From Autoweek (08:45 June 05, 2002)
Mercury working on ways to add more muscle to Marauder.
We’re not the only ones who reported Mercury’s Marauder muscle car is a little short on, well, muscle. Marauder project chief Steve Babcock said as much during a recent briefing when he promised more ponies for the next iteration of the tricked-out Grand Marquis. The problem, he identifies, is giving Marauder power while avoiding fuel-economy penalties.
So far, Marauder has been handicapped with a naturally aspirated 32-valve 4.6-liter V8 that produces 300 horsepower and not enough low-end grunt, but a solution may be imminent. At a recent hot rod show, Babcock popped the hood on a silver-painted Marauder to show off its supercharged 32-valve 4.6-liter that may solve the mileage/power conundrum.
While it’s not the full SVT Cobra package, the Roush booster pushes performance to 340-345 hp, which we’re told is enough to knock a second off Marauder’s high-14-second quarter-mile time.
Mercury folks are mum about future Marauder plans, other than to say potential buyers in warmer climes want a lighter body-color option.