Basic Numeracy: Cars With ‘4’ in the Model Name
This week we’re going to be bringing you a series of gallery posts which highlight very specific model names of vehicles. They won’t all be in current production, and we are certain there will be outrageous omissions.
Still, consider these rigs a good down payment on an interesting topic: One which might make for a good road trip game or pub trivia question. Feel free to add your own entrants.
[Images: Porsche, Ford, BMW]
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There’s only two days left in the week, meaning we’re officially the back end of this gallery idea. That’s either a curse or a relief, depending on how much you’re been enjoying the series. Our managing editor might just be in the latter, for which we are grateful for his patience.
Rolling on to the number ‘4’, one of several good cars can be sourced but we shall start this list with the Porsche 944. Launched in 1982 and, according to the company, it was the third Porsche model to feature a front-mounted engine and rear-axle transmission. It was first equipped with what was essentially the 928’s V8 engine cut in half, creating a 2.5L inline-four and quelling raspberries blown by people saying the 924 used an engine from a VW van.
What else has a ‘4’ in its name? Sticking with the Germans, BMW threw some enthusiasts for a loop when it elected to completely change up its naming convention and start calling its popular two-door performance machine a 4 Series instead of a 3 Series.
No matter. Despite an increased size compared to years past and that grille making for a face only a mother could slug, the 4 Series has does its job in terms of holding its own against other similarly priced German cars (plus a couple from Japan and America).
When someone at Ford decided it would be a good idea to sell a few of its European wares on this side of the pond, it must have seemed like a dandy way to bring a layer of profit to the company for 1985. The cars were already developed, after all, and homologating them to North American rules wouldn’t be too much of a trial.
The effort was launched with the Merkur XR4Ti, a generally excellent contemporary Ford Sierra which was saddled with a completely inscrutable name (Merkur was supposed to be German for Mercury) and a dealer body that didn’t know what to do with the thing. By the time calendars flipped out the ‘80s, Merkur signs were being removed from Ford stores and the experiment was over. Pity.
