For a car that had the potential to be a market success, circumstances contrived to see the Merkur XR4Ti actually wind up being something of a failure. This was a shame, as the potential was certainly there, but a high purchase price virtually sealed the car’s fate from day one. This 1987 model is a relatively tidy car that is in need of a cosmetic refresh. It is located in Dana Point, California, and is listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding is currently sitting at $1,050, and the reserve hasn’t been met.

Although often referred to as a Ford, that wasn’t the case for this particular car in North America. In Europe, it was built and marketed as the Ford Sierra, but this was a name that could not be used by Ford in the US. Instead, the decision was made to brand the car as the “Merkur,” which is the German translation of the word Mercury. The car was envisaged to compete in the US with brands such as BMW and was sold through Lincoln-Mercury dealerships. Ford stated that they would need to sell around 25,000 cars per annum for the exercise to be viable, but the Merkur fell well short of the mark. This particular XR4Ti looks to be in quite reasonable condition. The paint is showing its age in a few spots, and the car would definitely benefit from a repaint. The body itself is straight, with no obvious signs of rust. The most glaringly obvious flaw with the Merkur is the state of the headlight, which are very matte and discolored. I suspect that these have deteriorated beyond the point of no return, and will need to be replaced. I did a bit of scouting around on the internet, and with very little effort I was able to locate a NOS pair of complete headlights for just under $350, so they can still be found. Some of the lower body moldings are also starting to come loose, but these could be fixed at the same time that the car undergoes a repaint.

The early versions of the Merkur were very prone to cracking dashes, but by 1987, this problem had been largely overcome. That is a blessing for this particular car, as the dash has survived quite nicely. In fact, looking around the car’s interior reveals some real positives. The carpet has recently been professionally cleaned, and while it doesn’t look like new, it still looks pretty good. The front seats now wear new leather and vinyl covers, which are a match for what was originally fitted. The back seat looks new, and the interior has done a good job of avoiding the plague of discolored plastic that can haunt cars of this era. The only real issue that needs addressing is the fact that the factory air conditioning doesn’t work. Otherwise, you get a factory sunroof, a cassette player, power windows, power locks, and power exterior mirrors.

The XR4Ti really marked the start of Ford’s quest to squeeze as much power as possible out of a 4-cylinder engine through the use of turbocharging. This quest for power in the Merkur/Sierra line culminated in the fire-breathing Sierra RS500, which could pump out 600hp in race trim from its 2-liter engine. For the XR4Ti, power output from the 2,301cc 4-cylinder engine was far more modest, but 175hp is still pretty decent in anyone’s language. This is fed to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual transmission. Power front disc brakes were all part of the package, along with power steering. The owner purchased the car in 2017 and says that it has a genuine 79,000 miles on the clock. He also says that it has recently had some work performed on the steering and that it runs and drives well.

When the Merkur XR4Ti was released, the target was to sell 25,000 cars per year. This is a target that the car never came close to meeting, and in 1987, only 7,352 cars rolled out of showrooms across the nation. This sealed the Merkur’s fate, with the car fading into history by the end of 1989. High prices and mixed reviews did the car enormous amounts of damage, and all went to prove that a car that was a sales success in Europe didn’t necessarily cater adequately to the tastes and hip pockets of the American buying public. Today, a really nice example can be found for around the $6,000 mark. The owner says that the reserve on this one is low, so it could be that the next owner could buy this Merkur, treat it to a repaint, and still come out with an affordable classic that makes financial sense.