MGDriver
01-06-2017, 07:14 AM
Some may have already seen it in the European subforum, my Marauder is featured in the popular German Youngtimer magazine where it is compared to my friends Chevrolet Impala SS.
As far as we know, this marks the first appearance of the Marauder in a foreign press release.
I was only there for the photo shoot (300 mile trip for me) and thus couldn't influence the article much whilst the Impala guy lives in close vicinity so you'll notice that the article is more about the Impala than the Marauder which is a bit of a downer for me. We also didn't make the cover but we weren't excepting that although it is a bit of a shame having lost against a red BMW convertible.
For those whose German is a bit rusty I have provided an English translation. If you are interested to receive a printed copy of the magazine I will set an ordering thread up later and put a bulk order together for everyone.
http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/1102410/fullsize/seite-0.jpg
Fast as the US cops - V8 power by Chevy & Mercury
http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/1102411/fullsize/seite-1.jpghttp://www.supermotors.net/getfile/1102412/fullsize/seite-2.jpg
Big, Black, Bold - Mercury Marauder and Chevrolet Impala SS are full size US-Sedans with lots of V8-Power and rear wheel drive. Their strong muscles have been trained in police service.
Unfortunately my scanner wasn't big enough to capure the whole page but you get the idea. These pages can be turned into a little 18 x 12 inch poster if you order a printed copy.
http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/1102413/fullsize/seite-3.jpghttp://www.supermotors.net/getfile/1102414/fullsize/seite-4.jpg
Impala Interior - All in the style of the 90s the Impala is not stingy with roundly shaped plastic. The LT1-V8 out of the Camaro hides under the intake system
Marauder Interior - Sporty and plain grey also in the Marauder but with fancy white instruments. The Mustang Cobra V8 motor has been retrofitted with an LPG system
32 valves: Unbelievable that Ford built a modern DOHC V8 into their antique body on frame, limited slip Panther-Platform. It happened in the Marauder: 306 horsepower.
Driving shot - The almost ten years younger Marauder appears more conservative than the dynamic Impala SS from 1995.
Behind the wheel of the black Chevrolet Impala SS, a legendary scene from the Hollywood blockbuster “Blues Brother” where Elwood picks up his brother Jake from prison, comes to mind instantly. Although the rounded, mice-grey Impala-Cockpit with its plastic controls and bulky airbag steering wheel bears no resemblance to the 74’ Dodge Monaco from the movie, there are a few similarities: “It's got a cop motor, it's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks.” With these famous words, Elwood justifies the purchase of the old police Dodge.
Our black 95’ Impala SS – SS stands for Super Sport – is no other than a cop car in evening dress. Just like the Mercury Marauder parked next to it which we will talk about later. As a police car, the Impala SS was called Chevrolet Caprice and was in service until 1996. For its tough patrol duties, the last full size Chevy received numerous technical improvements: reinforced suspension and brakes, optimized motor and transmission cooling, solid pickup rear axle with limited slip differential, dual exhaust and a strong 5.7 litre V8 from the Camaro pushing 264 horses. A genuine police Caprice which were also used as subtle undercover cruisers, US-Car enthusiasts identify by the almost magical sounding option code 9C1 in the VIN.
All the technical improvements as well as a lot more comfort features are also part of our black Impala SS, which unlike its police colleagues takes on the roads with enormous 255/50-ZR-16 wheels. But now we would finally like to experience our well disguised Cop-Chevy in action. We fasten our seatbelts, start the engine with the Chevy typical noise, pull the automatic gear selector to D and gently start to drive.
Being on cloud nine
At first, typical US-Sedan: At low speeds we experience to float along on cloud nine in the Impala. Steering, braking and accelerating – everything is casual, easy and chilled out. The rev counter needle already drops at 2500 rpm for the gear change – but we’re quickly moving forward. The suspension seemingly is a bit harder than your standard family Caprice which becomes apparent on uneven road surfaces. The almost silent floating, swinging and wallowing in the spacious grey/black plastic ambience remains.
Time to engage the chase and pursuit mode by bringing our right foot closer to the floor. Flat down at roughly 40 mph – and the Impala SS changes its identity like Clark Kent/Superman. First the V8 roars into life from its half sleep and whips the rev counter needle to a fevered 5000 rpm. Almost instantly the transmission kicks down two gears, tremendously pushing the load forward.
In the humorous cop movie a cup of hot coffee would now drop from the dashboard. We gladly relinquish that but feel an enormous pressure in our backs and admire the lightly lifted front end. The V8 is hammering at the front, the speedometer needle easily swings past the 100 mph mark. And now braking, we turn right off the highway. The four internal ventilated disc brakes are gripping firmly and the Impala – that’s the name of the medium sized African antelopes – throws itself into the corner, more like a grizzly bear with its wide base tires. We improve its balance by accelerating into a little drift.http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/1102415/fullsize/seite-5.jpghttp://www.supermotors.net/getfile/1102416/fullsize/seite-6.jpg
Mercury and Chevy are mighty relicts from the past
After a few more sovereignly mastered corners we return to the starting point. And now we will take a look at what the Mercury Marauder can do. Under its body, like the Impalas SS, you will find optimized technology from a successful, widely recognized police car in the USA: The Ford Crown Victoria. As yellow New York taxis these full size sedans have been shaping the cityscape of Manhattan until about 10 years ago. The widespread police version has been know under the option code P71 or CVPI for Crown Victoria Police Interceptor across all US states since 1998.
The typical cop car
Like the Caprice that was built until 1996, the Crown Victoria and its sibling Grand Marquis share the body on frame design, V8 motor, rear wheel drive and sturdy suspension with limited slip differential. Everything that a solid cop car in the USA ever needs. The CVPI version received the same improvements as the Caprice with 9C1 police package. The strong 4.6 litre V8 of the CVPI is derived from the Ford Mustang and pushes 254 horses. Then Ford came up with the glorious idea to turn the CVPI into a big sports sedan – the Mercury Marauder was born.
With it Ford copied the transformation of the police Caprice into the Impala SS – delayed by 7 years. The similarities between the out of production rivals are unmistakable: The Marauder, like the Impala, was only available in black at first and except from the wheels and brand logos without any chrome decoration. Also the name Marauder derives from a traditional model as it is with the Chevy. Inside both are grey and have electrical leather bucket seats with the floor mounted automatic gear selector between them.
At least Ford wanted to top the rivals performance and dropped the strongest 306 horsepower Mustang engine into the Marauder. It also received an attractive sports cockpit with a white instrument cluster and three additional round NASCAR style gauges in the centre console. However the rounded highly build Marauder appears less aggressive than the wide almost maliciously lurking Impala SS.
After entering the numeric code into the keyless entry pad on the driver side door the Marauder lets its driver behind the wheel. The modern DOHC V8 with 32 valves starts impulsively and runs a bit rougher than the smooth dual valve engine in the Chevy. However the Ford V8 powerfully pushes forward right after letting off the brake pedal which makes you want to put a red beacon on the roof.
The redline of the V8 only starts at 6000 rpm so the dual valve engine pushes the 1.9 tonnes forward with relatively high revs and firm gear changes. A meaty roar accompanies the acceleration process. Leisurely, stress free cruising like the club cars of Queen Victoria is also one of the Mercurys abilities. Now we are just missing the drawbridge where Elwood demonstrated the flight abilities of his Dodge Monaco. Our elegant black cop cars could surely do that too.
As far as we know, this marks the first appearance of the Marauder in a foreign press release.
I was only there for the photo shoot (300 mile trip for me) and thus couldn't influence the article much whilst the Impala guy lives in close vicinity so you'll notice that the article is more about the Impala than the Marauder which is a bit of a downer for me. We also didn't make the cover but we weren't excepting that although it is a bit of a shame having lost against a red BMW convertible.
For those whose German is a bit rusty I have provided an English translation. If you are interested to receive a printed copy of the magazine I will set an ordering thread up later and put a bulk order together for everyone.
http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/1102410/fullsize/seite-0.jpg
Fast as the US cops - V8 power by Chevy & Mercury
http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/1102411/fullsize/seite-1.jpghttp://www.supermotors.net/getfile/1102412/fullsize/seite-2.jpg
Big, Black, Bold - Mercury Marauder and Chevrolet Impala SS are full size US-Sedans with lots of V8-Power and rear wheel drive. Their strong muscles have been trained in police service.
Unfortunately my scanner wasn't big enough to capure the whole page but you get the idea. These pages can be turned into a little 18 x 12 inch poster if you order a printed copy.
http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/1102413/fullsize/seite-3.jpghttp://www.supermotors.net/getfile/1102414/fullsize/seite-4.jpg
Impala Interior - All in the style of the 90s the Impala is not stingy with roundly shaped plastic. The LT1-V8 out of the Camaro hides under the intake system
Marauder Interior - Sporty and plain grey also in the Marauder but with fancy white instruments. The Mustang Cobra V8 motor has been retrofitted with an LPG system
32 valves: Unbelievable that Ford built a modern DOHC V8 into their antique body on frame, limited slip Panther-Platform. It happened in the Marauder: 306 horsepower.
Driving shot - The almost ten years younger Marauder appears more conservative than the dynamic Impala SS from 1995.
Behind the wheel of the black Chevrolet Impala SS, a legendary scene from the Hollywood blockbuster “Blues Brother” where Elwood picks up his brother Jake from prison, comes to mind instantly. Although the rounded, mice-grey Impala-Cockpit with its plastic controls and bulky airbag steering wheel bears no resemblance to the 74’ Dodge Monaco from the movie, there are a few similarities: “It's got a cop motor, it's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks.” With these famous words, Elwood justifies the purchase of the old police Dodge.
Our black 95’ Impala SS – SS stands for Super Sport – is no other than a cop car in evening dress. Just like the Mercury Marauder parked next to it which we will talk about later. As a police car, the Impala SS was called Chevrolet Caprice and was in service until 1996. For its tough patrol duties, the last full size Chevy received numerous technical improvements: reinforced suspension and brakes, optimized motor and transmission cooling, solid pickup rear axle with limited slip differential, dual exhaust and a strong 5.7 litre V8 from the Camaro pushing 264 horses. A genuine police Caprice which were also used as subtle undercover cruisers, US-Car enthusiasts identify by the almost magical sounding option code 9C1 in the VIN.
All the technical improvements as well as a lot more comfort features are also part of our black Impala SS, which unlike its police colleagues takes on the roads with enormous 255/50-ZR-16 wheels. But now we would finally like to experience our well disguised Cop-Chevy in action. We fasten our seatbelts, start the engine with the Chevy typical noise, pull the automatic gear selector to D and gently start to drive.
Being on cloud nine
At first, typical US-Sedan: At low speeds we experience to float along on cloud nine in the Impala. Steering, braking and accelerating – everything is casual, easy and chilled out. The rev counter needle already drops at 2500 rpm for the gear change – but we’re quickly moving forward. The suspension seemingly is a bit harder than your standard family Caprice which becomes apparent on uneven road surfaces. The almost silent floating, swinging and wallowing in the spacious grey/black plastic ambience remains.
Time to engage the chase and pursuit mode by bringing our right foot closer to the floor. Flat down at roughly 40 mph – and the Impala SS changes its identity like Clark Kent/Superman. First the V8 roars into life from its half sleep and whips the rev counter needle to a fevered 5000 rpm. Almost instantly the transmission kicks down two gears, tremendously pushing the load forward.
In the humorous cop movie a cup of hot coffee would now drop from the dashboard. We gladly relinquish that but feel an enormous pressure in our backs and admire the lightly lifted front end. The V8 is hammering at the front, the speedometer needle easily swings past the 100 mph mark. And now braking, we turn right off the highway. The four internal ventilated disc brakes are gripping firmly and the Impala – that’s the name of the medium sized African antelopes – throws itself into the corner, more like a grizzly bear with its wide base tires. We improve its balance by accelerating into a little drift.http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/1102415/fullsize/seite-5.jpghttp://www.supermotors.net/getfile/1102416/fullsize/seite-6.jpg
Mercury and Chevy are mighty relicts from the past
After a few more sovereignly mastered corners we return to the starting point. And now we will take a look at what the Mercury Marauder can do. Under its body, like the Impalas SS, you will find optimized technology from a successful, widely recognized police car in the USA: The Ford Crown Victoria. As yellow New York taxis these full size sedans have been shaping the cityscape of Manhattan until about 10 years ago. The widespread police version has been know under the option code P71 or CVPI for Crown Victoria Police Interceptor across all US states since 1998.
The typical cop car
Like the Caprice that was built until 1996, the Crown Victoria and its sibling Grand Marquis share the body on frame design, V8 motor, rear wheel drive and sturdy suspension with limited slip differential. Everything that a solid cop car in the USA ever needs. The CVPI version received the same improvements as the Caprice with 9C1 police package. The strong 4.6 litre V8 of the CVPI is derived from the Ford Mustang and pushes 254 horses. Then Ford came up with the glorious idea to turn the CVPI into a big sports sedan – the Mercury Marauder was born.
With it Ford copied the transformation of the police Caprice into the Impala SS – delayed by 7 years. The similarities between the out of production rivals are unmistakable: The Marauder, like the Impala, was only available in black at first and except from the wheels and brand logos without any chrome decoration. Also the name Marauder derives from a traditional model as it is with the Chevy. Inside both are grey and have electrical leather bucket seats with the floor mounted automatic gear selector between them.
At least Ford wanted to top the rivals performance and dropped the strongest 306 horsepower Mustang engine into the Marauder. It also received an attractive sports cockpit with a white instrument cluster and three additional round NASCAR style gauges in the centre console. However the rounded highly build Marauder appears less aggressive than the wide almost maliciously lurking Impala SS.
After entering the numeric code into the keyless entry pad on the driver side door the Marauder lets its driver behind the wheel. The modern DOHC V8 with 32 valves starts impulsively and runs a bit rougher than the smooth dual valve engine in the Chevy. However the Ford V8 powerfully pushes forward right after letting off the brake pedal which makes you want to put a red beacon on the roof.
The redline of the V8 only starts at 6000 rpm so the dual valve engine pushes the 1.9 tonnes forward with relatively high revs and firm gear changes. A meaty roar accompanies the acceleration process. Leisurely, stress free cruising like the club cars of Queen Victoria is also one of the Mercurys abilities. Now we are just missing the drawbridge where Elwood demonstrated the flight abilities of his Dodge Monaco. Our elegant black cop cars could surely do that too.