Modified 1988 Merkur XR4TI - One Take
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- Опубликовано: 4 июл 2017
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The Merkur XR4TI was Ford's attempt to bring European styling and handling to the US. By mating the European Ford Sierra chassis and suspension layout with an American Ford 2.3L Turbo powertrain from the Mustang SVO with a new, European sounding brand, Ford thought they might have a winner, but the car was mostly D.O.A. This example has been lovingly restored and modified, and is among the nicer ones still on the road. Nevertheless, it has some incredibly bizarre quirks and one of the worst gearboxes ever put into a modern car.
Check it out on Wheelwell!
wheelwell.com/andrew-aul/5cy/... 
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Hey - There's my car! Can't wait to read all the comments that take this way too seriously.
Oh yeah, my radio was stolen a week before Matt drove the car. That's a great look into what Merkur ownership is like in a nutshell.
Thanks again Matt for having me back on for a second one-take.
andrewaul I'm in love with the 2.3 turbo. Your car is clean and nice. Why don't you Rally the car out???
andrewaul don't know if the keys are the same over there but on a European sierra you could pretty much open them with any ford key...probably one of the most stolen cars in Britain in the 80s and 90s...
Daniel fenderson "Rally the car out" doesn't sound like a good way to keep it "clean and nice."
andrewaul Awesome car! Found two on CL being sold as a pair I was seriously considering a little while ago but didn't have anywhere to store them...wish I didnt back out. Best of luck with yours.
I can tell you from experience that you can open and start the car with the handle of a tea spoon or a popsicle stick. Also let me correct you, one of the most stolen cars in Europe.
Merkurs were ahead of their time stateside. I fell in love with cars after a ride in an XR4 as a child.
The prices they fetch in Europe would make you weep!
Sierra RS500 Cosworth was the ultimate sierra back in the 80's and going for crazy money these days
The 500's have always been pricey.
boothegoo pc ive seen a few going for £75,000-£100,000 here in the uk
buckleyjteams I have as well, even average condition ones go for crazy money.
Average condition is 25 to 50K even for the normal RS version or the Sapphire version.
This Mercur and the Sierra Cosworth may share the same chassis, but the suspension is worlds apart.
also the uk\euro vesion had a 2.0 twin cam engine with the massive Turbo, the pinto engine was a piece of crap
I love how accepting of the car's flaws the owner is. You can tell he really likes it.
There's a guy at autocross near me that regularly runs one of these on slicks and a ton of mods. Super cool car!
Love this thing, hearkens back to the 80s touring car days when the Ford RS500s dominated BTCC etc. Amazing car that was, props to the owner for having something unique even if it is a shadow of what the Ford was. Too bad it is nowhere near an RS500 in performance, but much better than all the Corollas and Civics out there. This car has character, and that is what counts.
If it wasn't for the Merkur XR4Ti program that won BTCC in 1985, there would be no Ford Sierra RS or RS500. *I don't think casual people understand that.* If the Merkur failed racing in 1985, the XR4TI program was likely done in America and the Ford Sierra Cosworth programs were shelved indefinitely. _That's how much was riding on the Merkur's success in racing._
Stock for stock, XR4Ti wasn't far off (175hp/200lb.ft v 224hp/203lb.ft). Same Ford 909 Motorsport chassis. It was never designed to be what the flagship homologated RS500 became. Thankfully, with the aftermarket...the playing field can be *easily* leveled. 😎
True story..I had a "friend" that read the "XR4Ti" badge as a word pronouncing it Zerrati.
I had an 89 for twelve years and loved it. The Pinto (Lima) derived four banger was a coarse cob of an engine, but the rest of the car was very nice. I don't remember any shift lever spring-loading problem. It might be just this car's transmission. Note I didn't abuse my XR4ti to any extent. It was mostly an everyday driver and a fine GT for me. The factory Recaros in my car were fantastic. The car also fit quite tall people very well. And the hatchback layout was efficient as well. Too bad that pathetic of an excuse for a Ford executive Jack Nasser abandoned that car (as in parts support) as soon as possible.
Mine was black with those mesh style BBS wheels. A pain to clean but they also looked great. Eventually sold the car to be replaced with a family 4-door, but I have fond memories of my Merkur XR4ti.
As a long-time viewer from New Zealand, this has to be one of my favourite reviews you've done TST. As the owner of the euro version of this car - the Sierra XR4i, it was delightful to see the American one reviewed. Our car, a 1984 XR4i has the 2.8L V6 with fuel injection. Bags of torque, meaning when you pick the wrong gear, you can still get away with it! Andrew sounds like a passionate owner & should be proud of his car.
Adam Leask Thanks for chiming in! This car holds more sentimental value for me than any other physical object in the world. I know what it is (as well as what it isn't) but it just has that "it" factor that makes me want to never let it go again.
I just saw this same car at a cars and coffee and have been looking for one ever since and now you just reviewed one! Super Unique car
Boosted Nurse yeah,but if you want parts you have to find another one to buy,last car i would buy in america
crazy both of you say that, because I was looking to buy one and seriously couldn’t find one. I guess later down the road it’d be worth importing a RS cosworth...
My buddy had a Cosworth when he grew up in Europe and bought a XR4Ti when he moved here. I've wanted one ever since. I'm trying to find one or at very least an SVO mustang. I'm thinking a modern 2.3 ecoboost build would be sick.
Boosted Nurse Ebay has a cool one $500 bucks
Cool owner.
Mike Bawakami right this guy knew what he had.
Mike Bawakami probably one of my favorite ones of this year just because of how genuine the owner was
Yeah he really.. Owns.
Had to.
Ahhhh, This is why I watch you, Matt. I LOVE the odd ball cars!
love the guys passion and enthusiasm. love these builds, i had a 92 nissan pulsar and it definitely had a unique feel which i missed when i let it go. The boxey shape and good visibility due to bad aerodynamics made it even better joy to drive
I had an XR4Ti as my first high school "car" (meaning not a truck or Jeep) and I loved that thing so much. Got the car, engine, and transmission separately from the junkyard and put it together. We eventually turned it into a field beater and testing platform. I did eventually get sick of trying to ask for parts at O'Reillys and they'd consistently think I was just mispronouncing "Mercury" rather than actually just selecting "Merkur" from their computer screen.
If you get to drive a Cosworth bear in mind almost no one left them at the stock 200ish BHP, 250-300 makes them much more fun. There is a rumour that the prototype came back from Cosworth with 300BHP but ford had them detune it for the mass market as they knew it would still sell and the Cossies are lunatic on damp roads like we get here most of the year.
cossies are also legendare "Suddenly" have a blown engine. A buddy off mine has 2 cossies. both broken :O
But an awsome winter drifter =)
I had an 87 from new. A hidden gem, back in the day. Quirky styling, but very functional.
The 5s on mine was ok, mine defaulted to the 3-4 gate. The 1st to 2nd shift was slow, due to the synchronization being slow. 3, 4, 5 was normal and quick.
Hot rodded mine with help from Rapido Group.
SVO intercooler kit
Borla ss exhaust
Suspension kit.
Rear disc kit
Sierra grille and badges.
Wicked good fun.😊
Fast, fun, and cheap to buy back then.
🤔🤔🤔🤔 that little car with a new 2.3L ecoboost swap! 🤔🤔🤔 interesting!!
Abel S550 GT you'd need a wrecked EB mustang. Not worth the cost over a built EFI 2.3 that could probably make similar or more horsepower.
1710 Glob Squad figured, good to know! 👍🏻👌🏻 dont know much about the efi 2.3's
1710 Glob Squad you can buy the 2.3 ecoboost as a crate with electronics. the old 2.3 cost more to hop up than you think. not to mention it's all iron and weighs as much as an aluminum headed pushrod 5.0.
Looptydude think there are a few places that sell complete swap kits harness, transmission and all
That gearbox is terrible (already at its torque limit) - you'd need a better one.
Never have I clicked on a TST video so fast. Also, those seats def look like early SHO seats just reupholstered slightly! SHO seats are easily one of my favorite seats in any automobile.
Glad he got it back. I loved these too, because they were different. I test drove one after a Saab 900 T, another "different"car. Never could afford either, since I was a young man. I remember the salesman, being an ex-race car guy, too me for the drive of my live. After he was done, I remember thinking, "man, after this guys torture test, I don't want this anymore" He had told me that he had had similar rides with this car during the week.
Always liked these cars even around car guys in the late 90's no one knew what these were. I drove a 5 speed Thunderbird Turbo Coupe back in the day so I loved these and the SVO Mustang. The 2.3 turbo is a strong engine can take lots of boost for an American 4 banger from the mid 80s it ended up being pretty decent. This strange looking car looks even better with the badges deleted and the rims this one has looks awesome. The dual plane wing is great too! It's almost as ridiculous as the whale tail! Can't wait to see a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth on here!
Definitely one of the most oddball cars I've ever driven. Was psyched to see you did one in here
I had one exactly like this one. It was an awesome car. Nylon lock nuts and screws everywhere. Great mileage. Ran like a bat outta hell.
Been waiting for this since I bought my Merkur..FINALLY!!!!!
Wish I could like this twice, I love Sierras!
My grandfather owned 6 merkurs at one time. We have three red 89s left in the family. I learned stick of these cars at 14. I don't think they're too bad
This guy definitely works in IT
Yep it’s Zuck’s brother
Had an '85 for a while and it was the best riding car I've owned. The T-5 swap is fairly easy and greatly improves the shifting. These engines put out big power with some tuning but the brakes are sketchy and a four-wheel disc swap is essential.
I am sure those are the seats out of the old Ford Granada (one car up the food chain in Europe). Really comfy and really heavy. Great video and brings back find memories of the XR4i. Hard to imagine how radical that looked back in the day. That double wing at the back was otherworldly.
I regret not buying one of these for $800 like 10 years back. It was abandoned at a local shop after the lady had the turbo replaced and couldn't pay for it. It had 80k miles on it and was in very good condition.
Martin Quin saw one last month with pretty much original and mint at the junkyard for 1.5k
This one is a little beat, but $600 rmn.craigslist.org/cto/d/85-ford-merkur-xr4ti/6575349865.html
WOW! this is a car that you just don't see anymore. I use to want one of these back in the day. very nice to see this thing.
so glad to see this, always loved this car so much
This time you did a good job shifting. When my bro had one I used to run out second, ease into fourth, then to third if needed. Our grandpa finally built him a shifter gate that mounted to the floor on both sides of the console.
I rented one for 10 days decades ago when I was honeymooning in Nova Scotia and it was a blast to drive in spite of Canada's insanely low speed limits. I was told that the Canadian version was stronger than the one available in the US, but I don't know if that's true. Regardless, I've wanted one ever since. Great vid! Thanks for the memories!
I still love these cars👻👍
Me too.
There is a couple of us out there.
I had 1985 XR4TI no problems at all with shifter. I love the XR4Ti so much.
I remember seeing a new one of these as a kid. It was the bright orangeish red color and I fell in love with these cars.
what a cool owner , very chill and knows what he has
I am 47 so I remember these when they were new. I fell in love with them at 16 and it was the weird wing that drew me in. It probably be more trouble than it is worth but this car would be fantastic with the fiesta st motor in it
Saw one xr4i, european here in Poland for around 1500$. I am stupid I didn't bought it. 2,9 cosworth engine, 4x4, manual. Great 90s looks. Was quite complete and in working condition. Would do great classic even now and a fun car. Just imagine winter awd sliding all day long.
My buddy bought one beater wagon rwd 2,0 for few hundred bucks few years ago. He had it on a small reacetrack twice a week. Learned drifting, ended up out of the track every week. Beater is beater. Then he sold it for the same money he bought it. It doesn't came cheaper to have some fun.
nice car! the euro XR4i that we got had a 12v 2.8L V6. exact same bodystyle. it competed head on with the bmw 323i. Later we got the cossie which was a homologation special that got upgraded to the rs500 always a 3dr bodystyle without the weird C-pillar that the us-xr4ti and euro xr4i had . These 2WD cossie were very quick (low drag, good aero)and very succesfull in touringcar racing all over the world, notably in Australia where the Sierra cossie took over from the Volvo 240turbo, the jag XJS and the Rover SD1 vitesse. The winning streak of the Sierra was over when the Nissan Skyline came with it's V6 turbo AWD setup. Ford also made a AWD sierra cossie , this always had a 4dr sedan/saloon bodystyle and it became a succesful grA rallycar. it was the successor of the grB RS200 rally missile that used basically the same cossie engine block. sadly grB was banned. That's why Ford continued rallying with the Sierra.
I loved these cars when they came out in the mid 80’s. I worked for a rental car company as a teenager and we drove these very hard.
I like these videos were you get a interesting car and a owner that can tell a great story about owning the car like the guy with the MR2 with a v6 swap
I was always intrigued by these back in the day. There were a few of them around the town where I grew up and I never knew what to make of them. Were they cool? Were they weird? Were they just bizarre and enigmatic? Why yes, to all three!
Thanks for the review men!
Matt!!! looking good man, trimming down. keep it going!
Matt, you hit it on the head exactly. You now NEED to drive the full on Euro spec Sierra Cosworth RS, which, if I remember, came factory with a T5 trans; AND JUST LOOK SO MUCH BETTER !!
Down here in south america we had the Sierra too (it was called Sierra i meant), my uncle had one, somehow the one on the video looks smaller (that might be just me) here it was easy the biggest car at the time, size wise, then the smaller version of it, the Escort, was similar looking but smaller body, the one in the video to my eyes looks somewhere in between those two, again i might be wrong since i was around 10 years old when i got to ride that car and it may have seem bigger than it actually was. Nice video Matt, keem em coming.
I had an 88 xr4ti. Fun car and lots of modifications to do. It would awesome to see a gen 1 or gen 2 turbo or supercharged Taurus SHO.
Finally one of these are on here I have a 1986 ford merkur they are cool cars
Loved these cars. Great cars and so much potential out of the that 2.3.
Andrew, good job repping the XR4Ti!
The were pretty cool cars when new. My dad test drove one from the New Orleans auto show in '86. For its day it ran pretty good. Dad was impressed. He almost bought one but he ended up buying an '87 Formula Firebird with 5 speed. If this was my car the 1st thing I would do is do a 2.0 or 2.3 Ecoboost swap. Suspension and brakes too. Hell the Mustang 3.7 V6 would be a sweet engine for this car.
been waiting for him to review an xr4ti
When I was 17 I imported a Cosworth engine block from the UK which came in pieces. I purchased the auto mechanics Cosworth Pinto conversion book and my mechanic at the time went ahead to take the car apart and put the new engine in. My Merkur converted Cossie had 290BHP and burned rubber. I spent all my money I had saved at that time in my life on that car. 1 year later while I left it parked for school. We had a wind storm which blew a tree down and crushed my car. :-( RIP the only Cosworth I knew off that was in Canada. My car was the 1985 Version with the large spoilers and fully loaded with power everything.
Those wheels look great. These cars are a blast to drive!
welcome back Sir!
...and this is how I found out the Merkur XR4TI is a Ford Sierra in drag. I guess we'll add that with an Ecoboost swap to my unobtainium wishlist!
Sweet he listens too his fans, thanks.
Ford increase the top speed by going to the single spoiler, they changed the rear quarter window trim to aid aerodynamics.
Nice to see a new X-eratti video.
wow! finally! my prayers have been heard! i love the merkur! ive got a ford sierra cosworth myself :)
Oddjob89 do you live in the US? submit that shit for a one take!
I've been waiting forever to see a Merk on One Take! Glad to see Matt wasn't too harsh in his criticism, and that he enjoyed it. Now get a damn T5 in that thing, stat! Or at least a BAT shifter. You can make a T9 dance if you want to, as long as the music's not too fast.
merkurman So this car has a BAT short shifter in it. I suspect the one bushing has been messed up for at least the last 8 years. That said, I have no problem finding third or any other gear for that matter. It's unintuitive, but if you know where to place it it's fine.
The Merkur was known as the 'Sierra' in the UK. Top end models were race tuned by Cosworth engineering. A Sierra Cosworth or 'Cossie' was a revered car in the UK in the 80's and early 90's. 2nd only to the famed Vauxhall Carlton Lotus, a car that was so fast the govt wanted it banned as the media hype was that no police car could catch one.
Interesting to see the XR4TI here. I remember being a kid in the US seeing them and was always interested to know what they were about. Unfortunately they are totally different beast to a Cosworth. A Cosworth had the T5 box, a much better and crisper suspension setup along with bigger more responsive breaks. I'm pretty sure they had an LSD too. As standard they only had just over 200bhp but to chip it to 300bhp was easily done and the engine was capable of so much more. All in all it means that if you did the same road test with any of the Cosworth variants you'd find a totally different machine!
Back when I was in college, 88 thru 92, a roommate of mine bought one of these... I think it was '90 or '91 when he bought it... It was an '85 model -- the first year available -- and it was the most unreliable p.o.s. ever!! It was in the shop more than he drove it...
It amazes me how many "car guys" have no clue whatsoever what these cars are. To me, it's just another crazy car from the '80s. LOL.
Over here in the UK, the XR4i came equipped with the "Cologne" 2.8 V6, same engine that was in the Granada & Capri rated at about 160 BHP. If memory serves Ford slapped the V6 into the Sierra to try to boost sales in Europe after it replaced the Cortina, same problem you guys in the U.S. had with the Taurus. And like the Taurus it also appears in Robocop, Ford pulled out all the stops to try to make them both cool.
cool to see unique rides like this!
There's a gentleman in the Portland, Or area who brought his sierra cosworth with him from Europe when he moved here. Met him at cars and coffee. Awesome car!
Matt, I've been seeing a silver e39 in the background of your one takes lately.
Did you review it??
My first car was an '87, but it had a 3 speed auto. When it crapped out we had a shift kit put in. It was terrible to drive on the highway with the revs sitting around 3000-3500 RPM at 65 mph, resulting in about 15 mpg. That said, it probably needed a tune up because it spit and spattered constantly, but I would "clear its throat" by giving it some boost. The old school turbo tech means the engine is gutless until the boost comes on, which made it almost comical to drive with the shift kit (giving it the impression of speed). One time the tail pipe fell off in a parking lot (rust, lots of it), so we used that as an excuse to install Magnaflows. The body roll was very real, the clear coat was gone, and it had those weird ass 8 spoke rims.
I sure miss it. I look for it on CL from time to time.
Buying one this weekend. Definitely gonna get a shift gate made for it
Being an owner of gen3 Mr2 Turbo, these cars are gems, especially with Gen3 or Gen4 setup...
I'm from the UK, I have a mate who has a 1986 XR4i on a C reg (for the UK peeps lol), with the original numbers matching, chassis, engine and gearbox. He paid £400 for it and it came with loads of spares :)
It has a few rust issues which is being sorted, and has the 'cracked' dashboard that always happens. Not sure which V6 it has in it, think it's the 2.8 Litre but this 2.3 turbo sounds awesome :D
People like this keep car culture alive
I remember these as a kid growing up. Now working alongside older techs all I here is stay away, what a mess those were and the Capri FWD as well. lol
My uncle had an early model (red and grey two tone and the biplane wing) back in the late 90's - early 2000's out in California that was pushing 20+ PSI....was fast as hell and I wanted it, car got crushed by a tree the year before I got my licence and couldn't bring it back to NH. For all its quirks it would have been hilarious to drive and screw with all my friends who had civics and shit.
If you can actually find and review a Sierra Cosworth, the next one to do would definitely be the Escort Cosworth. The early ones you can import right now, and I saw one in person at a Cars & Coffee a few months ago. Such a cool car.
I remember these well.They sold them at Mercury dealers. Drove one in the late 80's, loved everything (RWD) but the price. I bought an MX6 Turbo W/4 wheel steer. But the Merkur was a great car.
Matt what specific Dilon optic frame are you wearing in this vid?
bought ofter seeing this. Reminded me of how cool the Xr4ti is. I have a red 1989 Xr4ti ❤
that bike looks like he is going 50 to 60 mph~ cookin!
Just saw one of these in L.A today it was so gorgeous
The Bi-Wing Rear Spoiler is the best feature. The Euro version of this car (Ford Sierra RS Cosworth) was a Rally Hero way back before Subaru WRX or the Mitsubishi Evo.
Hey I just saw one of these that i want but am worried about the transmission because he said it sucks, the one near me has a t5 not t9, is that better? Should i get it?
had a lift in a brand new sapphire rs and will never forget the stuck in the seat feeling that gave me.
A shifter bushing would probably fix the shift issue. Cheap and easy fix. :-) I miss my XR.
Haha! At 8.15, Matt liked the "sneeze" term for turbo being recirculated.
Just saw one of these bad boys at the local fred Meyer. First time in person. Such a dope looking car
My best friends Mom growing up has one of these grow up. Same color. Awesome.
Ha, cool oddball. Well done sir!
Best owner ever! Thumbs up for Andrew
I had an '88 also, very finicky and weird car but I really loved it. Sold it off to focus on my fox body but I miss that car a lot.
The cosworth powered one we got in Europe was pretty cool... This one seems meh
i agree, this one is lame, the european spec sierra is MUCH MUCH better. even the ghia v6 is a very luxurious neat good car :)
mornadu u the one I need lol luv ur music
mornadu It's really because the huge open roads of the US allow focus way more on muscle cars, so cosworth engined cars weren't really necessary
this one was based off the sierra xr4i which was a step down from the cossie model :)
The 80's wasn't the best time for good driving cars in the U.S. The fact that Ford tried to sell the Sierra at all to begin with and that we got SOMETHING was pretty surprising. The turbo lima has its perks, all things considered. A euro powerplant would have been the best, but you have to consider that warranty support and servicing would have been challenging with an engine that saw no other use in the U.S. A turbo version of a common engine made them easy to service and keep running in this country.
My dad had a Ford Sierra when I was a child in 90s London, so I thought I was going mad when I saw the title with that thumbnail.
Great car, Ah the 80's. Refreshing to see his love for this car no matter what it is. " You bought this car twice??" lol Awesome vid Matt. I haven't seen or heard about one of these things in well over a decade. btw No worries about anyone stealing this thing. Its a stick and to make it worst the gears go MIA all the time lol
Yeah, I used to own one of those through college and adulthood in the late 80s to 1995. Drove across country twice in it. Delivered pizza with it (and got in an accident ugh). Sold it with around 115K miles. Lotta great memories.
Miss mine..had two first one auto was ok.. But grounding hooked..the second one saw a add in the old car week!y magazines. It had super low miles test drove it with two manual stick lessons under my belt.. purchased it and drove a hour home..my first five speed.. Took it to local car shows.. Had fun with it.. Had a 500 watt custom audio system that was thing.. The gear box sucked.. But a good car to learn on.. Did a lot of repairs myself.. Super easy to work on.. Sucked in snow.. Off the road a lot lol.. Sold it to a friend who did put the intercooler in it.. Ran it many many years after.. Quirky car.. Fun.. whateverhappendto the merkur that broke the land speed record?
I"ve seen this car in Bethlehem, PA YEARS ago. it used to park near my parent's house sometimes and i loved weird cars even then,
ok so i did some facebook research and it's probably not the same car, as this one lived on the complete other side of Pa, but it was the exact same color and in v. good condition
Kowalskithegreat haha, yeah that wasn't me. But any Merkur sighting is a good Merkur sighting!
In South Africa we had the Sierra XR8 model with a 5l V8 from a US Ford Mustang. Only 250 were built so they are very rare and sell for a pretty penny.
Matt, have you ever been to/heard of the Carlisle auto shows this guy mentioned?
I looked at one for sale about 17 years ago. We were saving for a house so I couldn't buy it. I wish I had taken it for a test drive though but I didn't want to fall in love with it. The guy collected them in various states of disrepair and sold completed ones.