MERKURS XR4Ti

This is what I really what'd to do. The only problem that I have is that there is so much to say about these cars. I can start off with the Merkur since I now own one and I know a lot about them. I really didn't know much about this car until I seen it in European Car Magazine. This is the best magazine out there if you really like Euro cars. Anyway, they had a picture of the Merkur all done up. It looked really good, but something was different about that car. I had to buy it. I started reading about the car and I even called the guy that actually owns it. This would be the first time I would find out what these cars could really do. Even though FORD didn't do a good job at marketing these cars lots of people now are looking for them. They were introduced in 1985 selling at around $20,000. They are very cheap to buy today, about $1500+ starting for an 85 model. If you are gonna buy one of these cars I recommend that you buy a 87+. I'll explain this later, but if you find an 85 in mint condition and has not been abused. Go for it! The one thing that really stands out about these cars ( besides the BIG wing on the back ) is that most 85 models still have no rust. Theses car just do not rust easily.

MERKURS

SIERRA RS-COSWORTH

Lets look under the hood of the Merkur. First time you see the car you will notice the model number of the car. It's known as the XR4Ti. The XR stands for Experimental Racing, 4 series number, T is for the turbo, I is for Ford first advanced injection system. This is one of the only cars that have a turbo but know intercooler. Not sure why...it would have made sense to add one. They did for the SVO, but not the Merkur. Yes the SVO Mustang had the same motor and it kicked out about 30 extra horses. If you have one of these cars and would like to know how to modify them, just hit the links of the company name. These are one of the first cars to have separate electronic fuel injectors running from Fords famous EEC-IV system.

Most Euro cars learn forward and you can really see this in the Murker. The rear of the car is situated like that because of the large BI-wing on the back. Now this wing is not there just for looks. It has a purpose. It was designed in a wind tunnel to measure the best downforce pressure for this vehicle. Not as big a wing as set on the RS Cosworths.

The first problem that they came across was that there was already a vehicle over here in North America that had the Sierra name. One of General Motors trucks. Ford had to come up with a name for their new car. They came up with the name MERKUR because they decided that their Mercury dealers were going to host these cars. What does Merkur mean? Merkur means mercury in German. That was simple. Now that Ford had a name for their car, they had another problem

The second problem they had was the motor. Now Ford really loved this motor. After all it was the motor that was winning all the Euro Touring Car races and not to mention dominating the rally seen also. They just loved the fact that these cars with their little 2.0L Turbo motors were killing the competition, mainly BMW. From all the articles that I've read about these cars entering in to the races, people were scared when these cars hit the track. What scared them most was that Ford didn't disclose a lot of the figures for this car. The comptition only knew that if they increased the horse power of their cars. Ford would make theirs stronger! The 2.0L Cosworth motor is one of the most versatile motor out there. From 245bhp to 700bhp. What a difference!Well now back to the problem. Ford could see that they were gonna have a hard time keeping this car together. The regulations are different in North America then they are in Europe. Still today it is different. Ford had a problem with dealing with the emissions that the car gave out. ( Not that European cars give off more emissions ). The European motor lost about 10-15bhp with a catalytic converter involved. As you can see, by modifying the exhaust it would greatly cause problems with power for this car. The 2.0L DOHC Turbo motor kicked out 245 horses stock. Now you tell me how many cars do you know that kick out that much horse power at only 2.0L. It's only been in the last couple of years now that you've probable seen a car like that. Namely the Honda VTec motor ( but it is a V6 )or their new R-Type which is a 4 cylinder 160bhp none turbo. Honda has always been small leter motors. Anyway Ford had to find a motor for this car and the did. The Sierra had a brother in Brazil that had a motor that was perfect for this car. This introduces the Merkurs 2.3L SOHC Turbo kicking out 170 horse stock. This motor was originally none turbo, but Ford wanted to keep the power range of this car high. Now this stock horse power is not really right. It was reduced to this for marketing reason, mainly to protect the Mustang image. One of Fords top men who followed this car was very mad at this. He didn't like the fact that other people were making this car into a cat and not keeping it as a tiger. He was the one that fought to keep this car together ( I will not say his name ). Now that Ford knew what motor they wanted they decided that it will continue to be built in Brazil. This motor is built out of solid iron making it very durable and hard to break. You can run the engine up to redline and never have to worry about it exploding. Drive this car on the highway and you'll see what I mean. Also just like the Cosworth engine, it could be mortified very easily to produce up to 600bph+.

Now to the third problem Ford had. This car is low to the ground, but this is not the problem. That problem was solved with the introduction of the Honda Civic in the 1980s. Now we all have to thank Honda for this. They fought and spent the money to change the law so that we could have low riding cars. Until Honda came around, American cars were high of the ground. Just look at the old pictures. Anyway Ford had a problem with the front bumper of the car. The problem was that the bumper was to lite. So Ford had to construct a bumper for these cars, they also added side door guards. Well by the time Ford finished with the changes, the car was not the same. Especially in weight. The European version of the car came in at around 2000lbs, the American version, 2800lbs. The car got really heavy.

If you were to see these 2 cars side by side you might notice the difference between the two. The Merkur's pointy bumper; the Sierra's smooth front. The Merkur's double back-side windows; the Sierra's single window. The Merkur's smaller BI-wing; the Sierra's very large bi-wing. The Merkur's SOHC engine; the Sierra's DOHC engine. Everything else looks the same except the interior, but I'm not gonna talk about that. Why? Because there is not much of a difference. Here are some more pictures.....

Cosworth and Ford came together in 1985 for the making of the Sierra RS Cosworth. The Sierra comes in many different engine types, but none was as fast as the RS was. The Sierra came also in as a V6 and a V8. Those 2 engines were not sold in Britain. Still today the most common car sold in Europe is the Ford. Ford of Europe still makes this engine but it is not together with Cosworth anymore. The fastest Merkur on the planet is in the U.S. and it was clocked at 207m/h owned by Rick Byrnes. Lots of companies make parts for this car. Some to maintain, others to make it fast. One of the first companies on the scene was the Rapido Group and they are still here. You can get everything that you need for the Merkur to make it move faster and to make it look like it was suppose to. Just remember that the 2.3L engine can push out well over 350 horses without any damage. The 2.0L engine can be mortified to push out well over 450 horses. From the first day that this car was introduced, companies have jumped up all over the place. Even private builders have had their go at it. The number one reason that so many people liked to play with this car was, " This car has one of the most strongest chassis around. It just does not bend or twist". This is one of the reasons that the Sierra was introduced to the world of Rally Racing. Just like it dominated the touring car races it dominated the rally races also. In 1987 Ford introduced the Merkur Scorpio. This car was not as fast as the XR4Ti but it had a lot of little toys. For one, it was fully power everything and had a 2.8L V6. It did not sell very well either do to poor marketing. It was a 4 door hatchback that only came in automatic.

The Cosworths only came in 3 colors of black, white, and silver. The Merkurs came in 6 colors of gray, blue, silver, white, red and black. The RS500 only came in black and there was really only 500 of these special edition cars made. Today a real RS500 cost about 27,000-34,000 pounds or almost $65,000can/$55,000us. No Merkurs have louvers on their hoods, but they should. All Sierras have these engine savers. The heat that turbo engines give off, are very high. Just check the louvers on Porches. Without louvers on the Merkur you have to make sure that you take really good care of the coolant. The are special flacks under the bumper help push air on to the rad. If these are damaged they must be replaced a.s.a.p. Or you run the risk of overheating..and that's not fun. Advise...The Merkur does very well at cooling it's self as long as the flacks are taken care of, but if you decide to add louvers to the hood of this car, or any car, make sure it is done by a professional. Water and electronics just don't mix.

By 1989 Ford had stopped making this car because of bad sales. It was replaced by the Capri, but then the Capri was replaced by the new model Probe. Now to date...The Probe is now replaced by the new Ford Focus. If you have noticed Ford gives up very easily. Check...Do they still sell any of these cars?...NO! The RS Cosworths were stopped in 1990 after Cosworth split from Ford to do more work on space projects. This is when the big name of MOSPORT or MOTOR SPORT came into play. Mosport has been working on perfecting the Mustangs and BMW for years. As you can see, they have done a good job. To bad they couldn't make the Mustang handle like a Cosworth. It would make that car unbeatable, but because of the big motor and the lite back of the Mustang..they just can't hug the road no matter how low you drop the car, but enough about the Mustang. This page is not about that car. If you are looking for a car the has the Cosworth name still on it...You might look into the Ford Focus Cosworth. All you'll have to do if you live in North America is bug Ford to bring this car. You will really love this car. It is set up to beat the competition. Just look at the rally races today. Yes! If you didn't know...The Ford Cosworth Focus or Ford Focus Cosworth is wining the rallies just like it's older brother the Sierra RS Cosworth and then Escort RS Cosworth....Here are some pictures of the Escort RS Cosworth...

Well this page is done. If you want to know more about the Merkurs or Cosworths, e-mail me with your questions and comments. I might add more to the section later as I might rewrite some of the information. Now its time to introduce the 1999 BOC champ, Rick Ridelle. Continue to the Volvo page.

This is me with my 1985 Merkur. It was in perfect condition before I lost it to a very big tree. No...I didn't hit the tree...the tree decided that it wanted to fall on my car. That tree really made me mad. So this page is dedicated to my car....funny right. Not to me. Just like the Mustang is some peoples baby, this Merkur was my baby.

This is a picture of a RS-500 Desk Top Ready