The Merkur XR4Ti is a performance-oriented 3-door hatchback sold in North America from 1985 to 1989. A product of the Ford Motor Company, the car was a version of the European Ford Sierra adapted to U.S. regulations. The XR4Ti project was championed by Ford vice president Bob Lutz.
History
The Sierra was the successor to Ford of Europe's Cortina/Taunus and was developed while Lutz was chairman of Ford's European operations. Due to financial restrictions the decision was made to keep the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout of its predecessor and pursue improved fuel economy through advanced aerodynamics. The Probe III design study unveiled at the 1981 Frankfurt Motor Show indicated the direction Ford would take with the Sierra. Responsibility for the Sierra design was handled by vice president for design Uwe Bahnsen and chief stylist Patrick le Quément. The Sierra was released in Europe in September 1982, and the performance-oriented XR4i appeared in 1983, slotted into the lineup above the Fiesta-based XR2 and Escort-based XR3.
Lutz spearheaded the plan to bring a version of the XR4i to North America to compete with sporty luxury imports like BMW. Although the car would have to be modified his instructions were that the nature of the car not be compromised. The XR4 for America would be turbocharged, adding a `T' to its name while keeping the `i' indicating a fuel injected engine as in Europe. The `Sierra' name was not used in North America as it was already being used by General Motors for their GMC C/K Sierra pickup truck, and sounded too similar to the Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera.
With their own production lines occupied building Sierras for the European market, Ford contracted out assembly of the XR4Ti. Using body panels from Ford's factory in Genk, the cars were largely hand-built by Wilhelm Karmann GmbH in Rheine, Germany. The XR4Ti was introduced at a starting price of US$16,503 ().
Chief executive officer Pete Petersen decided that the car would be sold under the `Merkur' brand name. The name means `Mercury' in German, and tied the new brand in with the Lincoln-Mercury dealers through which the car would be available. Initially, 800 Lincoln-Mercury dealers enrolled to also become Merkur dealers.
Ford projected sales of 16,000 to 20,000 units per year. These targets were never met, although for the first two years they came close, with over 25,000 units sold. The car continued to struggle to establish its identity in the North American market, both with the public and with dealers.
The increasingly unfavorable dollar/Deutschmark exchange rate put upward pressure on price. By the late 1980s the XR4Ti was facing a redesign to comply with incoming safety regulations in the US. Ford dropped the `Merkur' name in 1988, and began to refer to their two European imports by their model names only. Sales dropped off very rapidly after 1986, so that in its last year fewer than 3,000 XR4Tis were sold. 1989 was the last year for the XR4Ti.
The XR4Ti was the last vehicle imported by Ford into North America from Germany until 2016, when the Ford Focus RS was introduced.
Body, chassis, suspension
The XR4Ti kept the 3-door semi-notchback hatchback body style of the XR4i, including the European version's triple side-window profile and bi-plane rear spoiler. The lower body was clad in polycarbonate `anti-abrasion' panels that were matte grey in the early cars. The car recorded a drag coefficient () of 0.328.
The unibody chassis of the European Ford Sierra was modified to meet US safety requirements. The floorpan had reliefs added to accommodate catalytic converters. Side intrusion beams were added to the two doors and the bumpers were stretched to meet US impact requirements. To accommodate the engine for the US-spec car the XR4Ti also received a taller hood. Altogether 850 unique parts were developed for the car destined for the US and Canada, and all of the changes added approximately to the weight.
Suspension was independent front and back. The front suspension comprised Macpherson struts with concentric coil springs and lower lateral links triangulated by an anti-roll bar. The rear suspension used semi-trailing arms with coil springs ahead of the axle half-shafts and shock absorbers behind. An anti-roll bar was also fitted at the rear. Spring rates were softened compared to the XR4i based on feedback from Jackie Stewart, who had been brought in as both a development tester and spokesman for the car. Steering was by a power-assisted rack and pinion with 3.6 turns lock-to-lock. Brakes were disks in front and drums at rear. The car had a two-piece driveshaft and used a giubo as a torsional damper.