This unusual floating raft was a modified taxi cab used by Cubans attempting to seek refuge in Florida.

1978 Mercury Zephyr Pro Street

1979 Mercury Colony Park Stretch Limo for airport use

1982 Mercury Colony Park Hearse

1983 Mercury Colony Park Hearse

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1987 Mercury Colony Park Hearse

1987 Mercury Grand Marquis Limo

1987 Mercury Cougar XR-7

You've seen the ads. A pitch black, sinister sedan. Burning rubber. A catchy slogan. Then you look down at the specs: 0-60mph in 7.5 seconds. "Oh, those silly Ford marketing types, they've mixed up the Marauder's times with the Camry again." Unfortunately, the sad truth of it is, the Marauder has a serious mojo deficit. That's good news for Kenny Brown, whose Marauder S performance package finally brings the Marauder's performance on par with its hype, and then some!

The heart of the system is a custom Vortech centrifugal supercharger that pushes 7.0 psi of boost and is backed by an air-to-water intercooler, upgraded fuel pump and injectors, recalibrated transmission shift points (although the tranny remains a four-speed auto), a thermostatically controlled transmission cooler, a shorter final drive (4.10:1 vs. 3.55:1) and, naturally, a K&N air filter. The suspension features shorter springs which lower the car slightly and urethane sway-bar pivot bushings, but is otherwise stock, and does not provide a marked improvement in handling while losing some compliance, particularly over large bumps. Larger 255/45ZR18 Pirelli tires are also included in the deal, as are Baer/PBR brakes featuring 14-inch front rotors between two-piston calipers.

The results are quite spectacular: the KB Marauder S hits 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, the 1/4 mile in a shade over 13, and is traveling at 130mph when the stock car has just reached 100! So it's fast, then. At a $16,800 premium over the stock car, it's also not that expensive, but unfortunately for most, only 10 will be built. At least they'll be 10 of the coolest cars in America!

Specifications

Tom Caserta, who worked 18 years at the original Miller-Meteor plant, poses with the Meteor Carmelita funeral coach he builds in Piqua, Ohio from the Mercury Grand Marquis sedan. A 13-inch rear quarter panel stretch allows this low-cost conversion to combine a full-length casket floor and a driver's compartment partition without altering the wheelbase. Once complete this car, the 17th Caserta has built on his own since 1996, will go to the Maxton Funeral Home of Pekin, Illinois.