My right ear loves this video. My left ear doesn't know what's going on. Seriously, though: This is the car I learned how to drive in. Twenty years later, I kinda want to get another.
This was my first car which was a 1987 model. I removed the 2.3L motor and installed 2.0L Pinto block better known as the RS Sierra engine for the RS Cosworth. I modified my Cosworth engine to 460HP with T5 Cobra Transmission and rear end to handle all the power since the XR4Ti was not manufactured to handle that kind of torque or power that an American Mustang could handle. Thanks for posting this video...Love it
I owned 1986 Merkur XR4Ti and it is a great car. For me for the year it was one of kind better then BMW. The power was great handling great . I have video of it to in my young age :) Nice video peace...
People that relied on the stealership for work hated these, actual car people loved them and usually own more than one. The later cars had 150 mph speedo and other upgrades.
Knowing how and when to use opposite lock is helpful as well. "Turn right to go left" as it has been said. Mine is modded to nearly 300hp and I never have an issue with oversteer like you describe. Maybe a few bucks paid to Mssrs. Barber or Bondurant might go a long way.
Someone who lives near my old house has one of these rotting away in his driveway... Bright red, just like the demo they show in the beginning of the video.
I remember i had a neighbor who had a merkur scorpio that was rotting outside the garage. I feel so bad for that car since I've been drooling over it every time i passed by it
Ah, the X-Rat-eee. Great car. Well, at least very good car. The grillless facia looks so dated now. This was a consolation purchase for me in 1986, when BobCor motors reneged on the agreed purchase price of a twin turbo Alfa GTV-6. Anyway, back to the Merkur... Used to run it hard at dusk, Ford was using like 14 psi boost, then quickly pop the hood and admire the glowing red turbo and manifold. Well made car, just had a few achilles heels, such as the defective leather seat stitching....
i have two of these they are awesome one i use to bomb around with upgrades and my other one only has 14700kms on it brand new with all the upgrades possibile
I used to own one and had lots of fun in it. However, every 5,000 miles it needed something. One of the worst examples is the cat broke before the recall causing the turbo charger to overheat and burned. Too many design flaws and only the drivers who know how to modify parts can eventually made it a daily driver.
I ran a county highway that wound like a snake through the Nicolet National Forest. I went over 100mph with such confidence I didn't think twice of doing it with my son onboard.
had one put theautobahn cjp set in it itwas a 88 single wing hit 140 in 4th gear once.I woul regularily downshift from 5th to 3rd at 60 mph and chewed up mustangs trying to pass would see them way back wait till they got to rear bumper down shift turbo hit shifted back into 4th at 95 I let them walk away at 105 usually I missthat car
The Merkur is a Sierra - the only difference is that Karmann Coachbuilders changed the engine and detail trim. Otherwise they are the same car - and they DO have the same undercarriage, other than detail changes (dampers, ARB thickness etc). You could drop a Cologne V6 (or any other Cortina-based Ford engine - Pinto, CVH, etc) and loom straight into a manual Merkur without any major work.
Damn! What the hell is Princess Die doing with that bloke! I bet he is about to give her a test drive! And how could that guy say young? They both look 40!
Where ford failed was not marketing hard that the engine was made in America then shipped to Germany for installation then re imported to America .. I had an 1988 .. block wheels , single wing , pirrellis were stock , Speedo to 160 ..re chipped car with the autobahn chip .. my uncle a ford exec at the time took one to 160 on the track in Detroit .. I took mine ( or my dads rather ) to 140 .. in fourth gear ..my dad and I were driving and a mustang came hard on the interstate I had cruise set at 62 as the mustang got to my number dropped from 5th to 3rd , turbo opened up car took off went into 4th at 110 .. at 120 I decided to let the mustang go my point had been proven .. the point is this car was not marketed right .. in Europe it’s job was to run with the 3 series bmws on the autobahn for less money .. it did that , could do it all day long ...and it’s design was 10 years old by the time they did the American thing with it .. for some reason they did not market it right and it flopped .. the new focus rs... flopped because the engine not designed right and it would hydrolock .. car was ok but engine was missing a piece of metal that prevented the free floating cylinders from scrubbing the head gasket .... it was supposed to run with the wrx.. but wrx did not have that engine problem .... many of the trolls here know little to nothing about cars and history , they only know fart cans..
what i really like is it stops at 85 at halfway then after that it is just red and unmarked saying im a terrable car, if you go into these speeds i will take a crap
dude this car has absolutely nothing to do with a tempo, and is far from a POS.If you didnt stereotype and had an open mind maybe youd realize they are pretty cool cars.
Cheap 80's Salesman cars in europe. I think it was far too advance for the American pallet, even too advanced for the Ford dealership mechanics at the time. You have to consider in europe the steets are narrow, the speeds are higher, the corners are shaper and the fuel is $8 a Gallon (2013) we are simply forced into making better cars.
I know it's a seven year old comment, but I really appreciate the irony of a European turning their nose up at "unsophisticated" Americans after using "pallet" when they meant "palate."
Cam VanDerHorst Wasn’t meant to be snobbery, it was a factual reasoning for the evolution of motor cars. Unfortunately I only speak three languages and one of isn’t french.
LOL, the XR4Ti was a Tempo with options!!!! What a POS. Cars in the 80s were so primitive looking. The announcer makes this car sound like the MOST advanced thing ever made.
Dude, you really know nothing about cars. The Tempo was a stretched Escort. The XR4Ti is a Rear wheel drive Ford Sierra. They may not have been reliable, but they were very unique. I found them pretty cool as a kid.
My right ear loves this video. My left ear doesn't know what's going on.
Seriously, though: This is the car I learned how to drive in. Twenty years later, I kinda want to get another.
it is called mono a big thing back in the 80's
This was my first car which was a 1987 model. I removed the 2.3L motor and installed 2.0L Pinto block better known as the RS Sierra engine for the RS Cosworth. I modified my Cosworth engine to 460HP with T5 Cobra Transmission and rear end to handle all the power since the XR4Ti was not manufactured to handle that kind of torque or power that an American Mustang could handle. Thanks for posting this video...Love it
@DaGingerHeadMan you sir are the dumb ass I hope you looked at some videos
Just because you had a 2.0 liter pinto engine you are far from cosworth my friend.... Study a bit please.
I owned 1986 Merkur XR4Ti and it is a great car. For me for the year it was one of kind better then BMW. The power was great handling great . I have video of it to in my young age :) Nice video peace...
People that relied on the stealership for work hated these, actual car people loved them and usually own more than one. The later cars had 150 mph speedo and other upgrades.
I wanted one of these so bad when I was a kid.
I had this VHS tape when I was a teenager - I really wanted this car LOL
After 85 mph they don't know how fast your going......plaid speed maybe?
Great car had it for years and is my second best car to corvette 86. Now driving New CRV 2013
Knowing how and when to use opposite lock is helpful as well. "Turn right to go left" as it has been said. Mine is modded to nearly 300hp and I never have an issue with oversteer like you describe. Maybe a few bucks paid to Mssrs. Barber or Bondurant might go a long way.
Someone who lives near my old house has one of these rotting away in his driveway... Bright red, just like the demo they show in the beginning of the video.
I remember i had a neighbor who had a merkur scorpio that was rotting outside the garage. I feel so bad for that car since I've been drooling over it every time i passed by it
Much better than the front wheel drive shelby 80s Chryslers and Dodges.
I live in michigan and I must find this nice road. Everything is so flat... around me.
The car has many flaws but no doubt one of the most comfortable cars (of the 80's) that I've driven.
Ah, the X-Rat-eee. Great car. Well, at least very good car. The grillless facia looks so dated now. This was a consolation purchase for me in 1986, when BobCor motors reneged on the agreed purchase price of a twin turbo Alfa GTV-6. Anyway, back to the Merkur... Used to run it hard at dusk, Ford was using like 14 psi boost, then quickly pop the hood and admire the glowing red turbo and manifold. Well made car, just had a few achilles heels, such as the defective leather seat stitching....
Sparky Patriot if the worst thing about a car is faulty stitching, that's a pretty perfect car.
I liked how Princess Diana took the time to be in this video
Princess Diana in a Merkur video. Lol.
Too skinny.
How great would it be to have Stewart show at Carlisle for this car?
i have two of these they are awesome one i use to bomb around with upgrades and my other one only has 14700kms on it brand new with all the upgrades possibile
I used to own one and had lots of fun in it. However, every 5,000 miles it needed something. One of the worst examples is the cat broke before the recall causing the turbo charger to overheat and burned. Too many design flaws and only the drivers who know how to modify parts can eventually made it a daily driver.
I ran a county highway that wound like a snake through the Nicolet National Forest. I went over 100mph with such confidence I didn't think twice of doing it with my son onboard.
At 5:53, a cute lady running with her dog waves at the driver. I bet his girlfriend/wife is like "WTF? Who is this waving at you?"
mohawk5010 comment of the day!!!!!
That was to let you know that the XR4TI will get you pun tang.
They're his driving loafers
had one put theautobahn cjp set in it itwas a 88 single wing hit 140 in 4th gear once.I woul regularily downshift from 5th to 3rd at 60 mph and chewed up mustangs trying to pass would see them way back wait till they got to rear bumper down shift turbo hit shifted back into 4th at 95 I let them walk away at 105 usually I missthat car
I honestly wonder what SIr Jackie Stewart thinks of this car today
My cousin just crashed his merkur he's banged up he's OK the cars gone
The Merkur is a Sierra - the only difference is that Karmann Coachbuilders changed the engine and detail trim.
Otherwise they are the same car - and they DO have the same undercarriage, other than detail changes (dampers, ARB thickness etc).
You could drop a Cologne V6 (or any other Cortina-based Ford engine - Pinto, CVH, etc) and loom straight into a manual Merkur without any major work.
This is nothing like a Tempo. The X-RAY has a turbo 2.3 and handling out of this world.
This car drove better than the Mustang, and it looked better.
Damn! What the hell is Princess Die doing with that bloke! I bet he is about to give her a test drive! And how could that guy say young? They both look 40!
i understand why they don't used the name Sierra, was Chevrolet fault (GMC Sierra) but why not Ford Merkur for example? or another name...
Where ford failed was not marketing hard that the engine was made in America then shipped to Germany for installation then re imported to America .. I had an 1988 .. block wheels , single wing , pirrellis were stock , Speedo to 160 ..re chipped car with the autobahn chip .. my uncle a ford exec at the time took one to 160 on the track in Detroit .. I took mine ( or my dads rather ) to 140 .. in fourth gear ..my dad and I were driving and a mustang came hard on the interstate I had cruise set at 62 as the mustang got to my number dropped from 5th to 3rd , turbo opened up car took off went into 4th at 110 .. at 120 I decided to let the mustang go my point had been proven .. the point is this car was not marketed right .. in Europe it’s job was to run with the 3 series bmws on the autobahn for less money .. it did that , could do it all day long ...and it’s design was 10 years old by the time they did the American thing with it .. for some reason they did not market it right and it flopped .. the new focus rs... flopped because the engine not designed right and it would hydrolock .. car was ok but engine was missing a piece of metal that prevented the free floating cylinders from scrubbing the head gasket .... it was supposed to run with the wrx.. but wrx did not have that engine problem .... many of the trolls here know little to nothing about cars and history , they only know fart cans..
Had one in high school lol
Great vid, but who is the goof that posted it in mono audio? It only works on the right speaker!
what i really like is it stops at 85 at halfway then after that it is just red and unmarked saying im a terrable car, if you go into these speeds i will take a crap
Known in europe as the Ford Sierra XR4i
thats the glx right?
But this one has turbo!
There I am
Dear Ford, bring this model back to production...
11:54
merKHOOR
Why did Ford sell it with the Merkur brand name? Why not Ford?
This car was better than Mustang...
war jim rome and the xr4ti crew!
dude this car has absolutely nothing to do with a tempo, and is far from a POS.If you didnt stereotype and had an open mind maybe youd realize they are pretty cool cars.
Sierra has a different undercarriage - very weak actually and made for Western European roads. Also different engine - 2.8 liter V6
You must have owned some real POS cars since owning the POS XR4Ti.
Worst speedometer ever.
God, I hate 85mph speedos...
DerMetzger exactly but Ford was smart and had it go over 85 just without numbers
Cheap 80's Salesman cars in europe. I think it was far too advance for the American pallet, even too advanced for the Ford dealership mechanics at the time. You have to consider in europe the steets are narrow, the speeds are higher, the corners are shaper and the fuel is $8 a Gallon (2013) we are simply forced into making better cars.
I know it's a seven year old comment, but I really appreciate the irony of a European turning their nose up at "unsophisticated" Americans after using "pallet" when they meant "palate."
Cam VanDerHorst Wasn’t meant to be snobbery, it was a factual reasoning for the evolution of motor cars. Unfortunately I only speak three languages and one of isn’t french.
"I wasn't trying to be a snob. By the way, I speak three languages."
Anyhow, thanks for replying after all this time.
Cam VanDerHorst yeah as a truck driver 🤣
LOL, the XR4Ti was a Tempo with options!!!! What a POS. Cars in the 80s were so primitive looking. The announcer makes this car sound like the MOST advanced thing ever made.
stchman It was very advanced for the 80's. There were MUCH worse pieces of shit back then
Dude, you really know nothing about cars. The Tempo was a stretched Escort. The XR4Ti is a Rear wheel drive Ford Sierra. They may not have been reliable, but they were very unique. I found them pretty cool as a kid.
Look up the chevette