Ford Scorpio

The Ford Scorpio was a large car produced by the Ford Motor Company at its factory in Cologne, Germany between 1985 and 1999. Known within Ford by its codename DE-1, it replaced the Granada, although the car was still called Granada in the UK, the Scorpio badge only being used on the top-of-the range versions (hence the Granada Scorpio) until 1994, when the entire range was called Scorpio.

Mk I (1985-1994)

Engineering-wise, the Scorpio was heavily based on the Sierra, 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 hood were well-proven engines, starting with the venerable Pinto unit in 1.8L and 2.0L capacities, and the Cologne V6 in 2.4L, 2.8L and later 2.9L displacements. By 1989, both the Pinto engines had been dropped, with a 8-valve DOHC engine replacing the 2.0L model. The Scorpio was intended as a far more luxurious car than the Granada, so features such as leather upholstery, electrically adjustable seats, heated windscreen and all wheel drive all made their first appearance on a European Ford. The car was very comfortable (slightly let down by seats without good back support) and had excellent rear legroom but surprisingly little lateral headroom. The biggest advance of the Scorpio was that it was the first mass-market European car to have anti-lock brakes standard across the whole range.

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 2.9L 24-valve Cosworth V6 the following year.

It was elected Car of the Year in 1986.

Mk II (1994-1998)

In 1994, the Scorpio was radically restyled, but proved unpopular with critics, who described its front end as "bug-eyed" and plain ugly. One nickname was grenouille triste (sad frog).