Saw one of these parked in the Target parking lot this morning and thought it looked pretty cool! Anyone ever driven one or know much about them? I think they had a "souped-up" 4.6 in them, but not sure how much it really changed the performance of that big of a car?

 

Yeah - the Marauder had the 4 valve DOHC 4.6 (302 HP, 318 tq) out of the Mustang and Lincoln Aviator with a beefed up suspension and a lot of CVPI parts. 3.55 LS rear.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury...2.80.932004.29

 

Hard as hell to find parts for now. GLC is right on the motor. Its not as fast as you might think but has that beautiful 4v gurgle like the terminator. It's a higher compression motor like the 03-04 mach 1. The front and rear bumpers if OEM are thousands if you can find no's.. The panther platform cars have a cult like following. Its unfortunate they didn't make a modern version. I spent quite a bit of time reading on them last year. I was thinking of buying a crown Vic but going with a new fusion instead.

 

I loved my 95 Mark VIII Lincoln that had that 32 valve dual overhead cam 4.6L engine. It was 280hp in my Mark. The 93 Mark VIII was the first car that had that engine. The Mark had independent rear suspension. I don't think the Marauder had that.

 

I have one, bad *** cars. Really want to get it back on the road.

 

My 95 Mark VIII was the exact same color. I loved that car. I put a larger swaybar on the rear that made it handle really well. I traded it for a 2005 Dodge Magnum Hemi. I was sorry I traded at first but after I got the handling sorted out on the Magnum, it's a great replacement. The Magnum has independent rear suspension too. Mercedes platform, Mercedes transmission and rear diff/suspension. A great car.

 

Beautiful car! Keep it, its perfect. I love Lincolns. Luckily there are some pretty clean Mark VIII's out there.

 

Some friends of mine at Mason-Dixon dragway at Hagerstown, MD.. I'm a member of TCCoA (the Thunderbird and Cougar Club of America). My local chapter is the MAMN12 (Mid Atlantic MN12 ). Every year, usually on or around the All Ford event in late August, we have a club event. And that involves some Drag Racing......




Aug. 25, 2012. A friend of mine in doing a burnout in his Maruader.





Aug. 25, 2012. The Launch.





Aug. 22, 2010. A buddy of mine in his MKIII.





Aug. 25, 2012. Here he is in 2012. He had just rebuilt the engine, and a fresh paint job. Working the bugs out.





Aug. 25 2012. Another Maruader at the event, and my buddy going at it.

 

Kind of funny seeing Lincoln's and Mercury's lined-up on a drag strip -- I'm used to viewing them from behind with a tuft of gray hair peeking up over the driver's seat......

 

With their left blinker on for miles and miles ...

 

Going 45 in a 70.....

 

Until the blow your doors off

 

1968, I was stationed at Ft. Bliss, El Paso, Texas. On several Sundays, I went over to the Mexican side and watched drag races. They used a public road and flagged the start and finish. If a car came down the road everybody got off the road and let it pass. Some hot cars showed up sometimes. One Sunday an old guy showed up driving his new 68 white Camaro Convertible. He had a white western suit on and a white western hat. He had a long white beard. His car had the 375hp version of the 396 cu in engine that had solid lifters (more like 425hp). The car was completely stock in appearance except for drag slicks. Even had stock exhausts. Anyway, he blew everybody's doors off and made quite a spectacle doing it.

 

Back in '03, I had a tie up between a Mustang GT, Marauder, Escape, or a truck. I went with an Escape that was a nightmare.

But something about this car made me want it... not sure why I didn't get it... and went with that Escape (maybe thinking too much practicality?).

 

The Florida Highway Patrol bought a bunch of those Marauders. There justification was so they could chase the drug dealers on the interstate/turnpikes.