Classic cars described as museum finds are typically beautifully presented vehicles with no significant needs. This 1988 Merkur XR4Ti breaks that mold because it is dusty, dirty, and covered in leaf litter. The seller is its second owner, believing its revival should be straightforward. There is no visible rust, and considering the surprising performance these cars provide, it is worth a close look.
Ford introduced the Merkur XR4Ti to its model range for the 1985 model year. It was effectively a version of its European Sierra, which the company re-engineered to comply with local regulations. It was considered radical, with aerodynamic styling and surprising performance. The most significant difference between the Merkur and the Sierra was that these cars were virtually hand-built by a third-party manufacturer. Sadly, that made them comparatively expensive, limiting their appeal to the buying public. The seller claims they are this car’s second owner, becoming its custodian around four years ago. It looks like it hasn’t moved or received any attention since, meaning the buyer may face a long list of tasks before it resumes its rightful place on our roads. The Red paint might be presentable below the dust, and the only visible panel damage is a spot on one front fender. However, some lower body moldings hang loose, and the plastic looks tired. There is no evidence of rust, although it is worth checking the steel hidden under the trim. Dust and moisture can accumulate in those areas, which is a recipe for problems. The glass is in good order, and the seller includes the car’s original wheels.
Once we examined the interior, we can not doubt the Merkur’s performance leanings. Body-hugging bucket seats and a turbo boost gauge confirm that this isn’t your average family shopping trolley. It makes a positive first impression, and the lack of visible wear suggests a deep clean would make a significant difference. The seats and carpet look respectable for their age, and most of the plastic is presentable. However, the buyer’s greatest challenge will undoubtedly be the badly cracked dashpad. These are difficult to find, and even decent secondhand ones aren’t cheap. The new owner might consider repairs using a product like Polyvance. Alternatively, caps retail for around $270. The most affordable solution would be a $70 cover, working on the “out of sight, out of mind” philosophy.
It is disappointing that the seller supplies no engine photos because we can tell a lot about a classic from the state of its engine bay. The XR4Ti was a surprise packet, producing class-leading performance. The company equipped these classics with the turbocharged 2.3-liter “Lima” four delivered 175hp and 200 ft/lbs of torque. Buyers could select an automatic transmission, but this car’s first owner chose the more desirable five-speed manual. The ability to cover the ¼-mile in 15.6 seconds was impressive for a vehicle of this type, but not as impressive as its ability to hit 134mph. The seller provides no information on this classic’s mechanical health beyond confirming an odometer reading of 141,000 miles. It is unclear when it last fired a shot in anger, although they feel revival should be straightforward. My instinct tells me that negotiating an in-person inspection might be wise.
The seller listed this 1988 Merkur XR4Ti here on Facebook Marketplace in St. George, Utah. They state they are pretty firm on their price of $6,500, although the small amount of doubt that statement conveys suggests there might be some room to move if someone stands in front of them with a fistful of cash. Values have swung wildly during the past few years, and these cars probably don’t represent a solid long-term investment. However, if a smaller car providing surprising performance appeals, it could be worth a close look.
Bring A Bucket. Add Some Soap.
And make sure everything on the car works like they should.
The thing I remember most about mine is all the warning lights coming on intermittently going down the road. It was a real headache.
Edward, mine looked like a Christmas Tree with all the flashing lights when I traded it. I told the sales guy to distance himself from that car as quickly as possible. He said that it was headed out to auction.
This is a forgotten gem. If I had room….
Missouri tags but in Utah?
In the UK that is the Sierra XR4i but it came with a 2.8 V6 which was a much nicer engine. However the dash tops still cracked ! These cars are fetching good money these days which makes me sad when I consider I let my old one go for peanuts !
A junk yard can be seen as some sort of a museum, too
I want to know what the car is in front of the Merkur’s passenger side front fender!
It has a British licence plate and according to the UK government website, where you can look up the annual mechanical check (MOT test) it’s a Fiat 126 first registered in 1984.
Do an internet search for pictures, it looks OK with the top down but fugly with it up.
Apparently the convertible version was made by the German company POP in the early 1990s.
Think that could be a Fiat 126 with some sort of custom half-cabriolet conversion?
Yes, that’s exactly what it is. As well as the roof being sliced off, the engine cover has been extended upwards and the rear lamps have been replaced with some aftermarket items.
Vehicle make FIAT
Date of first registration March 1984
Year of manufacture 1984
Cylinder capacity 652 cc
Had one in 86 after I left the army, awesome little car!! Although I am not a Furd fan, this little car was the exception. Mine was black with charcoal interior. Had a blast with it!!!
Is this dirty cars for sale week?
When you go to marketplace, it says it’s in burbank California. Likely a scam attempt.
2 words, too much.
I bought one the first batch in 1985, the pilot batch built by Karmann. Mercury Sales had no idea how to deal with this car, a precursor to the skills of the service department. We had a Sierra rental in Europe a year before so this was a logical transition; the size/comfort was great. There were some…shortfalls though. Of course the a/c died in the middle of summer and I had to persuade the dealer to strip an in-stock car for a new condenser and compressor. The combo of a peaky turbo and TTO tendencies made for occasional 90° to 180° spins, whoopie! The other downer was the transmission: Ford sourced the 4 speed they put in the Capri, tacked a fifth overdrive unit on the back. It wasn’t designed for the torque and would pop out of fifth gear on throttle lift: I used a bungie cord to hold it in place! Local dealers could not fix it, I replaced it with BW T-5 and flywheel housing the Russ Harness of Rapido Motors was offering.
OTOH, it could be a nice weekend Cars and Coffee candidate, that double back wing is still distinctive. GLWS.
PS: I’m not sure that the “134mph” is valid. I seemed to be topped out at an indicated ~125mph on an evening run south of SanFran next to a Mustang SVO. Maybe the two-wing design downforce slowed me up.
I really love these,but would never buy one that wasn’t
properly sorted & maintained.
When our 41,000 mile Cortina MKII 2 door Deluxe got
totaled,I looked into buying one of these.The club websites
that I looked at basically said “Everything that can go wrong-
will”.
Honestly, not even worth half f the asking price.
If there is no rust on bottom and under moldings. You be hard pressed to make very little money out of it after restoring. If rust you will be under water for sure.
Had two of these in early 90s plus a Scorpio. All awesome cars
Unbelievable that the guy wouldn’t even wash it before taking pictures.
Right? I don’t get it. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it should be washed and cleaned out.
Jim Rome’s must be left every time a Merkur is posted for sale.
????
Google Jim Rome Merkur….it’s a great story
If it wasn’t worth washing and vacuuming before the pics it sure as hell ain’t worth $6500.
I remember when the Merkur was first intro’d to the US market. I thought it was an awesome looking car. The only thing I would’ve changed would be the name. “Merkur”? What the hell is Merkur? If they called it a “Mercury”, or possibly a “Ford”, I think people might’ve been more willing to buy it. I know I would’ve.
In hindsight, Ford probably should have just canceled or renamed the Fox-body Mercury Capri, so they could revive using Capri as a well-recognized submarque for sporty imported Euro Fords sold through Mercury dealers, rather than inventing the hard-to-pronounce Merkur brand with zero name recognition. They could even use the same Lincoln-esque logo they designed for Merkur and have it simply say Capri instead.
Then, as with the original Capri imports, this model would have started out badged as simply a Capri (no other marque or model), then later they might give it more specific model designation (maybe just XR4, as XR4Ti was too much alphabet-soup) when they added a sedan model as the Capri Scorpio. Mazda-built captive-import Mercury models such as the first-gen Tracer and the final Capri roadster (badged as, say, a Capri Barchetta or XR2?) could have slotted in as well, to expand Capri into a full-line captive-import marque.
Love that the speedometer has markings up to 150 but stopped counting at 85. Kind of a finger in the eye of US regulators.
I was a tech at Lincoln Mercury when these were new. Really tight car that handled like it was on rails. I preferred the automatics as the torque convertor allowed the engine boost to remain high while accelerating. Only problem as I recall was they used the C-3 non overdrive trans, which was a weak unit compared to the C-4. I would be embarrassed to sell a car looking like that. Way overpriced.
Needs a good cleaning and an in-person inspection, but has potential. The driver’s-side door fit looks questionable, though. Be careful, while it could just be a case of loose trim fooling the eye in the pictures, it could also be evidence of impact damage! Caveat Emptor!
I agree.
If that a Museum find, I would hate to see the ones they park out back.