Sierra Cosworth Predesessor Eggenberger Merkur XR4Ti Group A Touring Car Restored & For Sale
Quite possibly one of the most significant Group A touring cars of the 1980s, one of two Eggenberger Merkur XR4Ti touring cars has been restored and is up for sale.
CNC Motorsport AWS have recently finished restoring the 1986 European Touring Car Championship winner which played an important role in the development of the later Ford Sierra RS Cosworth. The Merkur was originally built by the Swiss Fors supported team to refine what was to become the Cosworth.
Steve Soper and Klaus Niedzwiedz drove the car to victory in Estoril and secured a podium finish at Hockenheim. The car also finished seventh in the 1986 Spa 24 Hours. When the season had finished, the car was shipped to New Zealand for Soper and Neville Chrichton to race in the Wellington Street Race and finished fourth.
Chrichton decided to buy the car whilst he was waiting for a Sierra Cosworth and entered it in the Nissan Mobil races before racing it in the Shell Ultra Touring Car Championship in Australia. It was here that it was upgraded to full RS500 specification with a completely new drivetrain, suspension and rear quarters.
Later the car was owned by Mark Petch, it was raced in the TraNZam series and was fitted with the correct XR4Ti panels before returning to the UK to be restored by CNC Motorsport who are behind the Rouse Continuation RS500 cars.
A full body restoration was undertaken and a fresh in house 340 bhp, 2.3 litre Merkur engine was installed and has only done 10 test miles to date. CNC remanufactured the roll cage to the correct 1986 design. They have installed the correct, original, Group A specification Eggenberger suspension and rare Getrag ‘long’ bell housing. 17″ BBS wheels have been fitted with AP racing calipers, Bilstein dampers and a new FIA approved fuel cell making the car race ready.
The car is being sold with FIA HTP papers and is eligible for many UK and European events and has an invitation for Peter Auto HTC alongside Motor Racing Legends.
“This is possibly one of the most significant cars of the Group A touring car era,” says Alan Strachan who has painstakingly restored the car over the past four years. “Without the Merkurs, the Sierra Cosworth may not have endured the success they did. This is a fascinating car, driven by some of the biggest names of the time and comes with an extensive history of its time in New Zealand including pictures, race reports and period spare body panels. We also can offer an additional spares package and support with running the car.”
Available now, price on application, but this is said to offer considerable value when compared to values of period competition Sierra RS500s. Enquiries should be made to CNC Motorsport: [email protected]
Summary of results Results for 1986 ETCC, driven by Steve Soper and Klaus Niedzwiedz:
- 04.1986 – Hockenheim – Q P9 – Finished 3rd
- 08.1986 – SPA 24 hr – Q P10 – Finished 7th
- 09.1986 – Nogaro – Q P2 – Finished 4th
- 10.1986 – Estoril – Q P2 – Finished 1st
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