The Merkur Scorpio is a modified version of the European Ford Scorpio with 4 doors and liftgate (hatchback). It was manufactured between 1987 and 1989 and sold by Merkur as 1988 and 1989 models. It first went on sale in the United States in May 1987 but was discontinued in October 1989. It was unsuccessful in the American market for a variety of reasons and some contemporary observers blamed poor marketing of the brand and model for its quick demise.
The Merkur Scorpio, along with the Merkur XR4Ti, was developed from two of Ford's European executive cars: the Ford Scorpio Mark I and the Ford Sierra, respectively. They were manufactured in Germany and sold in North America as captive imports.
The Scorpio's fastback (hatchback) design gave Lincoln-Mercury dealers an opportunity to offer customers a sportier premium alternative to the more traditional Lincoln Continental and Lincoln Town Car sedans.