1987 Merkur XR4Ti: Regular Car Reviews

Опубликовано 25 мая 2026, 12:01

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I have a new favorite car, and it’s the 1987 Merkur XR4Ti! On this episode of Regular Car Reviews, Ford’s unexpected luxury gem enters the Race to the Bottom, only to find itself aiming for a spot in my Top 5. Based on the Ford Sierra and masterminded by automotive genius Bob Lutz, the Merkur XR4Ti is one of the most ambitious cars of the 1980s, as it tried to launch an entirely new European-style American luxury brand. It was a good idea and an even better car to launch it with…so what went wrong? What’s the story behind this gloriously absurd, turbocharged, manual transmission American luxury car built by Germans and sold in Lincoln-Mercury dealerships that had no clue how to sell them? What’s with this weird design geometry? And how does this German hot hatch handle all that turbocharged power? Let’s get this show on the road!

The original 1987 Merkur XR4Ti listing on Cars & Bids: carsandbids.com/auctions/rEQkM...

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Timestamps:
00:00 How to sell the 1987 Merkur XR4Ti
02:26 Lasfit sponsor
04:10 That time Ford got weird
08:28 This car is amazing
13:46 Why Merkur failed
20:03 Does this make my Top 5?

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