1989-1995 Ford Taurus SHO

So six of these seven model years are not from the 1980s.  That's the "beyond" part of this compilation, perhaps.  But the entirety of this generation was either completely or fundamentally ‘80s engineering, so they all get included here. 

This is one of the best cars ever to grace God’s green earth.  It might be my desert island car.  Hope that island has some good roads and an Exxon station.  There are varying theories on how the SHO came about, and it takes some time and determination to separate fact from fiction.  In any event, here’s the version I prefer:

Starting in 1984, in partnership with the Ghia design studio, Ford created a supercar prototype project, codenamed GN34, that was to feature a transverse, high output, multivalve, overhead cam engine mounted amidships.  Not having such a mill of their own, Ford tapped Yamaha for design and production.  A 3.0 liter, 24-valve DOHC, 60-degree V6 making 220 horsepower was born.  Needless to say, the car was never produced, but Ford did not renege on their contract with Yamaha, and the motors were churned out even though no target car existed.  A little less than three years after the release and progressive success of the Taurus, on what I like to think was a particularly beery evening with all the inspiration entailed therein, the proposal was made to shoehorn this fire breather under the hood of a specially prepared Taurus that would, so equipped, stuff the BMW 5-series back into Bavaria for half the price.

To work in concert with all that power, and drive home the sporting intention of the car, a stoked up version of the MTX-III 5-speed transaxle from the Tempo was installed.  This much stronger unit was designated MTX-IV.  Four wheel discs were made standard.  The suspension was what you’d appropriately call beefed, with specially calibrated spring rates and firm struts.  Mounted to a 5x108 bolt pattern were 6-inch wide 15 inch wheels sporting 215/60VR performance rubber. 

And so, in the fall of 1988, for the 1989 model year, Ford rolled out a world beater of a sports sedan that built on the already established Euro-American credentials of the much vaunted Taurus.  It went, stopped, and handled with the world’s best – Car and Driver splashed it across the cover in late ’88 with the declaration “America’s Best Sedan!”  Since the SHO was indeed a Taurus, it was not an “all-new” car under Motor Trend’s Car of the Year rules.  If it had been, it would likely have taken the honor for ’89 (though it easily found a place among Car and Driver’s Ten Best, a feat that would be repeated in redesign year 1992).  As it was, Ford found little to complain about at the newsstand, as the new-for-’89 Thunderbird Super Coupe nabbed the Car of the Year honor.

 

Critics and enthusiasts alike found plenty more to rave about when it came to SHO’s performance.  Zero-to-sixty sprints were completed by Car and Driver in a scant 6.4 seconds, with the quarter-mile arriving in the shallow 15-second range.  The numbers told only part of the story about the accelerative thrust of the SHO, however.  A gorgeous, complicated intake plenum with vacuum-actuated runners allowed the Yamamotor to breathe through six long, smaller diameter runners at engine speeds below 4000 RPM, optimizing fuel economy and low end torque, while six short, higher diameter runners were called upon at higher revolutions to allow maximum breathing and horsepower.  The way this worked in practice was, appropriately, breathtaking.  Under full throttle, the car would bolt forward, veer toward the ditch (don't fear the torque steer!), and upon passing 4000 RPM, as vacuum pressure fell, actuating the high diameter intake runners, the exhaust note turned from a roar to a scream.  At this point the driver was given a hefty shove in the lumbar region.  Thus equipped, SHO was able to show taillights to the vast majority of cars on the road. 

Keeping the SHO relevant was important to Ford’s marketing strategy at the time.  After all, continuous improvement had been President Don Petersen’s goal all throughout the ‘80s.  So as Alex Trotman took the helm at the Glass House, the inherent goodness and profligacy of the product line continued.  In that vein, the SHO got 16-inch “Cuisinart” slicer wheels for 1991, along with a dash update for the entire Taurus line, with continued high performance instrumentation especially for SHO.

Nineteen ninety-two marked a significant redesign for the entire Taurus and Sable lineups, and SHO was no exception, getting updated headlamps, a more aggressively sloped hood, and slickly integrated side marker and cornering lamps.  Ironically, these three avant garde accoutrements were all borrowed from Taurus’ more conservative sister ship Sable.  Adorned on the SHO, however, they served to look just plain mean, and were backed up by updates that made SHO look even better than before.  A new nose included an updated integrated front air dam, and tasteful bodyside cladding.  Ground effects were rounded out by a unique rear bumper cover and rear valance that skirted dual exhaust outlets on each side of the car, all of which served to further drive home the sporting disposition of the SHO.

In all, this bull from Dearborn, manufactured in Atlanta, served notice to sedans foreign and domestic.  Not only had it sent a message to the Bavarians, it let them know that a faster car was available at a fraction of the price with significantly better reliability.