Memories of a 1990s Ford Taurus for most people involve either being shuttled around by your parents, being the parents that shuttled the brats around, or the moment the boxy family sedan went away in the name of aerodynamics. A performance car, the Taurus was not…they were meant to be the bread-and-butter sedans that Ford would use to fill the coffers. Then there was the Super High Output edition, the SHO Taurus. With a Yamaha-designed V6, an available manual transaxle and just a minor bit of parts-bin raiding for a unique look (there is actually a lot of Mercury Sable in the front end sheetmetal) the SHO was meant to be a sporty sedan that injected a little life into an otherwise neutral car. Note “Yamaha V6”. The 220-horsepower V6 packed the about the same figures as the Mustang GT, and revved happily. So, if you are so inclined, you can play with the internals, feed it as much nitrous as you dare…mainly because there can’t be that many running on laughing gas for parts damage comparibility…and hope and pray that the MTX-IV five speed survives another round of abuse. This particular Taurus was found at a Wanna Go Fast half-mile event running over 150 miles an hour in the half-mile. Now, about that “reserved” placard in the rearview mirror…?
Why didn’t Ford allow us to build these sweet cars in the UK?. We had to put up with the hideous Scorpio/Granada models which although were fitted with Cosworth DOHC V6s were some of the fugliest ever offerings from the Blue Oval. Then there would have been quite a few of these SHO V6s to slot in Ford Capri engine bays…..
There is quite a few of these V6’s in all the Probes……and then an updated version in all the Mondeo’s…..the “SHO” is the ST220 Motor……
Actually ignore me, that appears to be utter bollocks.