For drivers who wanted their muscle in a full-sized luxury coupe with all the trimmings, Mercury offered the Marauder X-100.
Yep, the ’69-’70 Marauder X-100 was a big car. But oddly enough, it wasn’t quite as big as it could have been. While the rest of the full-size Mercurys rode on a 124-inch wheelbase chassis in those years, the X-100 (and its downmarket sibling, the Marauder) shared a smaller 121-inch platform with the Ford Galaxie/LTD. Still, the X-100 was ponderously large for a performance car at 219 inches in length and 4,400 lbs, dwelling in the same batleship class as the Chrysler 300H and Plymouth Fury GT (see our feature on the Fury GT here.)
It seems both Ford Motor Company and Chrysler were convinced there was a solid market for plus-sized, luxury-equipped muscle machines, and the X-100 had the muscle part of the package nailed down. The standard (and only) engine was a 429 cubic-inch V8 with a four-barrel carb and dual exhausts, offering 360 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque, and with its 10.5:1 compression ratio it demanded premium fuel. The only available transmission was a C6 three-speed automatic. Sorry, no four-speed, and 3.25:1 was the sportiest rear axle ratio available.
In a December 1968 road test of the X-100, Car and Driver magazine reported a 0-to 60 mph time of 7.8 seconds and the quarter-mile in 16.0 seconds— no threat to real muscle cars, but more than respectable for a luxury tank. On the downside, the observed fuel consumption was a greedy 10-13 mpg on the aforementioned premium gasoline, which was typical for deluxe highway cruisers of the period, to be fair.
Speaking of luxury, Mercury had that part covered, too. Interiors were lavishly equipped, with buyers having their choice of a split-bench seat with folding arm rests, or full bucket seats with a center console and a floor-mounted SelectShift lever. The C/D editors found the stirrup-style shifter imprecise, with upshifts occurring before the lever was clicked into gear.
Standard features included a three-spoke rim-blow steering wheel, a matte-black paint treatment for the rear deck (deleted on request), styled aluminum 15-in wheels, white-stripe belted tires, and fender skirts, of all things. An unusual choice for a performance-image vehicle, the skirts added even more bulk to the X-100’s already hefty visual presence. It’s a distinctive look, for sure.
At $4,091 for the 1969 introduction, the X-100 was priced at nearly $700 more than the roughly comparable Ford XL Sportsroof, which shared much of its sheet metal aft the cowl but offered a 351 CID V8 as standard. With the usual options (as with the C/D test car) the list price could reach into the $4,600 range—Thunderbird territory. Sales amounted to 5,635 cars in ’69, but then fell to half that in ’70. For 1971, the Marauder and Marauder X-100 were dropped as Mercury left the performance and personal-luxury categories to the Cyclone and Cougar.
the fender skirts make it look like a whale.
It looks big because it is big!
One of my favorites. I like that canary yellow color choice
That’s a neat trick to base the Marauder on the Ford chassis instead of Mercury, since it cost more than the Monterey.
Yea that was a highway beast. My wonderful Dad’s first Lincoln he kept was a 1970 Coupe, as plain and basic as could be, in very lite ice blue, with dark blue roof and very nice silk like matching interior. Powered by a premium gas 460, that said 370 hp on the air filter, with dual exhaust and posi rear dad insisted due to all the snow we got and living on a hill with a curve half way up. One weekend I came home in between Basic Training and AIT, so Dad let me take the car on a date. I was feeling like king of the highway, with the beauty on my arm, driving a sweat Lincoln Coupe. She lived in where else? but Lincoln, R. I. , right next to Rt 295, a very nice beltway around Providence. We came off the on ramp heading uphill and I just floored it, that got her horny as hell! I only let up when I seen the flashing lights! As we blew by a R. I. State Trooper! Who came right out after me, I looked down at the speedometer to see it was buried! Or exactly all red, as it was like a thermometer turning amber at 75, red at 100! So I just slowed and pulled over as quick as I could and had all my papers ready when he came up. Luckily for me he had just been discharged from The Army, right from where I was going back to! He gave me the biggest break in my life. He had me on radar going 129 mph!!!