The XR4Ti

In its era,the first Merkur imported was a car that could do it all.

Luxurious features such as moonroof, heated seats, power windows and locks, and standard AM/FM stereo system along with cutting-edge ergonomic design for the time,and seating for 4,made it equally easy and pleasurable to take long tours along country roads or simply get the kids to hockey practice.

The car also had a versatile hatchback with fold-down seats. With the seats down, the compartment was big enough to fit a ten-speed bicycle in the back of the car, or for a grown man to lie down -- no one could complain about the usable space in the car.

The design, futuristic for its time and considered to be peculiar by the public at that time, looks fairly tame now, and yields a sleek drag coefficient of 0.32.

And it did all this while being the fastest car in the world in its class at that time ... and built to be driven that way.

Yet the turbocharged engine meant economical gas mileage when the car was not under boost.

Saddled with a difficult name (eXperimental Racing, 4 series, Turbo, advanced Injection system) because its European name (Sierra) was already in use here, it was difficult to pronounce but easy to drive.

 

 

1986 Merkur XR4Ti Specifications
Vehicle	Front Engine, rear wheel drive, 2+2 passenger coupe
Engine	inline overhead cam, turbocharged 4 cylinder, water cooled, Thin wall cast iron block and heads
Displacement	2.3 liters/140 cu in.
Compression ratio	8.1 to 1
Turbocharger	Garrett TO3B 15.0 boost
Power (SAE)	175 bhp @5,000 rpm (5 speed) 145 bhp @4,400 rpm (automatic)
Torque (SAE)	200 ft.lbs. @3,000 rpm (5 speed) 180 ft.lbs @3,000 rpm (automatic)
0-60 mph	7.8 seconds
Mileage	5 speed 24 hwy/19 city automatic 22 hwy/18 city
Cargo space (cu. ft.)	rear seat up:17.1 rear seat down: 35.7