Competitors
The Cars
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1985 Merkur XR4Ti
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Team:
The Panach Rally Team -
Division:
Targa -
Driver:
Ian Glyn-Jones - Font Hill, Ontario, Canada -
Co-Driver:
Mike MCCreight -
Description:
This has been built as a close replica of the famous Sierra RS Cosworth that won the 1988 WRC Tour DeCourse driven by Didier Auriol. This was to be Didier’s first WRC victory and the first & only WRC victory for the Sierra although it was highly successful in other Rally’s around the world.
The Sierra RS, & latter the RS500, were practically unbeatable in touring racing!
The North American version of the Ford Sierra was the XR4Ti which had the very same 2.3 lt. 4 cylinder engine used in the Mustang SVO & Thunderbird Turbocoupe.
The XR4Ti also had a very successful racing history in Europe & America.
In Europe, Andy Rouse campaigned the XR4Ti, mainly for testing purposes in preparation for the up-coming Sierra Cosworth, winning the championship in both years the XR4Ti was run.
In America, The XR4Ti was campaigned by Jack Roush in both the Trans-Am & IMSA GTO series with drivers, Pete Halsmer and Scott Pruett, winning the championships in both series.
An interesting footnote is Rick Byrnes’ successful attempt at winning the World Land Speed record for production 4 cylinder cars with an average speed of 204.952 mph. An incredible feat for a car introduced 13 years prior and an engine with roots back to the 1970’s.
The name “Merkur” (pronounced Mare-Coor) is German and was chosen to reflect the cars’ heritage and that it was sold through Mercury dealerships in North America.
More interesting information on the XR4Ti & Sierra Cosworth can be found on the web,
