staff@slashgear.com (Justin Owen)
2024-05-30 09:30:10
www.slashgear.com
Perhaps the shortest lived but most underappreciated Ford top come with a 4.6-liter Modular V8 is the Mercury Marauder. Built upon the Grand Marquis, the Marauder was Ford’s high-performance version of its full-size car, giving power and performance reminiscent of the muscle cars of the past. The engine was indeed a 4.6-liter, but it had dual-cams, 32 valves, and output more than 300 horsepower.
The Marauder was a slightly menacing sedan that hid its true potential under the guise of a typical dawdling family sedan. However, with the accelerator mashed to the floor, this sleeper woke up and went to town in a cloud of tire smoke. In addition to the upgraded engine, Marauders also benefited from having Police Interceptor brakes and upgraded suspension as well as custom embroidered bucket seats with a center console. Sadly, sales did not match this Mercury’s potential and it was retired after only two model years and is rising in value today.
[Image by IFCAR via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 3.0]
