From 1985 to 1989, Ford utilized the Merkur brand to target European luxury car shoppers. However, rather than build new vehicles to sell in North America under the Merkur brand, The Blue Oval instead adapted European models for that purpose – the XR4Ti and Scorpio. Though it received solid reviews, the Merkur Scorpio didn’t stick around for long – and neither did the XR4Ti – but the defunct brand has its fair share of fans, not to mention parts support. Now, anyone in the market for one has the chance to bring home this stellar example of a Merkur XR4Ti.
This 1985 Merkur XR4Ti is up for auction at Bring a Trailer with just 19k miles on the clock, and it remained in the possession of the original owner until 2022. Now, it’s up for grabs with very nice Regency Red Metallic paint contrasted by gray lower cladding, and according to the auction listing, there are just a few blemishes present there. The Merkur XR4Ti is quite unique otherwise, largely thanks to its biplane hatch spoiler, a rather famous feature many enthusiasts are quite familiar with.
Inside the cabin, this XR4Ti features gray leather seats that are heated up front, along with appointments such as air conditioning, a digital clock, a cassette stereo, plus power windows. There is some discoloration on the rear center armrest, the headliner, and sunroof shade, plus a split seam on the driver’s seat, however.
Power for this Merkur comes from the turbocharged 2.3L SOHC inline-four cylinder engine, originally rated to produce 175 horsepower and 200 pound-feet of torque. That power flows to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox.
We haven’t seen another Merkur XRTi up for auction in the U.S. in quite some time, underscoring how rare of an opportunity this is – particularly given this model’s low mileage total. However, we did. come across a very nice 1989 Scorpio recently with just 20k miles on the clock, too.
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