Made me tear up watching you do the initial inspection. I love these cars!
My Mom got me an 1987, back in 1996. It was red, just like this one. It was a fun car, all my friends thought it was so cool.
That's a Ford Sierra! The escort was the XR3i and the Sierra the XR4i. I Guess the Ti was the turbo. The front is just a bit diferent, but the back is the same, down to the dual wings, that the escort also had. It was also a good rally car :)
Don't forget the little XR2i Fiesta!
I think those engines were in the SVO Mustang and Thunderbird turbo coupe
Swapped one into my 91’ Mustang that I daily drive.
@@jeffgriffith7003 Nice! 👍
I swapped a big block in my 89 hatch.
Always loved these because they are so odd. But somehow so cool. Maybe because it says, I know I am not a normal looking car and I am proud of that. Add in the IRS (rare back then, especially for a ford) and these are very desirable in my book.
When the car was introduced here in the U.S. back in the day, I believe that either the writers at Car and Driver or Motor Trend said it is pronounced Mare-KOOR. Some people may think it somewhat cool today, but even with predicted sales volumes of about 15K per year (as I remember), it turned out to be a sales flop with volumes below even that. I personally thought it was a pretty interesting car.
Why not just buy a Mustang? That's why these flopped.
Have to comment, this is my personal favorite car! Been trying to buy one of these forever, awesome to see one in such a good condition!
Let's just say Ford Sierra, easier to say 😄
Sierra had quite a model range, you can have Sierras even with 1,3 engine up to Cosworth models and diesels too.
And even pick up version p100 😄
That’s cool he brought you some Michigan made snacks. Michigan is my home state and one of my good friends here in WV loves to try new snacks so I had bring her some Better Made chips, some Vernors, Meijer cheesy popcorn, and some Jones soda. I was hoping to find some fudge but we didn’t see any at the Meijer we stopped at. Great looking car. I’ve always loved these. Used to see them around a lot in the 90’s but it’s been a while now.
Hello Wizard.. Thanks so much for posting a video of my very first car I bought as a 16 yrs old kid. This car was my first modified car it as I returned it back to a Cosworth RS500. I love this car and will always love this car. Thanks again Wizard.. 🙂 PS. That is the best condition Merkur I have seen in some time and one more thing. That is an aftermarket Inter-cooler as this car never had one installed at the factory.
Great car! I remember wanting one years ago when I had an 84 Scirocco. One of these blew me away at a stop light. It was and is an amazing car.
Love to see this from the wizard himself! I’ve got a xr4ti and I’m turning it into a rally car!
I had one of these back in the mid-'90s when nobody wanted them. Fun car for $600!
Never clicked a Wizard walkaround video faster. The rati is easily one of my biggest dream buys. I hope I manage to get one some day.
I've always had a weird fascination with that car. Ford's funny they spend the money developing rear independent rear suspension but then put drum brakes on it.. weird.
I wonder if the rear IRS axle is similar to the independent rear suspension used on V6 Thunderbirds starting in the late 80s (would have a 7.5" ring gear)?
There's a new ford jeep style in the uk and they still use drums on the rear of them lol. None of the sport car line has. When someone is spending 30 to 40 grand on a new car and it still has rear drum brakes. It's one of the only cars sold with them.
Drum brakes really aren’t all that bad, they tend to be lighter in weight and have excellent gripping power contrary to popular belief. The main issue with drum brakes is their poor heat dissipation characteristics and visual looks.
At 12:10 it appears there is a bolt missing in the sway bar at the front of the engine. I expect it will be addressed when work gets underway. Nice video
I was looking to see if anyone else spotted that.
I restored an 86 with no sunroof. Complete restoration. 2.3 turbo, 5spd. Did some upgrades in the engine (roller rockers, turbo etc). Started moving toward converting it to a sierra but ended up selling it. The double firewall was the worst design on the planet for the heater core. I also removed the hideous plastic cladding. Sierra Headlights was a big conversion/improvement on this one.
Ugggg Mack-in-ack… Mack-in-aww
Also The Intercooler was odd because it’s not stock. That’s aftermarket.
Mr. Wizard, you say Merkur just fine. It's an awesome car. My dad drove me in one , as a passenger, when I was a kid in the 80s.
I always liked the looks of the Mercury Merkur. Saw a few up close back in the late 80’s. Not a big seller though. I remember them being fairly expensive.
It's not a mercury, though Merkur (pronounce Mare coor, car wizard and his guy with five are wrong, and I know because I own two) is German for mercury, it's a sperate brand, though it was sold by mercury dealerships which is why it failed. Mercury dealers didn't know anything about sports cars so they ordered most of them in auto. The 3 speed auto trans was trash and made of glass so the autos had like 40 less hp in order not to break it which took them from being M3 fighters to being slower than a 318i.
@@flacjacket same could be said about the Capri. the Mercury dealers didn't knew how to sell it.