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 .
146-414: 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 limitations 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 foreshadowed
292-435: A Ford C3 3-speed automatic transmission was optional. The XR4Ti arrived on the market with an extensive list of standard and optional equipment. 1985 : Many changes were made to the car over its five-year life. These include: 1986 : 1987 : 1988 : 1989 : In addition to the changes above many modifications were incorporated as Technical Service Bulletins . Several automotive customizers produced versions of
438-435: A Jaguar F-Type . Stewart's helmet was white, with the red, green, blue, white, and yellow Royal Stewart tartan surrounding the top. Stewart has been married to his childhood sweetheart Helen McGregor since 1962, and they have two sons: Paul and Mark. Paul is a former racing driver, who later ran Paul Stewart Racing with his father, before selling it in 1999. Mark is a film and television producer. Between 1969 and 1997
584-727: A Marcos , in which Stewart scored four wins, and competed once in Filer's Aston DB4GT . In 1962, to help decide if he was ready to become a professional driver, he tested a Jaguar E-type at Oulton Park, matching Roy Salvadori 's times in a similar car the year before. He won two races, his first in England, in the E-type, and David Murray of Ecurie Ecosse offered him a ride in the Tojeiro EE Mk2, and their Cooper T49 , in which he won at Goodwood . For 1963, he earned fourteen wins,
730-487: A 1.3 petrol engine, was not a popular choice and had been discontinued by the time the Sierra was facelifted in early 1987 when a Sapphire saloon version was launched and the 1.3 engine dropped. The original Sierra Cosworth was the last model in the range to feature a three-door hatchback. 1983 saw the seven-year-old Ford Fiesta receive an updated MK2 version that retained the three-door hatchback bodyshell but smoothed out
876-527: A 1.8 diesel as well as the 1.6 fuel injected XR2i and RS Turbo sports models, the first Fiestas to feature fuel injection. Upmarket Ghia models were the first versions of the Fiesta to feature items such as electric windows and anti-lock brakes and was only available with the new five-door version. For much of the 1980s, the Ford Escort was the most popular model of car in the world and from 1982 to 1989, it
1022-516: A 1977 episode of Lupin III as a competitor in the 1977 Monaco Grand Prix . In 1979, George Harrison , a good friend of Stewart's, released a single titled " Faster " as a tribute to Stewart, Niki Lauda , Ronnie Peterson , and fellow Formula One race car drivers. He appeared as a spokesman, with his son Mark, in a 1983 commercial for the Vectrex game console . Stewart also wrote the foreword for
1168-583: A 1982 launch. 1980 saw one of the most important car launches in Ford's history. The Escort III went on sale across Britain and Europe in September that year, with its ultra-modern aerodynamic styling and updated front-wheel drive mechanical layout. It was also available as a hatchback for the first time, with the Escort-based Orion saloon not arriving until 1983. The 2000 cc engine was dropped and
1314-609: A Can-Am McLaren; he won the Argentine, French, U.S., and Canadian Grands Prix to come second to Emerson Fittipaldi in the drivers' standings. Stewart also competed in a Ford Capri RS2600 in the European Touring Car Championship , with F1 teammate François Cevert and other F1 pilots, at a time where the competition between Ford and BMW was at a height. Their best result was at the 6 Hours of Paul Ricard, finishing second. In 1972 Stewart also received
1460-500: A F1 driver (27) for 14 years until Alain Prost won the 1987 Portuguese Grand Prix , and the record for most wins by a British F1 driver for 19 years until Nigel Mansell won the 1992 British Grand Prix . In his commentary work for race broadcaster Channel 9 during qualifying for the 1988 Australian Grand Prix , Stewart said that he had been asked numerous times if he was unhappy about losing his record to Prost, going on to say that he
1606-420: A Garrett AiResearch turbocharger, fuel-injection and Ford's EEC-IV engine control unit . Built in Ford's Taubaté Brazil plant, the engine had a bore of 96.04 mm (3.8 in) and stroke of 79.4 mm (3.1 in) for a total displacement of 2,301 cc (140.4 cu in). A nearly identical engine was used in the 1983 Mustang Turbo GT and 1983 Thunderbird Turbo coupe . The XR4Ti did not have
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#17327981006801752-577: A booted alternative to the Escort and Sierra hatchbacks and estates. The saloon derived version of the Escort was named as the Orion but was aimed more upmarket than the Escort with no 1.1 litre engined version and initially only GL and Ghia trim levels. It was almost as long as a Sierra and many saw it as a true replacement for the traditional Cortina. Ford launched another ground-breaking new car in May 1985 with
1898-528: A car painted French Racing Blue for many years. Stewart also continued to race sporadically in F2, winning at Crystal Palace and placing at Thruxton . A projected Le Mans appearance, to co-drive the 4.5 litre Porsche 917K with Steve McQueen , did not come off, due to McQueen's inability to get insurance. He also had a one-off race in Can-Am, in the revolutionary Chaparral 2J . Stewart qualified third, in what
2044-417: A child, Stewart asked if he could be tested, and was diagnosed with the disorder, by which time he was 41 years old. He has said: "When you've got dyslexia and you find something you're good at, you put more into it than anyone else; you can't think the way of the clever folk, so you're always thinking out of the box." At the age of 13, Stewart won a clay pigeon shooting competition and then went on to become
2190-585: A comfortable interior all won praise for those who experienced the new car. The only major criticism of the Focus was its unoriginal styling which differed little from that of its predecessor but it remained one of the most popular cars in Europe during a production life which lasted more than six years. November 2005 saw the launch of a facelifted Fiesta which offered new styling inside and out as well as new colour options. 2006 saw Ford launch two new people carriers,
2336-455: A common product range would allow Ford to double source cars and components from either British or Continental plants (the Fiesta for example was simultaneously assembled at Dagenham, Valencia and Cologne), something which was especially important due to the fraught industrial relations problems which plagued the British motor industry in the 1970s, and would prove crucial in Ford's ascendancy in
2482-876: A consultant for Dale Jarrett to convince Jarrett to "race the Big Brown truck". He also once appeared on the UK motoring program Top Gear as a driving instructor for host James May . He is also interviewed in some depth in Martin Scorsese 's 2011 documentary biography of Harrison, George Harrison: Living in the Material World . 2018 saw the 50th anniversary of the relationship between Stewart and luxury watch brand Rolex . In 2018, he Stewart appeared in US commercials for Heineken beer, in which he refused an offered beer saying "I'm still driving" before driving away in
2628-510: A hatchback from the traditional rear-wheel drive saloon which became a huge sales success across Europe. 20 years of Cortina production came to an end in October 1982 with the launch of the new Ford Sierra . The new car retained the traditional rear-wheel-drive chassis, perhaps surprisingly at the time when a front-wheel drive system was becoming almost exclusive in this sector of car. But in place of its predecessor's conventional, square styling
2774-593: A lot of races. It wasn't just the question of Formula 1, nobody did Formula 1 so I was doing Can-Am, was doing Indianapolis, Touring Cars, GT Cars, everything you can think of on a global basis and most of my friends was dying as it went along. In fact Helen my wife counted 57 friends that had died that holidayed with, travelled with and of course raced with. I think it all got on top of me and I had mononucleosis one year (1971) and had gastritis that burst and thought why am I doing this to this extent. I had made good money." He nevertheless won at South Africa, Belgium, Monaco, and
2920-557: A margin of four minutes. He also won at Watkins Glen but his car failed at Mexico City , and so he lost the drivers' title to Hill. In 1969 , driving the Matra MS80 - Cosworth , Stewart had a number of races where he completely dominated the opposition, such as winning by over two laps at Montjuïc , a minute in front at Clemont-Ferrand and by more than a lap at Silverstone . With additional wins at Kyalami , Zandvoort , and Monza , Stewart became world champion . Until 2005 he
3066-540: A much more popular World Champion if I had always said what people wanted to hear. I might have been dead, but definitely more popular." In 1964, Jackie Stewart, a prominent advocate for safer racing cars and circuits in Formula One, embarked on a noteworthy partnership with the Ford Motor Company . This collaboration extended over a period of 25 years and significantly impacted both Stewart's career and
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#17327981006803212-528: A prize-winning member of the Scottish shooting team, competing in the United Kingdom and abroad. He won the British, Irish, Welsh and Scottish skeet shooting championships and twice won the "Coupe de Nations" European championship. He competed for a place in the British trap shooting team for the 1960 Summer Olympics , but finished third behind Joe Wheater and Brett Huthart. Stewart's first car
3358-403: A racing driver with a local reputation who drove for Ecurie Ecosse and competed in the 1953 British Grand Prix at Silverstone . Stewart attended Hartfield primary school in the nearby town of Dumbarton , and moved to Dumbarton Academy at the age of 12. He experienced learning difficulties owing to undiagnosed dyslexia , and due to the condition not being understood or even widely known at
3504-582: A rebadged US-market Escape which launched in the same year, but sales were slow and was axed after 4 years. The demise of the Puma in 2002 left Ford without a competitor in the coupé sector once more while the Focus ST170 which launched at that time could be seen as an indirect successor. Ford entered the expanding compact MPV market in late 2003 with the Ford Focus C-Max which was unusually,
3650-623: A ride in F1 but went instead to the Lotus Formula Two (F2) team. In his F2 debut, he was second at the difficult Circuit Clermont-Ferrand in a Lotus 32 - Cosworth . While Stewart signed with BRM alongside Graham Hill in 1965 , a contract which netted him £4,000, his first race in an F1 car was for Lotus, as stand-in for an injured Jim Clark, at the non-championship Rand Grand Prix in December 1964; after qualifying in pole position
3796-592: A second, and two-thirds, with six retirements. In 1964, Stewart again signed with Ecurie Ecosse. Ken Tyrrell , then running the Formula Junior team for the Cooper Car Company , heard of the young Scotsman from Goodwood's track manager and called up Jimmy Stewart to see if his younger brother was interested in a tryout. Stewart came down for the test at Goodwood, taking over a new, and very competitive, Formula Three T72-BMC which Bruce McLaren
3942-647: A shared dedication to progress in both racing and everyday automotive use. During the period 1971 to 1986, Stewart covered F1 races, NASCAR races and Indy car races (including the Indianapolis 500 ) as a color commentator , and also functioned as host for the latter. He was a play-by-play announcer for the Luge at the 1976 Winter Olympics and the Equestrian at the 1976 Summer Olympics (partnered with Chris Schenkel ) on ABC's Wide World of Sports . He
4088-526: A standard driver's airbag on all production models, with many cars also coming with a passenger's airbag as either standard or optional equipment. February 1993 saw Ford launch a ground-breaking new family car in the shape of the Mondeo , the replacement for the Sierra made to rival the newer Opel Vectra / Vauxhall Cavalier , Peugeot 405 and Nissan Primera . Finally making the transition to front-wheel drive,
4234-459: A stretcher, which was placed on a floor strewn with cigarette ends and other rubbish. Finally, another ambulance crew picked him up, but the ambulance driver got lost driving to a hospital in Liège . Ultimately, a private jet flew Stewart back to the UK for treatment. After his crash at Spa, Stewart became an outspoken advocate for auto racing safety. Later, he explained: "If I have any legacy to leave
4380-596: A two-piece driveshaft and used a giubo as a torsional damper. While the European XR4i was powered by a 2.8 L version of the Ford Cologne V6 engine , the only engine offered in the XR4Ti was a turbocharged Lima inline-four . This engine featured a cast-iron block, cast iron cylinder head with 2 valves per cylinder, and a single overhead cam driven by a timing belt . The XR4Ti engine also received
4526-652: A win, three seconds, a third, a fifth, and a sixth, and third place in the World Drivers' Championship. He also piloted Tyrrell's unsuccessful F2 Cooper T75-BRM, and drove the Rover Company 's revolutionary turbine car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside Graham Hill . At the start of the 1966 season, Stewart won the Tasman Series from his BRM teammate Graham Hill in two-litre BRMs and also raced closely with his great rival and friend Jim Clark who
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4672-531: Is a British former racing driver , broadcaster and motorsport executive from Scotland , who competed in Formula One from 1965 to 1973 . Nicknamed " The Flying Scot ", Stewart won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles with Tyrrell , and—at the time of his retirement—held the records for most wins (27), and podium finishes (43). Amongst his three titles, Stewart twice finished as runner-up over his nine seasons in Formula One. He
4818-516: Is also the head sports consultant/patron for the Royal Bank of Scotland . In March 2009, he waived his fee for the year in response to the bank losing £24bn in 2008. Nicknamed "The Flying Scot", Stewart received Sports Illustrated magazine's 1973 " Sportsman of the Year " award, the only auto racer to have won the title. In the same year, he also won BBC Television's " Sports Personality of
4964-453: Is the last surviving Formula One World Champion from the 1960s. He is also the oldest living Grand Prix winner. Stewart was born in Milton , Dunbartonshire , Scotland , a village fifteen miles west of Glasgow . Stewart's family were Austin , and later Jaguar , car dealers and had built up a successful business. His father had been an amateur motorcycle racer , and his brother Jimmy was
5110-535: The 1973 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen , Stewart retired one race earlier than intended and missed what would have been his 100th Grand Prix. Stewart had already won the Drivers' Championship at the Italian Grand Prix two races previously; this was a race where Stewart had to come into the pits to change a flat tyre, and drove from 20th to finish 4th. Stewart held the record for most wins by
5256-453: The 1977 Daytona 500 , Bobby Wawak got burned after his car caught fire, Stewart said: "The drivers themselves are negligent, drivers should always wear flame resistant underwear and thermal underwear. The accident we seen today is just typical if you're not properly protected." Stewart also revealed there was tension between him and ABC Sports producer Roone Arledge as Stewart was doing commercials for Ford Motor Company as well and several of
5402-627: The Consul and Granada (large saloon, estate and coupé) which was aimed directly at the Opel Rekord, Rover P6, Audi 100 and Triumph 2000. It quickly outsold its rivals in many countries and in 1973 was the tenth best-selling car in Britain. Like the Capri and Cortina/Taunus models, the early Consuls and Granadas were built in both Britain and Germany, each with a unique range of national engines. In
5548-459: The Ford Cougar , was imported from Europe but was even shorter-lived and less successful in Europe, with imports finishing after just two years. October 1994 saw the launch of the second generation Scorpio which replaced the long-running Granada nameplate in the UK and Ireland and sold with saloon and estate models only, the model quickly gained attention due to its controversial styling which
5694-535: The French Grand Prix at Reims . Stewart had some success in other forms of racing during the year, winning the 1966 Rothmans 12 Hour International Sports Car Race and almost winning the Indianapolis 500 on his first attempt, in John Mecom 's Lola T90 -Ford, only to be denied by a broken scavenge pump while leading by over a lap with eight laps to go. However, Stewart's performance, having had
5840-600: The OBE . Entering the 1973 season, Stewart had decided to retire. In 2023, Stewart revealed on the Beyond the Grid podcast: "It was at Indianapolis and I was getting depressed by the pace of my life, the limit of being at home, I had two little boys and of course Helen. I had been doing enormous travel, in the days we speak of and my day as a racing driver, we don't make the money that is made today and to make proper money you had to do
5986-673: 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 (equivalent to $ 48,400 in 2023). Chief executive officer Pete Petersen decided that
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6132-593: The Rootes Group . The Escort would never achieve such dominance in Europe's largest auto market, but nevertheless took significant market share from the Opel and Volkswagen competitors of the time. Ford Europe's second new car launch was the Capri sporting coupé at the beginning of 1969. Loosely based on Ford UK 's rear-wheel drive Mk II Cortina saloon platform, it came with engines ranging from 1300 cc to 3000 cc and
6278-570: The Tasman Series with Jim Clark, who probably raced closer and harder with him than at any time in their careers. While Clark usually won, Stewart won a victory in the New Zealand Grand Prix with Clark attempting to run him down in the last laps with bodywork flying off his Lotus. In F1, the BRMs were still struggling with reliability problems and Stewart came no higher than second, at Spa, while having to drive one-handed while holding
6424-528: The USA , but like the smaller Spanish-built Maverick, it was not a strong seller either. Ford reentered the coupé market in early 1994 with its American-built, Mazda -based Probe . Available with 2.0 16-valve and 2.5 V6 petrol engines, the Probe was well regarded for its handling and performance but failed to sell as well as Ford had hoped and was withdrawn from Europe three years later. Its American-built replacement,
6570-862: The Cosworth and maintain their connection to Ford , which conflicted with Matra's recent connections to Chrysler . Tyrrell decided to build his own car and in the interim bought a chassis from March Engineering ; Stewart took the March 701 - Cosworth to wins at the Daily Mail Race of Champions and Jarama, but development on the car stalled and it was soon overcome by the Lotus team's new 72 . The new Tyrrell 001 - Cosworth , appeared in August and suffered problems but showed promise. Tyrrell continued to be sponsored by French fuel company Elf , and Stewart raced in
6716-485: The Escort's shortcomings in September 1992 with a minor facelift which saw the introduction of its impressive new 1.4, 1.6 and 1.8 Zetec 16-valve units, the latter of which also found its way into the Fiesta RS1800. The Orion also received the same changes, only for the name to be shelved a year later and the saloon models absorbed into the Escort range. Ride and handling was also improved. For 1993, Ford introduced
6862-545: The Granada-replacing Ford Scorpio , although the Granada name was retained in the United Kingdom and Ireland with "Scorpio" being used as a sub-brand for the highest specification models. It was based on a stretched version of Sierra's rear-wheel-drive chassis and was far more modern looking than any other cars in its sector at this time, being similar in appearance to the smaller Sierra. It was also
7008-565: The Lotus broke in the first heat, but he won the second and claimed fastest lap. On his World Championship F1 debut in South Africa , he finished sixth. His first major competition victory came in the BRDC International Trophy in the late spring, and before the end of the year he won his first World Championship race at Monza , fighting wheel-to-wheel with teammate Hill's P261. Stewart finished his rookie season with
7154-517: The March 1985 road test by Road & Track magazine are comparable. Their car ran from 0-60 mph in 7.9 seconds and reached the end of the quarter mile in 16.0 seconds. Lateral acceleration was measured at 0.767 Gs and the car ran through the R&;T slalom at a speed of 59.7 mph. Their car's fuel economy was measured as 23 mpg ‑US (10.2 L/100 km). Contemporary reviews of
7300-525: The Mondeo came with an impressive range of new 16-valve Zetec petrol engines as well as a 2.5 V6 that joined the line-up in 1994. It was also one of the first volume production cars to feature an airbag as standard. Hatchback, saloon and estate versions made up the range which won European Car of the Year accolade the following year. 1993 also saw the launch of its first European 4x4 model, the Maverick, which
7446-470: The Mondeo gained a facelift which saw the exterior styling brought up to date and the seating redesigned to improve space for rear seat passengers. The Fiesta chassis also spawned the stylish Puma coupé in 1997 which included the Fiesta's floorpan and 1.4 engine as well as its own 1.7 unit. The Puma won plaudits for its styling, handling and performance. Despite its popularity, there was no direct successor when production finished in 2002. Ford pulled out of
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#17327981006807592-698: The Netherlands. His last and then record-setting 27th victory came at the Nürburgring with a 1–2 for Tyrrell. He recalled: "Nothing gave me more satisfaction than to win at the Nürburgring and yet I was always afraid. When I left home for the German Grand Prix I always used to pause at the end of the driveway and take a long look back. I was never sure I'd come home again." After the fatal crash of his teammate François Cevert in practice for
7738-545: The North American market, both with the public and with dealers. An 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 rapidly after 1986, so that in its last year fewer than 3,000 XR4Tis were sold. 1989
7884-399: The Nürburgring in 1970 being joined by his close friend Jochen Rindt , and Zandvoort in 1972 until barriers, run-off areas, fire crews, and medical facilities were improved. Some drivers and press members believed the safety improvements for which Stewart advocated detracted from the sport, while track owners and race organizers baulked at the extra costs. Stewart later said: "I would have been
8030-438: The Roush-prepped XR4Ti, although of a tubeframe construction like that of a silhouette racing car , to take the Trans-Am Series title. Along with Paul Miller, the pair also campaigned an XR4Ti successfully in the IMSA series in 1988. Ford of Europe Ford of Europe GmbH is a subsidiary company of Ford Motor Company founded in 1967 in Cork , Ireland , with headquarters in Cologne , Germany . Ford of Europe
8176-519: The S-MAX and the Ford Galaxy MK2 . Both cars used the same underpinnings, but the S-MAX was a cheaper and sportier alternative to the more upmarket and practical Galaxy. The S-MAX then became the first full-size people carrier to be voted European Car of the Year . Ford launched the third generation Mondeo in May 2007 and had a facelift in Autumn 2010. The new generations of the Fiesta and Ka launched in late 2008. Jackie Stewart Sir John Young " Jackie " Stewart OBE (born 11 June 1939)
8322-400: The UK market and overtaking the troubled British Leyland . The first new model launched after the creation of Ford of Europe was the Escort , built in England from October 1967 and launched to market at the beginning of 1968. The Escort was a rear-wheel drive small family saloon that took the place of the British Anglia range and was built in both Britain and from 1970, Germany, although it
8468-420: The XR4Ti among the 10 worst cars ever made, and "not (Ford's) finest hour". On the other hand, other articles have called it one of the 10 best forgotten cars, and a car that had unfairly received a bad reputation. Despite the XR4Ti never being sold outside of the United States and Canada, Andy Rouse campaigned one in the British Saloon Car Championship . Rouse took the overall title for the 1985 season and
8614-418: The XR4Ti that offered increased performance and improved handling. Among these were Roush, Rapido, and RC Consultants. These conversions were sold as either owner-installed kits or pre-built vehicles. One such special, called the Scorch XS and built by Ralph Todd, replaced the Ford engine with a twin-turbocharged Nissan VG30DETT V6. Only one of these US $ 50,000 conversions was built; Scorch Prototype #001. It
8760-484: The XR4i to North America to compete with sporty luxury imports like BMW. Although modifications would be needed, 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, since it was already used by General Motors for their GMC C/K Sierra pickup truck, and sounded too similar to
8906-430: The Year " award, and was named as ABC 's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year, which he shared with American pro football player O. J. Simpson . In 1990, he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame . In 1996, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. In 1998 Stewart received an honorary doctorate from Cranfield University where he later served as chairman of
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#17327981006809052-430: The automotive industry. As part of this partnership , Stewart took on the role of a consultant for Ford. His responsibilities included training Ford's engineers to recognize and address areas for improvement in vehicle development. Drawing from his extensive racing experience, Stewart provided valuable insights into various aspects of automobile design and safety. His firsthand knowledge of high-performance vehicles and
9198-457: 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 10.2 in (259 mm) disks in front and 10.0 in (254 mm) drums at rear. The car had
9344-399: The back, was far from the best. This shortcoming was solved in Spring 2002 when the all-new MK5 Fiesta went on sale. This new Fiesta was to be built at Ford Cologne and Ford Valencia, each plant producing one Fiesta every 27 seconds. This also marked the end of Ford passenger car production in the UK after some 90 years, though commercial vehicles continued to be produced at Dagenham alongside
9490-513: The book The Centenary of the Car 1885–1985 by Andrew Whyte in 1984. He participated in Prince Edward 's 1987 charity television special, The Grand Knockout Tournament . Stewart featured in a special presentation video of the then all new Ford Mondeo in 1993, the video was given away free on the front cover of What Car? magazine in 1993. He was featured in the video to the 2000 song " Supreme " by British singer, Robbie Williams . Stewart appeared in several UPS commercials in 2002 and 2003 as
9636-413: The bracketing and lighten the components. The second measure was to reduce the amount of vibration transmitted to the body structure by using soft rubber engine mounts. Engine roll was controlled by wide-based mounting brackets, and engine movement due to bumps was limited by having the brackets attached to the body via hydraulic mounts. The base transmission was a 5-speed manual Ford Type 9 unit, while
9782-415: The car in gear with the other. In F2 he won events at Karlskoga , Enna , Oulton Park, and Albi in a Tyrrell-entered Matra MS5 or MS7 . He also placed 2nd driving a works-entered Ferrari driving with Chris Amon at the BOAC 6 Hours at Brands Hatch , the 10th round of World Sportscar Championship at the time. Stewart also attempted to run the 1967 National 500 NASCAR race but did not qualify for
9928-541: The car often mention either the non-intuitive pronunciation of the brand name or the car's polarizing appearance. Most praise the car's handling, while recognizing areas where it falls short of expectations. Some felt the car showed more body roll while cornering than desired. The disk/drum brake system was felt to be adequate but not outstanding. Others were disappointed that no anti-lock was offered. While Car and Driver's first report went into great detail about Ford's efforts to reduce NVH, their later tests reported that there
10074-485: The car would be sold under the 'Merkur' brand name. The name means 'Mercury' in German, and tied the new brand to the Lincoln-Mercury dealers through which the car would be sold. 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
10220-409: The championship. The stress of racing year round and on several continents eventually caused medical problems for Stewart. He won the 1971 world championship despite having mononucleosis and crossing the Atlantic Ocean 186 times due to media commitments in the United States. During the 1972 season, he missed the Belgian Grand Prix at Nivelles due to gastritis , and had to cancel plans to drive
10366-422: The class title for 1986 with 14 wins. In 1986, Eggenberger Motorsport was among the few to use an XR4Ti to compete in the European Touring Car Championship and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (German Touring Car Championship) with positive results. Ford used technical feedback from the teams racing the XR4Ti to develop the 1986 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth , which first appeared on race tracks in 1987 and
10512-414: The cockpit. There were no track crews to extricate him, nor were proper tools available. Stewart was rescued by fellow drivers Graham Hill and Bob Bondurant , who had also crashed nearby. There were no doctors or medical facilities at the track, and Stewart was put in the bed of a pickup truck, remaining there until an ambulance arrived. He was first taken to the track's first aid centre, where he waited on
10658-620: The commercials aired on Wide World of Sports which he was a regular commentator there and that led him to leaving ABC in 1986. Stewart revealed in his book that "Wide World of Sports began to lose its soul when ABC first merged with ESPN and then with Capital Cities , prompting severe headcount cuts and reduced budgets." Later, Stewart covered CART -sanctioned Indy car races starting at Long Beach in 1987 on NBC SportsWorld , along with Paul Page. He returned in 1988, along with Charlie Jones. Stewart only covered road course and street races in his brief time at NBC. He did not return in 1989 and
10804-532: The continent at the end of 1975, with the UK market Cortina version being launched in late September 1976. The integration of the Ford range across Europe was now virtually complete, with the different nameplates on the Taunus/Cortina being the only separator. Ford launched the Granada II range in September 1977. In 1976, all Granada production had been concentrated to Cologne, Germany. The Consul badge
10950-553: The couple lived in Begnins , near Lake Geneva in Switzerland, and later sold his house to Phil Collins . Stewart dictated his autobiography titled Winning Is Not Enough due to his dyslexia . In a 2009 interview, and in the book, he discusses his close relationship with his older brother Jimmy , who was also a successful racing driver in his youth but had a long struggle with alcoholism. Jimmy died in 2008. In 2018, he set up
11096-473: 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
11242-411: The early 1970s, Ford took the decision to enter the growing European supermini market and began to develop a competitor for the well-received new Fiat 127 and Renault 5 . A site near Valencia , Spain , was chosen to build a new factory in order to accommodate production for the new car which was scheduled for a mid-1970s launch. A revised Capri II arrived in early 1974 which saw a hatchback replacing
11388-517: The early cars. The car's drag coefficient ( C d {\displaystyle \scriptstyle C_{\mathrm {d} }\,} ) was 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
11534-534: The engine assembly for the passenger vehicles. In addition, Ford's Halewood plant was converted for Jaguar X-Type assembly in 2001. Ford also continued to build vans at its Southampton plant until relocating production to Turkey in 2013. The Ford Mondeo was relaunched in an all-new MK2 version in late 2000 and was pipped for the European Car of the Year award by the Alfa Romeo 147 . The new Mondeo
11680-545: 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 these changes added approximately 280 lb (127.0 kg) to the weight. Suspension was independent front and rear. 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
11826-589: The executive car market in 1998 upon the demise of its Scorpio which had replaced the Granada four years earlier. As well as a Europe-wide transition from mainstream brands to prestige brands during the 1990s, the Scorpio's sales potential was held back by its controversial styling. In the late 1990s, Ford adopted a distinctive "New Edge" design on its model range. Some of the cars adopting this eye-catching new look were entirely new, while others were facelifted versions of earlier and more conservative designs. The end
11972-519: The first car on the platform that would spawn the next generation Focus hatchback a year later. 2003 also saw a convertible version of the Ka launched as the StreetKa alongside a facelifted Mondeo. The second generation Focus hatchback, saloon and estate models went on sale in late 2004, picking up where the original model left off. Excellent ride and handling, good equipment levels, solid build quality and
12118-467: The flair of some rivals and it received mostly negative ratings for ride and handling, while it also retained the engine line-up of the previous generation with 1.3, 1.4 and 1.6 petrol units and a 1.8 diesel. The standard Escort models were later joined by the RS2000, XR3i and RS Cosworth performance versions that attracted a much more positive reaction. The RS2000 nameplate had been abandoned back in 1980 and
12264-511: The front fenders and a roof-mounted ski rack. No mechanical changes were made to the K2 version. In their September 1984 road test of the XR4Ti Car & Driver magazine reported a 0-60 mph time of 7.0 seconds, a 1/4 mile time of 15.5 seconds and a top speed of 129 mph (207.6 km/h). In later tests by the same magazine the car took 7.8 seconds to accelerate from 0-60 mph, leading
12410-457: The greatest Formula One drivers ever. Stewart appears in the 1966 John Frankenheimer movie Grand Prix doing all the driving scenes for actor Brian Bedford , who played Scott Stoddard, as Bedford did not know how to drive. Stewart was the subject in the 1972 Roman Polanski -produced film Weekend of a Champion , in which Polanski shadows him throughout a race weekend at the 1971 Monaco Grand Prix . He appeared in an anachronistic cameo in
12556-681: The honour was for services to motor racing. In 2002, he became a founding patron of the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame and an inaugural inductee. In 2003 the World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities presented Stewart the Sport Shooting Ambassador Award. The Award goes to an outstanding individual whose efforts have promoted the shooting sports internationally. On 27 November 2008, Stewart
12702-595: The intercooler found in the 1984 SVO Mustang or 1987-88 Thunderbird Turbo coupe . Engines in cars equipped with automatic transmissions had maximum boost set to 8 to 10 psi (0.55 to 0.69 bar) and produced 145 hp (108 kW). In cars with manual transmissions maximum boost was raised to 12 to 14 psi (0.83 to 0.97 bar) and the ECU programming was modified to allow the engine to produce 175 hp (130 kW). The second-order vibrations produced by this large four cylinder engine had been noticeable when it
12848-583: The launch of an all-new replacement in 2006. Ford entered the city car market in September 1996 with its oddly-named and oddly-styled Ka and was beaten into second place in the 1997 European Car of the Year award by the Renault Scenic . It made use of the Fiesta's chassis and 1300 cc petrol engine which gave it strong handling for such a small car. Going against the appeal were its cramped rear seats and tiny boot, but it managed to sell well for most of its 12-year production run. A month later in October,
12994-832: The launch of the Probe's replacement: the Cougar . Like its predecessor, the Cougar was built in the USA and used 2.0 and 2.5 petrol engines. Unlike its predecessor, it was based on the front-wheel-drive chassis of the Mondeo . It was very spacious for a coupé and offered superb road-holding and cruising ability. Sales were relatively low in Europe and it was dropped in Europe after 2000, with sales limited to its home market. In 1999, Ford's European headquarters relocated from Brentwood in England to its current (2019) location in Cologne , Germany . It
13140-559: The location was of a race, ABC had all the things organised so I would have a helicopter to get me out of the track and get me back into the night flight, I would never take Concorde on the evening flight because it was slower sleeping on a plane than on a 747 but I would always use Concorde from the UK or Switzerland to the United States. I had it very well organised." Stewart was often critical of driver safety in his broadcasts especially of driver negligence with fireproof clothes. In
13286-497: The new version was undoubtedly the best, with its 2.0 16-valve I4 engine and the option of four-wheel drive, as well as its impressive top speed of more than 130 mph (210 km/h). The RS Cosworth was a turbocharged version of the RS2000 and had a top speed of 150 mph (240 km/h) which helped bolster its fortunes in international rallies. In spite of this and impressive new models being launched by rival companies Vauxhall and Rover , Ford were still firmly positioned at
13432-517: The older model ranges were gradually phased out. One of the key justifications for keeping separate divisions was to circumvent the high trade tariffs imposed on vehicles being exported between Britain and the European Economic Community , however once the UK joined the bloc in 1973, it made sense to standardise the model ranges throughout Britain and Continental Europe. Crucially merging the two companies' operations and having
13578-426: The oldest living F1 winner upon the death in 2022 of six-time race winner Tony Brooks , who raced during the 1950s. At Spa-Francorchamps in 1966 , Stewart ran off the track while driving at 165 mph (266 km/h) in heavy rain, and crashed into a telephone pole and a shed before coming to rest in a farmer's outbuilding. His steering column pinned his leg, while ruptured fuel tanks emptied their contents into
13724-425: The previously boxy edges to give it a more modern look and keep it competitive with a string of new European and Japanese superminis which hit the market during 1982 and 1983. The sporty XR2 version was relaunched and its power output was increased, as well as receiving the first five-speed gearbox ever fitted to a Fiesta. Also in that year, Ford introduced a new four-door saloon to meet the demands of buyers looking for
13870-414: The public's reaction to the new Focus which was European Car of the Year for 1999 and being one of the best-selling cars on the continent. At the height of its production, there was a new Ford Focus coming off a production line at an average of one every 12 seconds (Saarlouis, Germany, Valencia, Spain, Wayne, Michigan, USA and Hermosillo, Mexico). However, the Focus was never built in Britain. 1998 also saw
14016-467: The race fully in hand, sidelined only by mechanical failure, won him Rookie of the Year honours despite the winner, Graham Hill , also being an Indianapolis rookie. Stewart appeared at 24 Hours of Le Mans test day on 3 April 1966 driving a Ford GT40 Mk II version of Holman & Moody and the Ford GT40 owned by Alan Mann Racing . BRM's fortunes did not improve in 1967 despite closely contesting
14162-525: The race. For 1968 , Stewart switched to Tyrrell's Matra International team, where he drove a Matra MS10 - Cosworth . After a promising start in South Africa with the Matra MS9 development mule he missed Jarama and Monaco due to an F2 injury at Jarama and his first win of the season was in heavy rain at Zandvoort . Another win in rain and fog at the Nürburgring followed, where he won by
14308-525: The range-topping Escort was now the XR3 which came with a fuel-injected 1600 cc unit. It was a huge sales success for the company throughout the 1980s, being Britain's best selling car from 1982 to 1989 and also topping the sales charts in several other countries. The 1980s saw a radical change in most of the European Fords which had begun in September 1980 when the Escort switched to front-wheel drive and
14454-434: The rest of western Europe were direct competitors, with totally separate product lines, despite being owned by the same American parent, in a similar manner to General Motors ' Opel and Vauxhall subsidiaries at the same time – indeed GM followed Ford's precedent in the 1970s by merging the operations of Opel and Vauxhall into General Motors Europe . The process took several years to complete, as new model ranges arrived and
14600-558: The rise in popularity of fast hatchbacks such as the Ford Escort XR3i, Vauxhall Astra GTE, Peugeot 309 GTI and Volkswagen Golf GTI. Ford had proved successful in this sector with faster versions of the Fiesta, Escort, and Sierra. The Sierra was facelifted in early 1987 and gained a saloon version for the first time, called the Sapphire, ensuring that it continued to sell well into the 1990s. The third generation Fiesta
14746-654: The role after previously announced Grand Marshal A. J. Foyt was forced to cancel his visit due to complications from his recent knee surgery. In 2020, the British magazine The Economist ranked champion drivers by the relative importance of car quality to driver skill. According to this ranking, Stewart was the 4th best driver of all time, behind Juan Manuel Fangio , Jim Clark , and Alain Prost . Objective mathematical models , such as Eichenberger and Stadelmann (2009, 4th), original F1metrics (2014, 2nd), Bell et al. (2015, 4th), FiveThirtyEight (2018, 20th), and updated F1metrics (2019, 2nd), put Stewart consistenly among
14892-542: The same platform, but had different sheet metal and used engines from their home countries, though both models could be had with the new German-built 2000cc OHC petrol engine. By 1972, the Cortina was the best-selling car in Britain and would stay at the top spot until 1981, except for 1976 when the smaller Escort was Britain's top-selling car for that year. In March 1972, Ford Europe replaced their executive models from Britain ( Zephyr/Zodiac ) and Germany ( 17M/20M/26M ) with
15038-460: The sport I hope it will be seen to be an area of safety because when I arrived in Grand Prix racing so-called precautions and safety measures were diabolical." Stewart campaigned with Louis Stanley (BRM team boss) for improved emergency services and better safety barriers around race tracks. He said: "We were racing at circuits where there were no crash barriers in front of the pits, and fuel
15184-661: The steering committee for the MSc Motorsport Engineering and Management. Stewart was a subject of the television programme This Is Your Life in January 1970 where he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at Thames Television 's Euston Road Studios. In the 1971 Birthday Honours Stewart was created an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In 2001, he received a knighthood . In both cases,
15330-577: The team risked designing and building a new engine for 1999. The SF3 was consistently competitive throughout the season. The team won one race at the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring with Johnny Herbert , while Barrichello took three third places, pole in France, and briefly led his home race at Interlagos . The team was later bought by Ford and became Jaguar Racing in 2000 (which subsequently became Red Bull Racing in 2005). Stewart
15476-474: The testers to speculate that the earlier press car might have been a ringer , a not-uncommon practice at the time. In their test data they stated the press car came with a limited slip differential, something that was not offered as standard or an option for the XR4Ti during its production. The first test car returned a combined city/highway fuel economy of 24 mpg ‑US (9.8 L/100 km), and generated 0.80 Gs of lateral acceleration. Numbers from
15622-503: The time, he was regularly berated and humiliated by teachers and peers alike for being "dumb" and "thick". Stewart was unable to continue his secondary education past the age of 16, and began working in his father's garage as an apprentice mechanic. He was not actually diagnosed with dyslexia until 1980, when his oldest son Mark was diagnosed with the condition. On learning that dyslexia can be genetically passed on, and seeing very similar symptoms with his son that he had experienced himself as
15768-433: The top of the British car sales charts in the early 1990s and enjoyed a strong market share in virtually all European countries, expanding into Eastern Europe at the beginning of the 1990s following the collapse of communism. They even enlisted the help of Brian May to record a new song, " Driven by You ", which featured in their new TV advertising campaign for the whole Ford range in the UK. Ford responded to criticism of
15914-479: The traditional "boot". This was the first time that Ford had produced a car with a hatchback, adopting this new concept which had first been patented by Renault in the mid-1960s. Ford launched the Escort II at the start of 1975 which was essentially a rebodied version of the 1968 car and was largely mechanical identical, despite the larger, squarer body. The entry-level 950 cc engine which was rare in any country,
16060-405: The unique challenges faced on the racetrack proved crucial in guiding Ford's efforts to enhance their cars . Through this collaboration, Stewart not only helped advance the safety and performance standards of Ford's vehicles but also reinforced his commitment to improving automotive technology and innovation. His influence contributed to the development of more advanced and safer cars, reflecting
16206-500: The world's first volume production car to feature anti-lock brakes as standard. High equipment levels, a comfortable interior and solid build quality ensured that the German-built Scorpio was a success all over Europe and was voted European Car of the Year for 1986. A saloon version had joined the range by early 1990, as had a 2.9 V6 Cosworth high-performance hatchback while an estate version arrived in early 1992 as it
16352-576: Was Sierra's ultramodern aerodynamic styling that was way ahead of its time compared to the competition. Initial sales were disappointing, but demand soon increased and the Sierra was Britain's second best-selling car in 1983, its first full year on sale. It was built in Great Britain and Belgium and sold well in most other European countries. Cosworth versions of the Sierra were built from 1986, all of which were capable of 150 mph (240 km/h). The three-door Sierra hatchback, mostly sold with only
16498-494: Was a development of the previous Paul Stewart Racing team that had previously competed in lower formulae. As the works Ford team, their first race was the 1997 Australian Grand Prix . The only success of their first year came at the rain-affected Monaco Grand Prix where Rubens Barrichello finished second. The following year, 1998, was less competitive, with no podiums and few points. After Ford acquired Cosworth in July 1998,
16644-491: Was a light green Austin A30 with "real leather [covered] seats" which he purchased shortly before his seventeenth birthday for £375, a detail he was able to recall for an interviewer sixty years later. He had saved up the purchase price from tips received from his job at the family garage. He took up an offer from Barry Filer, a customer of the family business, to test in a number of his cars at Oulton Park . For 1961, Filer provided
16790-494: Was abandoned in 1975. In 1977, Ford finally overtook British Leyland as the market leader in the UK. The Mk III Capri coupé arrived in early 1978. By now Capri production was also concentrated at Cologne. In 1979, the Cortina/Taunus was given a very light facelift to create the "Cortina 80" (or Cortina Mk5). However, this was very much a short-term measure, as Ford was beginning to develop an all-new successor ready for
16936-613: Was an ABC network television sports commentator for both auto racing, covering the Indianapolis 500 for over a decade, and for several summer Olympics covering many events, being a distinctive presence with his pronounced Scottish accent. Stewart also served as a television commercial spokesman for both the Ford Motor Company and Heineken beer. Stewart was instrumental in improving the safety of motor racing, campaigning for better medical facilities and track improvements at motor racing circuits. After John Surtees ' death in 2017, he
17082-598: Was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) degree from the University of St Andrews . On 26 June 2009, Stewart was awarded the Freedom of West Dunbartonshire at a special ceremony in his hometown of Dumbarton. In 2010, Stewart was named as a founding member of Motor Sport magazine's Hall of Fame. On 28 January 2012, Stewart gave the starting command for the 50th Anniversary of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. He assumed
17228-539: Was based on the Nissan Terrano II . However, the Maverick was not a strong seller and it was discontinued in early 1999. 1994 was the year where Ford regained leadership of the large family car sector market in Britain in terms of sales, as the Vauxhall Cavalier had been the best seller of this size for the previous four years. From 1996 to 2001, Ford also imported its Explorer SUV to Europe from
17374-618: Was briefly exported to the United States and Canada between 1978 and 1980. From 1981, it was available with a 1600 cc unit for the sporty XR2 version. In Britain where it launched in February 1977 and most of the rest of Europe took to it straight away and it was quickly among the best-selling cars in most of the continent, fighting off competition from the Volkswagen Polo , Renault 5 , Fiat 127 , Vauxhall Chevette and Peugeot 104 . The new Taunus saloon and estate were launched on
17520-511: Was discontinued. In 1975, Ford overtook British Leyland (the combine which included Austin , Morris and Rover ) as the most popular make of car in the United Kingdom. 1976 saw Ford Europe enter the supermini market with its first ever front-wheel-drive model. The Fiesta I was built at the company's new Valencia plant in Spain (and would also be produced at Dagenham and Cologne) and came with 950 cc, 1100 cc and 1300 cc petrol engines. It
17666-567: Was doing ABC's Wide World of Sports because I was reasonably good at it, I got to know how to do it by a man called Jim McKay who is the best commentator of sport in the world weather it was the Olympics or all sorts of different sports. I would go to Atlanta, Georgia to do a Stock Car race and we would be telecasting it not live, it would be for the following week or week after that. I would fly in Concorde more often than anything else and fly into
17812-718: Was founded in 1967 by the merger of Ford of Britain , Ford Germany , and Irish Henry Ford & Son Ltd divisions of the Ford Motor Company. The front-engined Ford Transit range of panel vans launched in 1965, was the first formal co-operation between the two entities, simultaneously developed to replace the German Ford Taunus Transit and the British Ford Thames 400E . Prior to this, the two companies avoided marketing their vehicles in one another's domestic markets, and in much of
17958-467: Was from the adjacent Cologne factory that the 30 millionth Ford, a Fiesta , emerged from the production line on 19 November 1999. The aging MK4 Fiesta received a facelift in the Autumn of 1999 and continued to attract huge sales thanks to its excellent ride and handling that disguised its age well. The interior was, by now, one of the smartest in the supermini sector, though interior space, particularly in
18104-407: Was happy that his record had been taken by someone of the calibre of Prost, as he believed him to be the best driver in F1. Until 2015 , Stewart was the only British driver to win three championships; this record was broken by future seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton . When John Surtees died in March 2017, Stewart became the last surviving F1 World Champion from the 1960s. He also became
18250-528: Was in sight for the Escort in October 1998 when its distinctively-styled successor, the Focus , went on sale. Its radical design meant that Ford kept the Escort on sale alongside it for two years, the van until 2002, giving buyers a more conventionally-styled alternative, perhaps in fear of a repeat of the controversy it had faced some 16 years earlier when the Sierra went on sale. But Ford need not have worried about
18396-523: Was later upgraded with larger brakes and wheels. The last magazine article featuring the Scorch listed a revised cost of US $ 55,000. Creation of other Scorch conversions had been started, but never completed. Ford only offered one special edition of the XR4Ti when it launched the XR4Ti K2 in 1987, the result of a tie-in with ski manufacturer K2 Sports . This all-white model came with colored K2 logos on
18542-518: Was launched in March 1989 and the big news of the launch was the long-awaited availability of a five-door version, something that was already available on key rivals like the Austin Metro , Vauxhall Nova , Fiat Uno , SEAT Ibiza and the Peugeot 205 . New to the range were the new 1.0 and 1.1 HCS (High Compression Swirl) petrol engines which ran alongside the long-running 1.4 unit. There was also
18688-558: Was lying about in churns in the pit lane. A car could easily crash into the pits at any time. It was ridiculous." As a stop-gap measure, Stewart hired a private doctor to be at all his races, and taped a spanner to the steering shaft of his BRM in case it would be needed again. Stewart pressed for mandatory seat belt usage and full-face helmets for drivers, which have become unthinkable omissions for modern races. Likewise, he pressed track owners to modernize their tracks, including organizing driver boycotts of races at Spa-Francorchamps in 1969,
18834-545: Was made in Britain and Germany (with a different range of German V4 and V6 engines) and was an instant success, frequently featuring as one of Britain's top 10 best-selling cars and also doing well in most other European markets. August 1970 saw the launch of the British Ford Cortina Mk III and its German cousin, the Taunus (replacing the Taunus 12M and 15M ). The British and German models were based on
18980-456: Was more competitively priced than its predecessor, but its real strengths were its excellent accommodation and driving experience which put it back on top of the large family car sector. Although demand for cars of this size dipped slightly across Europe during the 2000s, the Mondeo remained Britain's most popular large family car until 2007, when it was outsold by the facelifted Vauxhall Vectra . The Maverick returned in late 2000, this time being
19126-407: Was nearing replacement. An updated Escort and Orion appeared in March 1986, called the "Mark 4", it featured Scorpio-influenced front-end styling, revised engine options and an all-new interior. Production of the Capri coupé ended in December 1986 after 18 years and there was no replacement, although stocks of the model were sold into 1987, as sporting coupés were less popular at this time following
19272-531: Was noted for his insightful analysis, Scottish accent, and rapid delivery, which once caused ABC's lead sports commentator Jim McKay to remark that Stewart spoke almost as fast as he drove. In his book Winning Is Not Enough , Stewart revealed that he used notes to read from to do a TV broadcast as he could not read from an autocue due to his dyslexia. In 2023, Stewart revealed on the Beyond the Grid Podcast "I
19418-455: Was offered a F1 ride with Cooper but declined, preferring to gain experience under Tyrrell; he failed to win just two races (one to clutch failure, one to a spin) in becoming F3 champion. After running John Coombs ' E-type and practising in a Ferrari at Le Mans , Stewart took a trial in an F1 Lotus 33- Climax , in which he impressed Colin Chapman and Jim Clark . Stewart again refused
19564-605: Was often criticised in the motoring press. 1995 saw Ford launch its MK4 Fiesta and MK6 Escort ranges to keep them on the pace with the ever-growing number of new rivals that were threatening to decimate Ford's market share. Another new car launch that year was the Galaxy multi-purpose vehicle in June that was based upon the VW Sharan which quickly went straight to the top of the people carrier sales charts, remaining in production until
19710-544: Was replaced by Johnny Rutherford and Tom Sneva . Stewart worked on Australian and Canadian TV coverage from late 1986 to the mid-1990s. Stewart occasionally appeared with Murray Walker as a co-commentator on the BBC's F1 coverage, including the British Grands Prix of 1979 and 1993. In 1997, Stewart returned to Formula One, with Stewart Grand Prix , as a team owner in partnership with his son, Paul. The team
19856-569: Was sold there from the outset. It was first available as a two-door saloon and later in estate, van and four-door saloon bodystyles. Power came from 950 CC, 1100 CC, and 1300 CC petrol engines. Later there was also a 2000 cc unit which came in the RS2000 performance version and was capable of 110 mph (180 km/h). It quickly became popular with buyers, outselling key UK competitors from BMC (later British Leyland), Vauxhall (Opel in Germany) and
20002-626: Was somewhat disadvantaged by an unreliable Lotus 39 which was let down by its old 2.5-litre Climax engine. In F1, after his promising start the previous year, 1966 was a poor year for Stewart; the 3-litre H16 BRMs were unreliable, although Stewart did win the Monaco Grand Prix in a 2-litre engined car. The most significant event in that year was his accident at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps , which sparked his campaign to improve safety in F1 and caused him to miss
20148-474: Was still noticeable vibration in the drive-line. Effective use of the car has hampered by what some felt was the engine's narrow power band. Even after production ended the car continued to provoke widely differing opinions. The XR4Ti was on Car and Driver 's Ten Best list for 1985. In 2009 however, the magazine listed that honor as one of the "most embarrassing" awards in automotive history. In addition to Car and Driver' s change of heart some have numbered
20294-531: Was superseded in mid-1987 by the Ford Sierra RS500 . Some of the body panels used to stiffen the Sierra chassis and create the Merkur shell were subsequently branded 909 Motorsport parts for later adaptation to a Sierra shell. Many see the successes and failures of the XR4Ti as being the blueprint for success of the dominant RS500 Sierras. Between 1986 and 1987, Pete Halsmer and Scott Pruett campaigned
20440-492: Was testing. Soon, Stewart was bettering McLaren's times, causing McLaren to return to the track for some quicker laps. Again, Stewart was quicker, and Tyrrell offered Stewart a spot on the team. In 1964 , Stewart drove in Formula Three (F3) for Tyrrell. His debut, in the wet at Snetterton on 15 March, was dominant; he took a 25-second lead in just two laps before coasting home to a win by 44 seconds. Within days, he
20586-526: Was the best-selling new car in the UK every year. Despite the launch of the MK4 in March 1986, it started to look a little dated by the end of the decade in the face of newer rivals like the Rover 200 , Peugeot 309 , Fiat Tipo and Renault 19 . The Mk5 Escort was launched in September 1990, along with the Orion saloon, but the motoring public and press gave it mixed to negative reviews. The car's styling lacked
20732-708: Was the car's first outing, but brake failure ended his race. Stewart went on to win the F1 World Championship in 1971 using the Tyrrell 003 -Cosworth, winning Spain , Monaco , France , Britain , Germany , and Canada . He also did a full season in Can-Am, driving a Carl Haas sponsored Lola T260 -Chevrolet. During the 1971 season, Stewart was the only driver able to challenge the McLarens driven by Denny Hulme and Peter Revson . Stewart won two races, at Mont Tremblant and Mid Ohio, and finished 3rd in
20878-536: 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. 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
21024-550: Was the only British driver with three championships until Lewis Hamilton equalled him in 2015 . Outside of Formula One, he narrowly missed out on a win at his first attempt at the Indianapolis 500 in 1966 and competed in the Can-Am series in 1970 and 1971. Between 1997 and 1999, in partnership with his son, Paul , he was team principal of the Stewart Grand Prix F1 racing team. After retiring from racing, Stewart
21170-470: Was the only driver to have won the championship in a car built by a French constructor and remains the only driver to win the world championship in a car built in France as well as in a car entered by a privateer team . Also that year, Stewart led at least one lap of every World Championship Grand Prix, and remains the only driver to achieve this feat. For 1970 , Matra insisted on using their own V12 engines , while Tyrrell and Stewart wanted to continue with
21316-403: Was used in the turbocharged Thunderbird and Cougar models. To minimize these in the XR4Ti without resorting to extreme measures such as adding balance shafts , extensive work was done to reduce noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) in the power-train. The first measure taken to reduce NVH was to redesign the engine's external components, including the intake manifold, to increase the stiffness of
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