Auction Merkur XR4Ti - The Forgotten Rally Car?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 17 вер 2023
- While at an auto auction, I came across this Merkur XR4Ti. A derivative of the Ford Sierra Cosworth overseas that was brought over to the states. Why is this car here at a vehicle auction? Is it worth restoring? Watch until the end of the video to find out!
📌 New to the channel? Consider subscribing!
➡️ Patreon: / bendaga
📲 Social Media Links: linktr.ee/Bendaga
Thanks for watching. ✌️
#BendagasGarage - Авто та транспорт
What a relic from the 80's. Shame we didn't get the Sierra Cosworth's over here in the states, but this was a nice constellation prize. Let me know what you guys think in the comments. Join our Discord for more. 🕵
I REALLY don't wanna be that guy...
But it's "consolation prize".
@@Wheaggmaybe if it was a Subaru ahahaha
You should have seen the Escort cosworts... now those were the absolute rally gods
The term is "consolation prize" not constellation 😂😂
I'm subscribed!
This is 80’s cool. Too bad it didn’t do as well as the Sierra Cosworth did in England
had a lot of potential, but just didn't deliver for the time
Escort took the place
It was never cool even the 80s, which is why it was a marketing failure. Which is the reason it's so incredibly rare to see a survivor today.
Model year/Units sold
1985 12,400
1986 13,559
1987 7,352
1988 6,283
1989 2,870
Total 42,464
@@ButterfatFarmsI fail to see how Ford US spent 50mil getting getting it to the US market!
As above the Cosworth version already existed in Europe, and they did the Sierra XR4x4 which was this but with a different engine.
Sounds like the CEO lined his pockets 😄
@@eyesodd Many changes were made to the design, a different engine was substituted, crashworthiness adjustments need to be made like door beams for rhe US market, etc, etc, etc.
For example, " While the European XR4i was powered by a 2.8 L version of the Ford Cologne V6 engine, the only engine offered in the XR4Ti was a turbocharged Lima inline-four. This engine featured a cast-iron block, cast iron cylinder head with 2 valves per cylinder and a single overhead cam driven by a timing belt. The XR4Ti engine also received a Garrett AiResearch turbocharger, fuel-injection and Ford's EEC-IV engine control unit. Built in Ford's Taubaté Brazil plant, the engine had a bore of 96.04 mm (3.8 in) and stroke of 79.4 mm (3.1 in) for a total displacement of 2,301 cc (140.4 cu in). A nearly identical engine was used in the 1983 Mustang Turbo GT and 1983 Thunderbird Turbo coupe. The XR4Ti did not have the intercooler found in the 1984 SVO Mustang or 1987-88 Thunderbird Turbo coupe. Engines in cars equipped with automatic transmissions had maximum boost set to 8 to 10 psi (0.55 to 0.69 bar) and produced 145 hp (108 kW). In cars with manual transmissions maximum boost was raised to 12 to 14 psi (0.83 to 0.97 bar) and the ECU programming was modified to allow the engine to produce 175 hp (130 kW).
The second-order vibrations produced by this large four cylinder engine had been noticeable when it was used in the turbocharged Thunderbird and Cougar models. To minimize these in the XR4Ti without resorting to extreme measures such as adding balance shafts, extensive work was done to reduce noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) in the power-train.[17] The first measure taken to reduce NVH was to redesign the engine's external components, including the intake manifold, to increase the stiffness of the bracketing and lighten the components. The second measure was to reduce the amount of vibration transmitted to the body structure by using soft rubber engine mounts. Engine roll was controlled by wide-based mounting brackets and engine movement due to bumps was limited by having the brackets attached to the body via hydraulic mounts."
Quick! Somebody tell hoonigan! They need parts for theirs!😂
👀
That's an easy save if it runs. My guess is that someone stole it a long time ago and left it sit to rust, then when they got it back, the owner didn't want it.
Nah, if a car is stolen, if it isn't recovered in a certain amount of time determined by the insurance company, it is reported as a total loss
I remember seeing one of these on track they just drive like butter
seen one or two at rallycross events and they're always flying
Slippery and all over the place?
RWD, manual transmission and turbo ford 2.3l like the one in the SVO, it's a shame they didn't catch on
Manual transmission, therein lies the problem why no one bought them. That and Americans already had bad experience with anemic four cylinders from the malaise era, so they would've assumed this would barely move under it's own power.
V6's in Europe.
I loved my ‘86 SVO.
@@LuwiigiMasterIn the 80's manual transmissions were still popular. The reason these didn't catch on was the price. They were very expensive, and introduced new (for the time) fuel injected, turbo technology that was expensive to upkeep. Most American consumers couldn't afford the cars, and feared high maintenance costs. Ford in their infinite wisdom thought importing a brand from the other side of the pond would help stave off the import invasion that took over the car market in the 80's and 90's.
Ohh and the mustang was available for a fraction of the price with a tried and true American V8. 🤷♂️
@@LuwiigiMasterNo, a manual transmission isn't why it failed to sell. In 1980 manual transmissions were still 35% of all new cars sold in America, and by 1995 that figure was still over 26% of new cars sold. Oh, and an automatic transmission was an option. At the time you could buy a BMW 3 Series for the same price. Which would you rather have bought, which would you rather still own today? A BMW 3 Series or a Merkur xr4ti? For 1980s yuppies the answer was clear, BMW all day long everyday. In the same amount of time it took ford to underperform their own estimates and only sell 42,000 Merkurs, BMW sold over 200,000 3 Series in the United States.
These cars were very popular here in the UK back in the 1980's, Ford Sierra, it ran from 1982 till 1992/93, they did this version in 83,84 Ford Sierra XR4i, other models were base, L, GL, GLS, Ghia, Cosworth, and various diesel models, early cars came in 2door, 5door, 5door Estate and later in 1987 the saloon was introduce, Sierra received a face-lift in 1987, and again in 1989/90 and discontinued in 1993 when the Ford Mondeo replaced it.
These were very popular in richer EU countries and the UK under the Ford Sierra name. Specifically the XR4, being one of the higher trims.
This was one of the many attempts ford tried to have a more “European” feel. This is based on the European market Ford sierra which was really popular over there. These didn’t sell too well because of the cost and the name was too weird. These make great project cars though because they’re pretty cheap and come with a turbo 2.3 from the factory
well said 💯
By cheap I assume you mean "trust fund baby cheap", where blowing 10 grand on a car you barely drive or 5 grand for a car you have to rebuild from the ground up in all your leisure time is pocket change.
@@LuwiigiMasterWelcome to most classic cars today. Also ten grand is a trust fund baby? 🫨 what are you 14?
@@LynxStarAuto ten grand is a lot of money to spend on what is a glorified economy car that will do nothing but sit - most Americans would find that an unreasonable use of their money, especially today where 10 grand can barely pay for yearly groceries.
@@LuwiigiMasterI get where you are coming from but that's more an indictment of cars as a hobby than Merkurs in particular.
Here in Argentina that car was the Ford Sierra Xr4 (NA 2.3L I4 120cv engine that came from the Taunus TC1, and GL 1.6L 75cv, no diesel or turbo option), had great success in sales, and not so great in racing (against the Renault Fuego, which sold more because of the superior success in car racing, win on sunday, sold on monday applied there).
Nice car, RWD, nice body chassis to work on, for drifting or race in a circuit. Hope somebody grab that car and get back running.
This is a oddball car ngl. But considering how rare those are I hope someone saves it.
They handle really well well pretty good weight distribution, and you can pump those 2.3 turbos up to amazing performance. One was in my town as a youngster with T-Bird turbocoupe wheels. It looked awesome.
My grandma drove one so i remember riding in this. I remember thinking it was a cool car at the time. The interior felt very modern and it was sporty feeling. Hatchback..Good car in its day.
Lil ultra rare vehicle 💯
definitely 💯
42k made, not that rare
@@bpearr8266 42K made of a 35 year old car, who knows how many are left, especially when people loved to rally these
@@Karmy. definitely rare, not “ultra rare” hell my last car only had like 1400 or something made, now that was ultra rare
70 left on the road in the uk for my 205 XS, 200 left sorn (Sorn means off the road but not scrapped.)@@bpearr8266
This car was way ahead of it's time! My dad and uncle had one each, one black and one red. My dad unfortunately got rid of his but my uncle has upgraded a lot and still has it to this day!
Indeed in Europe this Sierra/Merkur replaced the Cortina, a traditional 3 box design saloon.
The Sierra was such a break away from boxy car design the car journalists of the time nicknamed it "The Jelly mold".
Powered by one of the most indestructible engines I’ve ever dealt with! Always liked the earlier versions with the bi-wing better than the ones without.
Id love to own a merkur xr4ti since i technically got the european counterpart. Ford sierra 85 and a later model too
Ahh the Ford Sierra, such an 80’s icon, they are hard to find here in Europe now let alone the States!
If this gets crushed they should crush all of us in the trunk with it
I am from Germany and this (in the form of a Sierra) was one of my first cars. It was a 2l DOHC with 150hp. Paid 250 Marks. It was tons and tons of fun driving it in the rain with the rock hard winter tires I bought it with. Sadly the front subframe was rusted out and it failed inspection.
I owned a white xr4ti… LOVED that car. GREAT styling for a mid 80’s, duel wing car.
I had one back in 92 and loved it.
Never seen or heard of this car in my life but i think its bad ass and now i want one
This whole family of cars was incredibly popular here in Latin America. I wasn't alive when these were new, and even I remember the very famous commercial that would go on to give them so much sells: “Maneje el viento, maneje...Ford Sierra” (Drive the wind, drive a Ford Sierra)
Such gorgeous cars they were...
Maneje el viento que se soplo Ford 😂
One of my brothers in law, got one of these, when they first came out. That thing, was badass! I was lucky enough to drive it. Less, to say, it did not disappoint! It was a smooth, yet aggressive hot hatch. Years later, I wanted to buy my son, the four door merkur. But, I got there, just too late. But I got to look at it, before they took a off. They said, it was equal to a MB 300 E. That thing, ..was also, badass!
I have two of these (one an extremely heavily modified Cosworth clone done with OEM parts). I doubt that will end up in a crusher, I have never met a harder core group of car guys than Merkur owners, if you want to find the guy who knows the most about cars of anyone at the meet find the guy with the Merkurs, and I say Merkurs plural because I also have never met a Merkur owner who didn't have more than one. Someone will buy this for spares or a build, and now that their values have started creeping up someone may even with to restore it or stash it away for a few years.
These are hidden gems, turbo four, RWD, manual transmission, independent suspension, and a shockingly huge amount of aftermarket support because the engine was used in the Mustang SVO, Thunderbird Turbo coupe, and ranger as well as a common engine for sprint cars and so it's a much less rare engine than the car itself. There are at least four different aftermarket head options, one from Ford motorsports, two aluminum ones from esslinger, and the DOHC 4 valve aluminum head designed by Porsche for the Volvo whiteblock from the b234f (which was the Redbook that volvo tested the design on before rolling out the new whiteblocks) which bolts on with some minor modifications and flows better than a 4g63 or Sr20 head. At the same time the platform/ chassis was sold in very large numbers as the sierra in Europe and more specifically as the most successful homogation racecar of all time in the 3dr Sierra RS Cosworth meaning that you can find lots of high end chassis components many of which were developed with the budget of both factory backed and privateer race teams as well as aftermarket shops for both tarmac and rally. Because it's older lots of these parts have even become cheap in time as, if for no other reason, their prices haven't risen with inflation and the returns were made on development investment decades ago.
On top of all that they are light by modern standards (2,950 lbs) and can be easily lightened another 2-300 lbs, and are actually quite good to drive. An extremely low drag coefficient by any eras standards also means that when modified they are fast. They are also surprisingly reliable when sorted.
They aren't flawless of course. They are a little awkward looking, though they can be relatively cheaply cloned into a Cosworth which is one of the coolest looking cars of all time, and a Mk3 VW bumper fits on them quite well too. The headlights also suck but that can also be rectified with the cosworth headlights. The dashboards also all crack (I have seen someone swap an e36 dash in and it fit percectly) and they do develop squeaks and rattles, but if you are building a hard one toy then that doesn't really matter.
liked these back in 80s. Dig the double spoiler.!😊Hard to find. especially with Merkur branding only lasting about 4 years
When I went to college in Northern CA there was a Brit attending as well. Since the school had a referee station we would see some cool stuff. He was driving a Sierra Cosworth, but I don't believe they let him keep it stateside, he probably had to switch to a Merkur. You could spot him by the briefcase and bumbershoot.
Please save it 😢❤
I had an 88 one in UK with 2.8i V6 4x4. Was fast. Had torque. Not a quick spin up 4 cylinder. We called it xr4x4i.
Trans Am race car! The 80's was a great for this machine!
I have never heard of this car, fascinating
Someone save it. They're neat little cars that don't get enough recognition.
Id drive it !!! Awesome!!!❤
a guy across my street has one of those, same color too
I absolutely love it 😍
Wow, never knew these existed. It is going to be worth a fortune, especially if given some TLC. Buy and bring back to roadworthy condition. Id certainly watch the videos of it. Thanks for enlightening me.
And should we just Appreciate that Merkur is and Danish car brand
Super cool!
We love those in Europe. In St. Petersburg there were many of them, but unfortunately then all have rotten out...
Are roads salted in Europe to prevent ice?
As much as I love everything about these cars, actually building/rebuilding one is a nightmare. We had one in my high school shop that we were building into a lemons car and finding parts proved to be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. By the time we actually got it moving under its own power (took about 3 years), I’m not sure there was much left of the original car other than the chassis. Even with a Chevy 305 under the hood, it was still a blast of a car to drive, though!
Maybe 5 years ago I saw a mint one at the local junk yard for sale for about 1.2k it was old but all original. If only I had known
I never knew the yanks got such a weird rebadged version. In the UK that'd sell for silly figures these days even in that state if only for restoration. The whaletail and wheels look in really good condition all things considered.
tbh this would be a fun project car ngl
I have a white '85. Parts availability makes them almost impossible to daily unless you retrofit a lot of custom stuff and swap to a T5 or better trans instead of the junky T9 it came with. That one doesn't look all that bad tbh. I'd buy it (us merkur owners do tend to horde them lol)
I had one. I liked it. It was alright.
Holy s it what a car i love those days!!!!
My dad had both this and a svo 85.5 foxbody. He still has booth of them
Ay no rust that’s a good start
I remember the Scorpio...a neighbor had one, growing up, and I always thought it was kinda cool. Even for a Ford product.
Don't think they offered the Sierra in Scorpio trim, they did offer the larger but similar looking Granada as a Scorpio though?
I had an xr4i the English version regretted selling it ever sence was a little modified but such a good car
I love this car
I remember passing on an immaculate 70k mile merkur for $1400. I went to go check it out and he couldn't believe how clean it was. I do regret it now, but at the time I was just wondering how I was gonna afford a new battery and tires to get it back on the road. Then again, I had to pass on a lot of nice cars around that time. 16-17 year old me was broke as a joke 😑
Nah, but the headlights look like a craftsman lawnmower💀
i just found one this week at my local. Darker red.
I see a merkur (probably the only one) from time to time on my way to and from work. I also see a sierra sitting in someone's driveway 👀
always wanted one! but I'm old, I'll go for the Scorpio!
If a Ford and Saab had a baby…
Reminds me of the Cosworth
Nice find, i have a sedan version of that but its under the ford sierra name
I wish I could put my hands on one of these
I dont think ive ever seen one of those. Crazy.
a really forgotten car is the boat-tail speedster
Damn, I didn't know the Ford Sierra was called that there
Some of these are in garages, waiting for the market to ripen for them, showing up at performance car shows, trade/swap meets.
D to Americas lack of interest in circuit and rally performance dynamics back then, many of them made it to the crusher.
Now we got the fox body
I was like, wtf is a Merkur, that's a Ford Sierra. Which is what they were branded as outside the US. They're actually still quite common in some areas where I'm from...
Get The Whole Thing If It Runs & Drives!
even if it does not
I would pick it immediately - I drive a 84 Fiesta L MK2 (base spec motor 957ccm) and would love to have something from that period especially from Ford with a bit more power.
But I live in Europe. 🤷 And our counterpart sells for big money.
80's at its peak
In Europe we know this car as the Ford Sierra XR4i, only the bumpers and lights are different.
Never seen one of those!!
Isn't this just a rebadged Ford Sierra?
It is
Yes, they didn’t use the sierra name in the USA because of the GM trucks with the sierra name
This needs to be save !
For once in the uk we got the better deal. Although check out south africas xr8 sierra!
these are worth a small fortune over in the UK
Cosworths yes, not so much the lesser spec ones, even the XR4x4 isn't really sought after.
This could've evolved into a cool sport compact. Missed opportunity
Could you maybe do a video a classic car that you find at the auction
thinking about how difficult parts for these could be 😵💫
nvm they share the same platform with the cosworth and parts are to an extent interchangeable
Jim Rome's crew was named after it
Those snow tires go hard
Those snow tires make me shudder at the thought of what the underbody looks like.
my dad has a red cosworth. theyre really cool cars tbh. hard to find tho
wish the ford escort exp had that drive train
Ive never seen headlights turn that color
If a foxbody mustang and a pontiac aztec had a baby...
looks like it's beyond restoring for the road, but if someone has enough time and resources, it could be turned into an awesome rally car...
Why? It looks pretty minty for a 30+yr old car.
I find Americans are funny on car resto shows, if it's got a smudge of rust they'll often say it's rotten and not worth restoring.
Try living in a country with a cold wet climate, cars rot out after 5 years or so.
BUY IT
I mean if its cheap thats probably one of the coolest cars for the buck, that you can get. Get it an intercooler and stiffer suspension and them take the boost up a notch (hoping its a stickshift, the automatic had less hp and just kinda sucks.).
Sad that I cant get one here wouöd love to put that engine in mine, or if the car is safeable, then mend and drive it.
Always wanted one, just priced out, can't get parts easily here in the States.
Would really never get to enjoy driving it.
Their mistake for not sending us the Cosworth RS instead
I'm wanting these as they are the American (kinda?) Version of the Ford Sierra
I never seen this i likeit
You need to buy it
this would be a cool project car if you have infinite patience and lots of money for hard to find parts
I have that same issue with my 02 Cougar daily, cool car that I love driving and want to keep on the road with how uncommon they're starting to get but them becoming uncommon means it's starting to get expensive to buy parts or find them in junkyards (at least where I live)
I spent a year hunting for a headlight because I didn't want to pay $175 for one on eBay
@@Karmy. as the owner of two rare mopars....I feel your pain. the tail lights of my 62 Chrysler imperial cost more then my first car.
I would buy that if it was Manual and fresh. I dont know how to sourse parts and/or repair it myself
there worth a good bit of money about 8k for that one in the uk
this looks like something out of a forza horizon barnfind
Never knew that Ford sierras where in USA
Looks kinda like a Ford Escort XR3 here in brazil
Shocking name for a car, not surprising it didn't do well.😂