Ford Scorpio
Encyclopedia
The Ford Scorpio is an automobile that was produced by the Ford Motor Company
from 1985 through to 1998.
It was the replacement for the European Ford Granada
line (although in the UK and Ireland the Scorpio was marketed under the Granada name until 1994). Like its predecessor, the Scorpio was targeted at the executive car
market.
A variant known as the Merkur Scorpio
was sold briefly on the North American market during the late-1980s
, sitting on a stretched version of its floorpan
, and using a similar styling philosophy set by both the Sierra and the third generation Escort
. Under the bonnet
were well-proven engines, starting with the venerable Pinto engine
unit in 1.8 L and 2.0 L capacities, as well as the V6 Cologne engine in 2.4 L, 2.8 L, and later 2.9 L displacements. By 1989, both the Pinto engines had been dropped, with an 8-valve DOHC engine replacing the 2.0 L model.
The Scorpio was intended to maintain Ford's position in Europe as the principal alternative to a Mercedes or BMW for those looking to own an executive car. To this end Ford built on the already extensive specification available on the outgoing MkII Granada (which for the period, was very well equipped, with features such as leather heated electrically adjustable seats, air conditioning
, electric sunroof and trip computer either standard or available as options) by adding some additional features unusual on a mass-market car. Improvements available included; heated windscreen, Cruise Control
and, later all wheel drive. The most notable advance was the fitment of anti-lock braking system
, the first time this feature had been made standard across the whole range on a mass-produced car. The car was widely praised as being very comfortable and spacious, particularly in respect of its rear legroom.
Unlike the Granada, it was initially only available as a hatchback
, and not as a saloon or estate
. This proved to be a mistake for Ford, which later introduced a saloon version in 1990, and the estate appeared two years later. There were few engineering changes over the years, notably the introduction of the DOHC engines in 1989, and the Scorpio Cosworth with a 2.9 L 24-valve Cosworth
V6 the following year. The Cosworth Engine has become a choice upgrade for many Ford Sierra
owners with many Granadas being broken up to provide these power plants, it became a cheap and easy way to obtain 200+ BHP. Some of these engines have also been turbocharged and versions of the engine ( FBE ) were also used in motorsport.
The Cosworth was both large and fast, which consequently gave it heavy fuel consumption. Many owners often commented at the fact that 25 miles per gallon was about as much as you could get out of a car with this engine. Prop-shaft deterioration over time was also considered to be a problem on early Mark I and II Cosworths.
In the UK and Ireland, the "Ford Granada" name of the Scorpio's predecessor was retained until 1994, with the MkI Scorpio in effect positioned as a "MkIII" Ford Granada. In those markets, "Scorpio" was a sub-brand used specifically for the top of the range trim level for the 1985 Mk3 Granada model.
The Merkur Scorpio was a North American version of the European Scorpio Mk I. The car was offered at select Lincoln–Mercury
dealerships from 1988–1990.
The Merkur
Scorpio was only offered with the Cologne 2.9L V6 engine with some detail differences from the contemporary Fords. Adapted to meet American emissions requirements, the Merkur version of the Scorpio produced 140 hp when introduced to the North American market in 1988. The vast majority were fitted with the A4LD 4-speed automatic transmission, and the rest received the T-9 5-speed manual transmission. Only automatic versions of the Scorpio were available in Canada. The car was marketed as an upscale, mid-size
luxury car, but never achieved the market impact
that the Ford Motor Company hoped for. Ford dropped the Merkur
nameplate altogether after 1989.
It's worth noting that this facelift realigned the look of the Granada with the forth coming Mondeo, and kept styling cues coherent across model range.
In addition, the "Granada" name, which had been retained in the UK and Ireland for the MkI Scorpio (AKA MkIII Granada) was finally dropped and the "Scorpio" name- already used elsewhere- was adopted.
Inside the car were new arm-chair style seats and improved interior quality, but outside the new look was controversial. The car sported bulbous headlights and its tail lights were arranged in a thin line just above the bumper. Unusually, Ford never released the name of the designer and maintain to this day that the car outsold its expected figures (although they never released what those figures actually were). The bulging headlights and wide grill were defended by some who felt that this made it look less like a minicab
, but the public and press reaction to the design was largely negative.
The French took to calling it a grenouille triste (sad frog) and Jeremy Clarkson
wrote in The Times
at the time that this car ended any argument as to which was the ugliest on the road. In Richard Porter's 2004 book Crap Cars the Scorpio Mark II was listed as number 49 (of 50) on looks alone. Quentin Willson
said in a 1997 Top Gear
episode that the 'sad-eyed Scorpio is so heroically ugly, it was obviously designed by Ray Charles
and Stevie Wonder
.'
In 1998, it was listed as the third worst N-registered car (August 1995-July 1996) to own in United Kingdom from a Top Gear survey of 120 cars.
On the DVD special Clarkson: Heaven and Hell, Clarkson set up a jousting
contest between a Scorpio — which he described as "a wide-mouthed frog" – and a Triumph TR7
, eventually destroying both cars via head-on collision.
In early 1998 the Scorpio was facelifted, with darker headlight surrounds and a more subtle grille, to tone down the front end of the car. The rear lights were also revised to make the rear of the car less bulbous. This was to be the last development for the model, which finished production over the summer of 1998. Many Scorpios were still in stock at this point however, with at least two years elapsing between the end of production and the sale of the very last model.
Whether or not the car genuinely made Ford's sales expectations, the shifting European car market at the end of the 1990s meant that it was not directly replaced. This was not unusual at the time, with trends towards either high-spec large family car
s for executives or towards multi-purpose vehicles for families. In any case, at that time the Ford company owned Jaguar, with which the Scorpio had competed in Europe. Other manufacturers were doing the same in this segment, such as Vauxhall
/Opel
ceasing Omega
sales shortly after and Honda
ceasing Legend
sales in Europe. The D-segment Rover 600
and the E-segment Rover 800
were both nominally replaced by the Rover 75
, which was closer to the D-segment. Meanwhile, the unsuccessful Peugeot 605
was quietly dropped for the Peugeot 607
late in 1999. However, the 605's sister, the Citroën XM
was axed in 2000 with no direct replacement until the launch of the C6
in 2006.
Some of the large executive cars (such as the Legend
) have more recently been brought back for the European market, and it is worth noting that the Mark IV Mondeo
(2007) exceeds the size of the Mark II Scorpio in every dimension, including the wheelbase
.
(each one being available as a saloon or an estate and with any engine). Regardless of the trim level, any car with a 2.9 Cosworth engine was fitted with traction control
, cruise control
and an automatic gearbox as standard (a manual gearbox could not be specified at all). All other engines could be fitted with either a manual or automatic transmission although, in practice, the vast majority of Scorpios were automatic.
Executive: The base model, although even this had a high level of specification including electric windows, ABS
, PAS
as well as an alarm and immobiliser.
Ghia: This level added air conditioning, alloy wheels, front fog lights and electric mirrors as well as a variety of minor additions.
Ultima: The highest level added a CD autochanger, climate control, leather seats, cruise control and an automatically dimming mirror, and electrically operated seats as well as a variety of other minor improvements.
Unusually trim levels and engine sizes were not liveried on the backs of the cars. Rather the trim levels were liveried on the sides of the cars by the Scorpio badges on the rear window frames as such. The Executive had no badge, simply the word "Scorpio". Each other model had the model name under the badge, for example "Scorpio Ultima."
Engine sizes were also on the sides of the cars towards the front just above the auxiliary indicator lights as such:
2.0 L: no badge (on older cars the 2 litre 8 valve had no badge but the 2 litre sixteen valve bore had the badge "2.0 16v")
2.3 L: "2.3" (on older cars "2.3 16v")
2.9 L: "2.9" (on older cars "2.9 12v")
2.9 L: Cosworth "24v"
Unlike the Mark I Scorpio, the word "Cosworth" did not appear anywhere on the outside of cars fitted with such an engine (possibly in attempt to reduce the likelihood of vehicle theft) although it is in evidence across the top of the engine. However, on the 1998 facelift, the Cosworth badge is clearly visible on the trunk lid.
With large numbers of these types of vehicles traditionally being sold into the company car market in the UK, their very low residual values (worth after 3 or 4 years use) affected the total cost of ownership to such a degree the premium, aspirational marques became no more expensive to run, especially on a Contract Hire or Leasing Agreement. Buyers therefore gravitated toward models with more prestige such as those made by BMW
and Lexus
.
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
from 1985 through to 1998.
It was the replacement for the European Ford Granada
Ford Granada (Europe)
The March 1972 released Granada succeeded the British Ford Zephyr, and the German P7-series as Ford's European executive car offering. At first, lower models in the range were called the Ford Consul, but from 1975 on they were all called Granadas. The car soon became popular for taxi, fleet and...
line (although in the UK and Ireland the Scorpio was marketed under the Granada name until 1994). Like its predecessor, the Scorpio was targeted at the executive car
Executive car
Executive car is a British term that refers to a car's size and is used to describe an automobile larger than a large family car. In official use, the term is adopted by EuroNCAP, a European organisation founded to test car safety.- History :...
market.
A variant known as the Merkur Scorpio
Merkur Scorpio
The Merkur Scorpio is a modified European Ford Scorpio with 4 doors and lift gate which was manufactured and sold as 1988 and 1989 models...
was sold briefly on the North American market during the late-1980s
Mark I (1985–92)
Engineering-wise, the Scorpio was heavily based on the SierraFord Sierra
The Ford Sierra is a large family car that was built by Ford Europe from 1982 until 1993. It was designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick le Quément. The code used during development was "Project Toni"....
, sitting on a stretched version of its floorpan
Floorpan
The floorpan is a large sheet metal stamping that often incorporates several smaller welded stampings to form the floor of a large vehicle and the position of its external and structural panels....
, and using a similar styling philosophy set by both the Sierra and the third generation Escort
Ford Escort (European)
The Mark I Ford Escort was introduced in the United Kingdom at the end of 1967, making its show debut at Brussels Motor Show in January 1968. It replaced the successful long running Anglia. The car was presented in continental Europe as a product of Ford's European operation...
. Under the bonnet
Hood (vehicle)
The hood or bonnet is the hinged cover over the engine of motor vehicles that allows access to the engine compartment for maintenance and repair. In British terminology, hood refers to a fabric cover over the passenger compartment of the car...
were well-proven engines, starting with the venerable Pinto engine
Ford Pinto engine
The Ford Pinto engine was the unofficial but generic nickname for a 4-cylinder internal combustion engine built by Ford Europe. In Ford sales literature it was referred to as the EAO or OHC engine and because it was designed to the metric system, it was sometimes called the "Metric engine". The...
unit in 1.8 L and 2.0 L capacities, as well as the V6 Cologne engine in 2.4 L, 2.8 L, and later 2.9 L displacements. By 1989, both the Pinto engines had been dropped, with an 8-valve DOHC engine replacing the 2.0 L model.
The Scorpio was intended to maintain Ford's position in Europe as the principal alternative to a Mercedes or BMW for those looking to own an executive car. To this end Ford built on the already extensive specification available on the outgoing MkII Granada (which for the period, was very well equipped, with features such as leather heated electrically adjustable seats, air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
, electric sunroof and trip computer either standard or available as options) by adding some additional features unusual on a mass-market car. Improvements available included; heated windscreen, Cruise Control
Cruise control
Cruise control is a system that automatically controls the speed of a motor vehicle. The system takes over the throttle of the car to maintain a steady speed as set by the driver.-History:...
and, later all wheel drive. The most notable advance was the fitment of anti-lock braking system
Anti-lock braking system
An anti-lock braking system is a safety system that allows the wheels on a motor vehicle to continue interacting tractively with the road surface as directed by driver steering inputs while braking, preventing the wheels from locking up and therefore avoiding skidding.An ABS generally offers...
, the first time this feature had been made standard across the whole range on a mass-produced car. The car was widely praised as being very comfortable and spacious, particularly in respect of its rear legroom.
Unlike the Granada, it was initially only available as a hatchback
Hatchback
A Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...
, and not as a saloon or estate
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
. This proved to be a mistake for Ford, which later introduced a saloon version in 1990, and the estate appeared two years later. There were few engineering changes over the years, notably the introduction of the DOHC engines in 1989, and the Scorpio Cosworth with a 2.9 L 24-valve Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...
V6 the following year. The Cosworth Engine has become a choice upgrade for many Ford Sierra
Ford Sierra
The Ford Sierra is a large family car that was built by Ford Europe from 1982 until 1993. It was designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick le Quément. The code used during development was "Project Toni"....
owners with many Granadas being broken up to provide these power plants, it became a cheap and easy way to obtain 200+ BHP. Some of these engines have also been turbocharged and versions of the engine ( FBE ) were also used in motorsport.
The Cosworth was both large and fast, which consequently gave it heavy fuel consumption. Many owners often commented at the fact that 25 miles per gallon was about as much as you could get out of a car with this engine. Prop-shaft deterioration over time was also considered to be a problem on early Mark I and II Cosworths.
In the UK and Ireland, the "Ford Granada" name of the Scorpio's predecessor was retained until 1994, with the MkI Scorpio in effect positioned as a "MkIII" Ford Granada. In those markets, "Scorpio" was a sub-brand used specifically for the top of the range trim level for the 1985 Mk3 Granada model.
Merkur Scorpio
Mercury (automobile)
Mercury was an automobile marque of the Ford Motor Company launched in 1938 by Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford, to market entry-level luxury cars slotted between Ford-branded regular models and Lincoln-branded luxury vehicles, similar to General Motors' Buick brand, and Chrysler's namesake brand...
dealerships from 1988–1990.
The Merkur
Merkur
Merkur , Mercury) was an automobile brand which was briefly marketed by Ford Motor Company in the United States and Canada from 1985 to 1989...
Scorpio was only offered with the Cologne 2.9L V6 engine with some detail differences from the contemporary Fords. Adapted to meet American emissions requirements, the Merkur version of the Scorpio produced 140 hp when introduced to the North American market in 1988. The vast majority were fitted with the A4LD 4-speed automatic transmission, and the rest received the T-9 5-speed manual transmission. Only automatic versions of the Scorpio were available in Canada. The car was marketed as an upscale, mid-size
Mid-size car
A mid-size car is the North American/Australian standard for an automobile with a size equal to or greater than that of a compact...
luxury car, but never achieved the market impact
Market impact
In financial markets, market impact is the effect that a market participant has when it buys or sells an asset. It is the extent to which the buying or selling moves the price against the buyer or seller, i.e. upward when buying and downward when selling...
that the Ford Motor Company hoped for. Ford dropped the Merkur
Merkur
Merkur , Mercury) was an automobile brand which was briefly marketed by Ford Motor Company in the United States and Canada from 1985 to 1989...
nameplate altogether after 1989.
Facelifted Model (1992–94)
The model was facelifted Mark I with changed grill, headlights, rear lights, bonnet and dashboard. It went on sale in early 1992, at the same time that an estate model (first shown in London at the October 1991 motor show) was added to the range http://www.flickr.com/photos/7733434@N04/2258141597It's worth noting that this facelift realigned the look of the Granada with the forth coming Mondeo, and kept styling cues coherent across model range.
Mark II (1994–98)
The second generation Scorpio was made available in saloon or estate styles only, and had largely the same floorpan as its predecessor as well as all of the same engines that were in use at the end of the first generation's run. Many suspension and handling improvements were made between the first and second generations (including self-levelling rear suspension on the estates). It was also radically re-styled both inside and outside.In addition, the "Granada" name, which had been retained in the UK and Ireland for the MkI Scorpio (AKA MkIII Granada) was finally dropped and the "Scorpio" name- already used elsewhere- was adopted.
Inside the car were new arm-chair style seats and improved interior quality, but outside the new look was controversial. The car sported bulbous headlights and its tail lights were arranged in a thin line just above the bumper. Unusually, Ford never released the name of the designer and maintain to this day that the car outsold its expected figures (although they never released what those figures actually were). The bulging headlights and wide grill were defended by some who felt that this made it look less like a minicab
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
, but the public and press reaction to the design was largely negative.
The French took to calling it a grenouille triste (sad frog) and Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
wrote in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
at the time that this car ended any argument as to which was the ugliest on the road. In Richard Porter's 2004 book Crap Cars the Scorpio Mark II was listed as number 49 (of 50) on looks alone. Quentin Willson
Quentin Willson
Quentin Willson is a British TV presenter and motoring expert, perhaps most widely known as a presenter of the motoring programmes Britain's Worst Driver, Fifth Gear, and the original incarnation of Top Gear. He lives in Warwickshire with his wife and three children.-Early years:Willson studied...
said in a 1997 Top Gear
Top Gear (original format)
Top Gear was a car-based BBC television series produced by BBC Birmingham, and broadcast on BBC2 from 1977 to 2001...
episode that the 'sad-eyed Scorpio is so heroically ugly, it was obviously designed by Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
and Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
.'
In 1998, it was listed as the third worst N-registered car (August 1995-July 1996) to own in United Kingdom from a Top Gear survey of 120 cars.
On the DVD special Clarkson: Heaven and Hell, Clarkson set up a jousting
Jousting
Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two knights mounted on horses and using lances, often as part of a tournament.Jousting emerged in the High Middle Ages based on the military use of the lance by heavy cavalry. The first camels tournament was staged in 1066, but jousting itself did not...
contest between a Scorpio — which he described as "a wide-mouthed frog" – and a Triumph TR7
Triumph TR7
The Triumph TR7 is a sports car manufactured from September 1974 to October 1981 by the Triumph Motor Company in the United Kingdom. It was initially produced at the Speke, Liverpool factory, moving to Canley, Coventry in 1978 and then finally to the Rover plant in Solihull in 1980...
, eventually destroying both cars via head-on collision.
In early 1998 the Scorpio was facelifted, with darker headlight surrounds and a more subtle grille, to tone down the front end of the car. The rear lights were also revised to make the rear of the car less bulbous. This was to be the last development for the model, which finished production over the summer of 1998. Many Scorpios were still in stock at this point however, with at least two years elapsing between the end of production and the sale of the very last model.
Whether or not the car genuinely made Ford's sales expectations, the shifting European car market at the end of the 1990s meant that it was not directly replaced. This was not unusual at the time, with trends towards either high-spec large family car
Large family car
A large family car, also known as a D-segment car, is a European automobile classification which is larger than a small family car and smaller than an executive car. Multi-purpose vehicles based on a large family car design are often called large MPVs, while similarly-priced models from luxury car...
s for executives or towards multi-purpose vehicles for families. In any case, at that time the Ford company owned Jaguar, with which the Scorpio had competed in Europe. Other manufacturers were doing the same in this segment, such as Vauxhall
Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors is a British automotive company owned by General Motors and headquartered in Luton. It was founded in 1857 as a pump and marine engine manufacturer, began manufacturing cars in 1903 and was acquired by GM in 1925. It has been the second-largest selling car brand in the UK for...
/Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
ceasing Omega
Opel Omega
The Opel Omega was an executive car marketed by the German automaker Opel between 1986 and 2003 in two generations, both manufactured at Opel's Rüsselsheim, Germany plant. The first generation, the Omega A , superseded the Opel Rekord, was voted European Car of the Year for 1987, and was available...
sales shortly after and Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
ceasing Legend
Honda Legend
The Honda Legend is a mid-size luxury car made by the Japanese automaker Honda. It was the result of Project XX, a joint agreement started in November 1981 with the Austin Rover Group of Great Britain and was mechanically related to the Rover 800 series....
sales in Europe. The D-segment Rover 600
Rover 600
The Rover 600 Series is a compact executive car produced by the British car maker Rover from 1993 to 1999.The Rover 600 exterior was designed by Rover, a re-skin of the Tochigi-developed Honda Accord, also built in the UK by Honda in Swindon...
and the E-segment Rover 800
Rover 800
The Rover 800 series is an executive car introduced by the Austin Rover Group in 1986 and also marketed as the Sterling in the United States. Co-developed with Honda, it was a close relative to the Honda Legend and the successor to the Rover SD1....
were both nominally replaced by the Rover 75
Rover 75
The Rover 75 is an executive car produced initially by the Rover Group at Cowley, Oxfordshire, UK, and later by MG Rover at their Longbridge site in Birmingham, UK...
, which was closer to the D-segment. Meanwhile, the unsuccessful Peugeot 605
Peugeot 605
The Peugeot 605 is an executive car produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot between 1989 and 1999, with a facelift in 1995.-History:The 605 was a saloon/sedan built on the same platform as the Citroën XM, and was successor to the unsuccessful Peugeot 604 which went out of production 4 years...
was quietly dropped for the Peugeot 607
Peugeot 607
The Peugeot 607 was an executive car produced by the French automaker Peugeot from September 1999 to June 2010.The 607, along with the smaller 407, was superseded by the 508 in early 2011.-History:...
late in 1999. However, the 605's sister, the Citroën XM
Citroën XM
The Citroën XM is an executive car that was produced by the French automaker Citroën between 1989 and 2000. Citroën sold 333,775 XMs during the model's 11 years of production...
was axed in 2000 with no direct replacement until the launch of the C6
Citroën C6
The Citroën C6 is an executive car produced by the French luxury marque Citroën since 2005.-Overview:Inspired by the C6 Lignage prototype which was first shown at the Geneva Motor Show in the spring of 1999, but differs from the concept car's styling in minor details...
in 2006.
Some of the large executive cars (such as the Legend
Honda Legend
The Honda Legend is a mid-size luxury car made by the Japanese automaker Honda. It was the result of Project XX, a joint agreement started in November 1981 with the Austin Rover Group of Great Britain and was mechanically related to the Rover 800 series....
) have more recently been brought back for the European market, and it is worth noting that the Mark IV Mondeo
Ford Mondeo
The Mondeo was launched on 8 January 1993, and sales began on 22 March 1993. Available as a four-door saloon, a five-door hatchback, and a five-door estate, all models for the European market were produced at Ford's plant in the Belgian city of Genk...
(2007) exceeds the size of the Mark II Scorpio in every dimension, including the wheelbase
Wheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.- Road :In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel...
.
Trim levels
The Scorpio Mark II was available in the following levels of trimTrim package
A trim package is an automotive package composed by a set of cosmetic embellishments to a vehicle. In some cases the trim package may include a specific model or ending name...
(each one being available as a saloon or an estate and with any engine). Regardless of the trim level, any car with a 2.9 Cosworth engine was fitted with traction control
Traction control system
A traction control system , also known as anti-slip regulation , is typically a secondary function of the anti-lock braking system on production motor vehicles, designed to prevent loss of traction of driven road wheels...
, cruise control
Cruise control
Cruise control is a system that automatically controls the speed of a motor vehicle. The system takes over the throttle of the car to maintain a steady speed as set by the driver.-History:...
and an automatic gearbox as standard (a manual gearbox could not be specified at all). All other engines could be fitted with either a manual or automatic transmission although, in practice, the vast majority of Scorpios were automatic.
Executive: The base model, although even this had a high level of specification including electric windows, ABS
Anti-lock braking system
An anti-lock braking system is a safety system that allows the wheels on a motor vehicle to continue interacting tractively with the road surface as directed by driver steering inputs while braking, preventing the wheels from locking up and therefore avoiding skidding.An ABS generally offers...
, PAS
Power steering
Power steering helps drivers steer vehicles by augmenting steering effort of the steering wheel.Hydraulic or electric actuators add controlled energy to the steering mechanism, so the driver needs to provide only modest effort regardless of conditions. Power steering helps considerably when a...
as well as an alarm and immobiliser.
Ghia: This level added air conditioning, alloy wheels, front fog lights and electric mirrors as well as a variety of minor additions.
Ultima: The highest level added a CD autochanger, climate control, leather seats, cruise control and an automatically dimming mirror, and electrically operated seats as well as a variety of other minor improvements.
Unusually trim levels and engine sizes were not liveried on the backs of the cars. Rather the trim levels were liveried on the sides of the cars by the Scorpio badges on the rear window frames as such. The Executive had no badge, simply the word "Scorpio". Each other model had the model name under the badge, for example "Scorpio Ultima."
Engine sizes were also on the sides of the cars towards the front just above the auxiliary indicator lights as such:
2.0 L: no badge (on older cars the 2 litre 8 valve had no badge but the 2 litre sixteen valve bore had the badge "2.0 16v")
2.3 L: "2.3" (on older cars "2.3 16v")
2.9 L: "2.9" (on older cars "2.9 12v")
2.9 L: Cosworth "24v"
Unlike the Mark I Scorpio, the word "Cosworth" did not appear anywhere on the outside of cars fitted with such an engine (possibly in attempt to reduce the likelihood of vehicle theft) although it is in evidence across the top of the engine. However, on the 1998 facelift, the Cosworth badge is clearly visible on the trunk lid.
With large numbers of these types of vehicles traditionally being sold into the company car market in the UK, their very low residual values (worth after 3 or 4 years use) affected the total cost of ownership to such a degree the premium, aspirational marques became no more expensive to run, especially on a Contract Hire or Leasing Agreement. Buyers therefore gravitated toward models with more prestige such as those made by BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
and Lexus
Lexus
is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. First introduced in 1989 in the United States, Lexus is now sold globally and has become Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. The Lexus marque is marketed in over 70 countries and territories worldwide, and has...
.