Revelations with Jason Cammisa

Merkur XR4Ti and Ford Sierra RS Cosworth Ford's Most Perfect Mistake (5x3)

Data emisji: Kwi 03, 2025

The Merkur XR4Ti was an award-winning, turbocharged home-run for Ford in the 1980s — until it landed in U.S. dealerships with a thud. How could this have happened? The XR4Ti was the German-built turbocharged, 4-cylinder version of the Ford Sierra XR4i — a futuristically styled, rear-wheel drive sporty coupe. With more power and more refinement than its European-market sibling, the Merkur was the better car. Conceived by the legendary Bob Lutz, the brand-name "Merkur" was chosen so that the XR4Ti (and later Scorpio) could be sold outside of the U.S. Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury dealerships — to compete against the E30-chassis BMW 3-series, the Audi 4000 and Coupe, and the W201 Mercedes 190E. It easily outperformed them all, using a revised version of the turbocharged 2.3-liter "Pinto" 4-cylinder also seen in the Mustang SVO, Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, and Mercury Cougar XR7. Mated to a 5-speed manual, the XR4Ti out-accelerated the contemporary Ferrari 308 GTB Quattrovalvole and won over