Mercury Marauder

Which version to buy: 340 hp 4.6 AT vs 300 hp 4.6 AT

There is no second generation to wait for. Production of both 4.6 AT versions runs 2002-01-01 to 2004-12-31. The choice is engine calibration and valvetrain, not year or body.

There is no second generation to wait for. Production of both 4.6 AT versions runs 2002-01-01 to 2004-12-31. The choice is engine calibration and valvetrain, not year or body.

Take the 4.6 AT with 340 hp (250 kW at 5250 rpm) if the numbers you care about are peak torque, 0–100, and power per litre. Take the 4.6 AT with 300 hp (221 kW at 6000 rpm) if you want four valves per cylinder and a later torque peak. Same name, different output: always match the page to 340 or 300 hp so the wrong modification is not opened.

Specs that actually differ

Power gap: 40 hp and 29 kW (13.3% more horsepower on the 340 hp 4.6 AT). Torque gap: 74 Nm (18.2% more on the 340 hp 4.6 AT). Displacement, fuel, cylinder count, V-shaped layout, No boost, Automatic with 4 gears, and RWD do not change.

Compression is 9.85 on the 340 hp 4.6 AT and 9.8 on the 300 hp 4.6 AT (difference 0.05). Bore × stroke is 90.2 × 90 on both. Fuel grade is 95 on both. Engine placement is Front, transverse on both. Injection is Distributed injection (multi-point) on both.

Valves per cylinder reverse the usual “more valves, more power” guess: the 340 hp 4.6 AT has 2 valves per cylinder; the 300 hp 4.6 AT has 4. That is in the data; it is not a typing error in this article.

Engine: where each 4.6 AT makes its numbers

4.6 AT (340 hp). Peak power at 5250 rpm, peak torque 481 Nm at 3000 rpm. Specific output: 340 / 4.601 ≈ 73.9 hp per litre. Torque per litre: 481 / 4.601 ≈ 104.5 Nm per litre. Power arrives 750 rpm earlier than on the 300 hp version; torque arrives 1500 rpm earlier.

4.6 AT (300 hp). Peak power at 6000 rpm, peak torque 407 Nm at 4500 rpm. Specific output: 300 / 4.601 ≈ 65.2 hp per litre (8.7 hp/L less). Torque per litre: 407 / 4.601 ≈ 88.5 Nm per litre (16.0 Nm/L less). This engine is the one that is still climbing at engine speeds where the 340 hp tune has already posted its peaks.

Both engines are Gasoline, 8 cylinders, V-shaped, No boost, Front, transverse, Distributed injection (multi-point). Neither has a measured consumption figure, so mpg comparisons between them cannot be made from this catalogue.

Performance: 0–100, top speed, mpg

4.6 AT (340 hp): 0–100 in 6.8 s, top speed 220 km/h. City, highway, and combined fuel use: not measured. CO₂: not measured.

4.6 AT (300 hp): 0–100 in 7 s, top speed 220 km/h. City, highway, and combined fuel use: not measured. CO₂: not measured.

The 340 hp 4.6 AT is 0.2 s quicker to 100 km/h. Top speed is the same 220 km/h, so a “faster on the limiter” argument does not exist in the data. Weight is the same 1850 kg, so the 0–100 gap is not a mass story.

Power-to-weight:

• 340 hp 4.6 AT: 1850 / 340 ≈ 5.44 kg per hp (184.3 hp per tonne).
• 300 hp 4.6 AT: 1850 / 300 ≈ 6.17 kg per hp (162.2 hp per tonne).

That is 0.73 kg/hp more mass per horsepower on the 300 hp car, or about 22.2 hp per tonne less.

Economy and eco class: not measured for either 4.6 AT. Do not treat a missing mpg number as “this car has no fuel use”; the catalogue did not record it.

Dimensions, weight, wheels

Kerb weight 1850 kg on both 4.6 AT versions. Gross weight: not measured. Ground clearance 150 mm on both. Tank 72 L on both. Front suspension Independent, spring; rear Independent, spring. Front brakes Ventilated disc; rear Disc. Eco class: not measured.

Wheels: the 340 hp 4.6 AT is listed with 235/50 R18 and 245/55 R18. On the 300 hp 4.6 AT, wheel sizes are not measured. Clearance and tank do not give a reason to pick one version over the other.

Generations: what changed (and what did not)

One generation only: 1 generation, 2002–2004, Cabrio, 2 versions, both 4.6 AT. There is no restyle generation and no later Marauder in this dataset. Year-to-year buying advice inside 2002–2004 cannot be based on a facelift that is not in the data. Both versions start 2002-01-01 and stop 2004-12-31.

What is identical across the generation: body Cabrio, displacement 4601, Gasoline, 8 cylinders, V-shaped, No boost, Front, transverse, Distributed injection (multi-point), Automatic 4, RWD, tank 72 L, kerb 1850 kg, clearance 150 mm, top speed 220 km/h, Independent spring suspension front and rear, Ventilated disc front / Disc rear, fuel 95.

What splits the generation into two buyable cars: 340 vs 300 hp, 481 vs 407 Nm, 2 vs 4 valves per cylinder, 5250 vs 6000 rpm for peak power, 3000 vs 4500 rpm for peak torque, compression 9.85 vs 9.8, 0–100 6.8 vs 7 s, and wheels listed only on the 340 hp 4.6 AT.

Which 4.6 AT to choose

Choose 4.6 AT (340 hp) if the decision is driven by the measured gaps: +40 hp, +74 Nm, +8.7 hp/L, −0.2 s to 100 km/h, torque peak 1500 rpm lower, power peak 750 rpm lower, and listed 235/50 R18 / 245/55 R18 tyres. You are not buying a different gearbox, drive, or body. You are buying the higher specific output of the same 4601 cm³ Gasoline 8-cylinder with 2 valves per cylinder.

Choose 4.6 AT (300 hp) if the 4 valves per cylinder and the 6000 rpm power peak are the spec you want, and you accept 40 hp / 74 Nm less and 0.2 s slower 0–100 at the same 1850 kg and the same 220 km/h. Wheels, mpg, CO₂, eco class, and gross weight on this version are not measured, so they cannot be used as a reason to prefer it.

Do not choose by generation. There is one generation. Do not choose by the name 4.6 AT alone. Both versions are labelled 4.6 AT; the 340 hp and 300 hp figures are the identifiers that keep the two modification pages apart.

Do not choose by fuel economy. City, highway, and mixed consumption are not measured on either 4.6 AT. Any mpg ranking would be invented.

Prices are not in this dataset, so “what the extra money buys” can only be stated as what the extra 40 hp and 74 Nm buy: 0.2 s on 0–100 and 22.2 hp/t, not a different drivetrain or a later generation.