2003 Mercury Marauder news, pictures, and information

The name 'Marauder' adorned Mercury vehicles for the first time in 1963, used to represent their two-door fastback hardtop. The name continued for a few years, ending in 1965, before being re-introduced in 1969 as a distinct model. The Marauder was a luxury car powered by a 390 cubic-inch V8 engine; the X-100 version had an even larger, 429 cubic-inch engine that produced an impressive 360 horsepower.

In 1969, around 15,000 examples were created. A year later, sales plummeted and Mercury felt the need to cease production of the Marauder.

In 2003 Mercury made the decision to re-introduce the name, serving as a high-performance option of the Mercury Grand Marquis sedan. The car had a revised suspension in both the front and rear with monotube shock absorbers. Steering was by rack-and-pinon and power was from the 4.6-liter DOHC V8. The car had over 300 horsepower and nearly 320 foot-pounds of torque.

Originally, only black was available. As customers began making requests for other colors, silver, blue, and red were offered, though in limited colors. Blue was the most rare, with only 328 examples produced.

A convertible option on the Marauder was created as a concept, but was never entered into production. One of the concepts was sold by Ford with proceeds benefiting a children's charity.

The name persisted in 2004, with 7839 examples being produced in 2003 and 3213 in 2004.

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