Ford’s bold Edsel experiment is a story that the company would probably prefer to erase from its history books. It attempted a repeat performance in the 1980s when it launched the Merkur, destined for its Lincoln-Mercury showrooms. As with the Edsel, the Merkur failed to meet the company’s sales projections. The biggest difference was that this time Ford hadn’t torn up hundreds of millions of dollars in the process. This 1988 Merkur XR4Ti is a wonderful survivor. It presents exceptionally well, and the turbocharged four under the hood delivers surprisingly strong performance. I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Rocco B. for spotting the Merkur listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Greenville, North Carolina. The seller set their price for this gem at $10,000 OBO.
Launched in 1985, the Merkur XR4Ti was a Euro-sourced high-performance model destined for Lincoln-Mercury showrooms. Based on the Ford Sierra, the company reengineered the vehicles to meet North American safety requirements and road conditions. It wasn’t the sales success the company anticipated, and it remained available for only five years. This 1988 example is a spotless survivor that looks stunning in Rosso Red. The seller states that it features the Monochromatic Appearance Package, originally introduced in 1987. Color-matching the lower body cladding on cars finished in certain paint shades gave those vehicles a more integrated appearance. The listing images suggest that this XR4Ti has led a sheltered life. The paint shines richly, there are no panel dings or dents, and the seller states that this garage-kept gem is rust-free. The tinted glass is excellent, and the wheels are spotless. This car scores extra points for its optional tilt-and-slide glass Moonroof.
The body-hugging bucket seats confirm the Merkur’s performance leanings, providing excellent lateral support during hard cornering. The XR4Ti was marketed as a premium model, and Ford ensured the interior equipment reflected its stature. Buyers received air conditioning, power windows, power locks, heated power mirrors, a rear window defogger, a sports gauge cluster, and a premium four-speaker AM/FM radio/cassette player. This car’s Red exterior is combined with the “standard” Raven and Shadow Gray cloth trim. The interior images are limited, but the lack of wear on the outer seat bolsters is extremely encouraging. The wheel is in good condition, and there is no evidence of cracks in the dash.
Although turbocharging was not a new phenomenon in North America, the XR4Ti delivered surprising performance from a relatively small motor. The 1988 Sales Brochure confirms that its 2.3-liter fuel-injected four pumped out 175hp and 200 ft/lbs of torque. Buyers could opt for a three-speed automatic transmission, but this car features the more desirable five-speed manual. The Sales Brochure doesn’t just quote power and torque; it states that this car should leap from 0-60mph in 7.8 seconds. The seller recently replaced the ball joints, fuel pump, and spark plugs. This Merkur has 47,400 miles on the clock, and appears to be a turnkey proposition.
Ford initially projected sales of approximately 16,000 to 20,000 units per year for the Merkur XR4Ti, and while the initial figures looked positive, the downward spiral was pretty dramatic. Production fell into four-figure territory in 1987, and only 6,283 buyers would hand over their cash in 1988. A further drop in 1989 was the last straw, with Ford discontinuing the Merkur at the end of the year. This 1988 XR4Ti is a wonderful survivor, though the seller’s price is at the market’s top end. However, with values for high-end examples climbing steadily, the seller’s price isn’t unprecedented for a car of this caliber. Their optimism may explain why this classic has been on the market for nine weeks. Do you think they may need to compromise for this turbocharged classic to find a new home?
If this is as pristine as it looks, $10k seems reasonable. Maybe people are scared off by the availability of parts, which can’t be too great. These were sharp cars back then and still look great today
It is not pristine, many things like the speedometer is not working which makes the mileage incorrect, gas gauge, tach, temp gauge, a/c not working. Dash is warped. That is what you can see, it will need more also.
Great article Mr. Adam Clarke!! Great find Rocco B.!! My friend’s classmate had one, and I thought it was super cool!! This was in the early 1990s!! I agree with JDC!! The price seems reasonable!! Please think, if this was a Mustang SVO in this condition, it would be quite a bit more expensive, and the Merkur XR4Ti is fairly similar to the Mustang SVO!!
In 1988 a V8 Mustang was cheaper and gave much better thrills, plus a lot purtier. Mamma Ford dropped the ball here. Coming from me, that means a lot. I eat, sleep, and breath Ford.
Actually, this is much nicer looking than a Mustang SVO!
I eat, sleep and breathe Ford too and I want one of these!
The Sierra Cosworth/XR4i was a giant leap forward in both technical aerodynamics and performance. The Sierra Cossie went on the become the winningest race car in history, winning 85% of the races it entered and would absolutely trounce a V8 Mustang from the period. Think of this; A Sierra RS500 Cosworth produced upwards of 560 horsepower from it’s 2.0L turbo motor… IN 1987! No manufacturer could even touch it. So fast was the Sierra Cossie, it became the favorite of UK bank robbers. When you had a Cossie, nobody could catch you. Granted, in the US, Bob Lutz hampered affairs buy forcing the 175hp 2.3L Turbo mill down our throats, essentially ruining the car for US buyers. That is my I just imported a Moonstone Blue Sierra RS Cosworth out of Italy. It arrives in 45 days… can’t wait to drive it.
Hardly.
Too bad there is no “biplane” rear spoiler. Any XR4ti should have one!
THAT’S what’s missing. I couldn’t figure out why it didn’t quite look “right”.
These lost the biplane spoilers with the ’88 update, along with a larger rear window. To revert to the biplane spoiler, you’d need to replace the entire rear hatch along with it.
The first owner must’ve taken it off. I’ve never seen one without it. Maybe you could’ve deleted it when you ordered it. Either which way, this is a nice one. Someone will definitely enjoy it. GLWTS.
No for 1988 and 1989 they went to a single spoiler.
IIRC the XR4Ti dropped the very European bi-plane spoiler in 88. Very sad, too, because that droopy single wing looked almost out of place on the deck lid.
When these were new I thought they looked awkward. Now I can see they were ahead of their time. If this was any closer I’d give it a look. I never liked the double spoiler though, thought it was gimmicky.
You’d love the rear spoiler on this car’s cousin, the Sierra Cosworth.
This car is not turnkey. It is TMU, true miles unknow as the speedometer is not working, The fuel gauge is not working, the tach is not working, the temp gauge reads to low. The a/c is not working. Who knows what else is wrong with it. No pictures of the headliner which usually sag or have water damage from the sunroof leaking. The dash is warped as usually. Electrical issues plague this car.
I can see what you mean about the gauges in the video the seller posted. Have you seen the car? Do you know what else is wrong with it?
I have owned 2 of them. Dash warping, door panel material shrinking, usually water leaks in these vehicles. I have not seen it, but they are not reliable especially, and who knows how many miles are really on it.
Looking up the specs on these, the biplane spoiler was deleted for 1988 models and replaced with what we see here.
Great find! These were similar to TBird turbo coupe? They were more common and popular. The Mercury Ford SA sheetmetal and parts may be rare and hard to find?
But exactly why were they not popular ?
The look ? The price ?
Anyone ?
Look, price, couldn’t pronounce mare coor properly. Pick your poison.
Apropos of nothing, I remember the dealers/salemen calling them ‘Merkers’ instead of the actual pronounciation, ‘Mare-coor’.
Nice car, tho!
Put the RS500 front on ut, tweak the 2.3 and track it. These in Sierra form were one of the most popular Ford models ever sold (outside of ‘merica) and were capable of taking on M3’s and Merc’s in DTM.
Scott Pruett was driver in rhe IMSA days, but the Cosworth cars were hot. Ford Sierra RS Cosworth – Wikipedia https://share.google/uFPCj4iMNaJN9nz03
These are very cool cars!! Don’t think many people knew about these…
Lovely looking car. I haven’t seen one like this in a long time. IMHO, it was the best looking car with the Merkur name.
The Ford Credit office in Mt Laurel, NJ had a small fleet of white ones back then. Surplus, unsold cars?
I bought from the first shipment to the States, a black one that was on the floor at my local Lincoln-Mercury dealer. The sales people had no idea what this car was, and the art of the deal included derailing an ADM. Those first cars were hand-built at the Karmann factory, and mine was back in the shop several times for a/c issues. The service department was not happy about this furrin model though, only one tech went to Mare-koor school, and valve stem seals needed a few replacements, even under warranty.
Later on, the turbo sleeves coked up even though Ford added water-cooling to the Brazilian-sourced engine. they offrred to sell me a replacement turbo, I think about $1100 at the time. However, Russ Harness was trying to support the model at Rapido Motors, along the SVO and shipped me a turbo rebuild kit that was offered by Ford Motorcraft. Fixed. Russ also sold me a BW T5, flywheel housing and most of the hardware to replace the parts bin transmission: they used the Capri 4 speed and tacked on a 5th gear like an overdrive on the back. It would sometimes pop out of gear on lift-off and I took to using a bungi cord to hold it in 5th until I did the replacement.
The final straw was the CEO of Ford: we were at Sears Point at Ford’s invitation: there was a Merkur in the Trans-Am and Edsel Ford was telling us, in 1988, that Ford would not abandon us. They did. My next dozen cars, and any in the future will not be FoMoCo. Sorry, Pinto, they lied.
Similar engine in the SVO and the 87-88T bird. The euro sierra had a bi wing but was supposed to have a tri wing which increased down force substantially.
The turbo 2.3 is a strong engine and modifiable for even more power. This one is beautiful.
Cool to see these now and then. Looks amazing in red.
Same engine as the SVO ‘stang in 1986. These were just a bit homely for the go fast set, but good performance for a Dad with Mom & a kid, until the mini-van was needed a few years later.