Ford Taurus SHO
Encyclopedia
The Ford Taurus SHO is a full-size performance sedan based on the Ford Taurus
that was originally produced by the Ford Motor Company
from 1989 until 1999. It returned in 2009 for the 2010 model year.
The SHO (spoken as "ess ayche o") was built by the same team that produced the Ford Mustang SVO. It was originally created as a limited production model for 1989 through 1993. However, the car proved to be very popular and quickly sold its planned 15,519 units in its first model year, leading Ford to order more engines and begin series production. The SHO would go on to be produced for ten years in three generations, totaling 106,465 vehicles as of late 1999.
Production ended after the 1999 model year due to a decline in popularity, in which Ford decided to not produce a SHO version of the fourth generation Taurus; in 1999, just over 3,000 SHOs were sold, which was only a sixth of the SHO's sales numbers from ten years prior. Today, the SHO enjoys a cult following
among performance car enthusiasts, due to its relation to the Taurus, which classifies it as a "Sleeper
".
. The SHO became the only Taurus to feature a manual transmission
since the 4-cylinder
MT-5 was discontinued in that year. The transmission
was designed and manufactured by Mazda
and had the following gear ratios with a final drive ratio of 3.74:
The first generation Taurus SHO can accelerate from 0-60 mph in 6.6 seconds
with a quarter mile time of 15.0-15.2 seconds. Car and Driver reported in their December 1989 issue a top speed of 143 mi/h.
A special edition of the SHO called the Plus package became available in 1991. It came as part of option package #212A and contained different styling cues from the standard SHO, including a plastic 'Power Bulge' hood, chrome window trim, a plastic spoiler without the 3rd brake light, 24V DOHC badges, body colored stripe in the lower cladding, black mirrors, black B and C pillars, rod shifter upgrade, and a body color TAURUS badge. White painted pluses had the option of white painted "slicer" wheels. The 1991 slicer wheels were "Canadian" or non-directional, meaning the wheels on the right of the car would point a different direction than the ones on the left of the car. 1991 was the only year that a "Mocha Frost" color option was offered. Also in 91 a green called "Deep Jewel Green Clearcoat Metallic" was available, but only with the plus option. In 2009, a 1989 Ford Taurus SHO was featured in the movie The Blind Side in the opening scenes.
. The second generation SHO borrowed from the Mercury Sable
's front fenders, but used a different bumper, fog lamps, and no middle lightbar. The SHO also got unique seats, side cladding, dual exhaust, as well as a unique rear bumper. In 1993, the rear brakes on the SHO were converted to solid discs, replacing the vented discs of almost identical dimensions that were used in the 1989–1992 model years.
The lack of an automatic transmission had hurt sales, which was a situation that Ford rectified in 1993. A 3.2 L version of the Ford SHO V6 engine
was introduced for automatic-equipped SHO, which still had 220 hp, but now boasted 215 lbft, a 15 lbft increase over the 3.0 L version. The 1993 to 1995 automatics use the AX4S (previously named AXOD-E
) transmission with these ratios:
In 1993, Ford did a minor redesign of the SHO interior, updating the center console. Other changes for 1993 included a trunklid spoiler, with integrated center high mount stop lamp, and "Italian" or directional Slicer wheels. With the addition of Italian slicers the SHO now had right and left specific wheels.
The 94-95 model years featured very subtle changes. They no longer came with chrome trim around the windows, the door handles were now painted body color, and black was no longer offered as an interior color.
By request of Car and Driver
magazine, a SHO station wagon was created by the Car and Driver staff with the help of Ford engineers. They started with a production Taurus wagon, and from there installed SHO bodywork, including its unique front end. They then replaced the stock engine and drivetrain with SHO drivetrain. Inside, the interior was replicated of that of a high spec SHO sedan, including its sport seats, steering wheel, and included most of the SHO's equipment. The staff then tested it, and took it on a cross country trip. The model became nothing more than a one off special, and the Car and Driver staff as well as Ford admitted that the SHO wagon was created "just for fun", and was never meant to be a serious production vehicle.
s, bumper
s, drivetrain, as well as a fin being put on the driver's side windshield wiper, to keep it on the windshield
at high speeds. This SHO model sold in lower numbers than the previous SHO generations, with sales peaking at 9,000 units in 1997. As a result, Ford cut the SHO when redesigning the Taurus for its fourth generation. It was also the only Ford Taurus generation with a V8 engine. The 1996 and later models got the AX4N transmission, which has the same gearsets (and thus the same gear ratios) as the AX4S used in the 1993 to 1995 SHO, but had improved torque capacity and shift quality, such as 3-2 downshifts.
and block from Cosworth
was specified for the SHO model, but it was given the same four speed transmission as the LX: the manual gearbox option was no longer offered on the SHO. Separation of the camshaft
from its sprocket has been implicated in a growing number of engine failures, at around 50,000 miles (80,000 km). This problem can be rectified by having the camshafts welded. The number of engines with failure has been documented at about 1,200 out of about 20,000 engines. Other undocumented cases very likely exist.
. It replaced the Ford Crown Victoria
(which was planning a phaseout after the 2011 model year during the release of the car).
After skipping two Ford Taurus generations, the resurrected sport sedan has all-wheel drive and is largely derived from the Ford D3 platform
. It features a 3.5 liter direct-injected
Twin-turbo
EcoBoost V6 producing 365 hp at 5500 rpm and 350 lbft of torque
at 1500-5250 rpm, mated to Ford's 6F55 six-speed SelectShift semi-automatic transmission
with a paddle- or console-activated Manual mode.
The new SHO comes with Ford's new SR1 suspension setup with MacPherson front struts and a multi-link design in the rear. This includes SHO-specific shock absorbers, springs, stabilizer bars and strut mount bushings. An optional Performance Package offers better brake pads, recalibrated steering, a "Sport Mode" for the stability control and shorter 3.16 to 1 final drive ratio.
Visually, the differences from the regular Taurus are subtle. It is encompassed by a dark grey grille finish that matches the larger wheels, a decklid spoiler, dual chrome exhaust tips, new parking lamp bezels, a EcoBoost rear logo, and an SHO C-Pillar logo.
Ford Taurus
The Ford Taurus is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States. Originally introduced in the 1986 model year, it has remained in near-continuous production for more than two decades, making it the fourth oldest nameplate that is currently sold in the North American...
that was originally produced by the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
from 1989 until 1999. It returned in 2009 for the 2010 model year.
The SHO (spoken as "ess ayche o") was built by the same team that produced the Ford Mustang SVO. It was originally created as a limited production model for 1989 through 1993. However, the car proved to be very popular and quickly sold its planned 15,519 units in its first model year, leading Ford to order more engines and begin series production. The SHO would go on to be produced for ten years in three generations, totaling 106,465 vehicles as of late 1999.
Production ended after the 1999 model year due to a decline in popularity, in which Ford decided to not produce a SHO version of the fourth generation Taurus; in 1999, just over 3,000 SHOs were sold, which was only a sixth of the SHO's sales numbers from ten years prior. Today, the SHO enjoys a cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
among performance car enthusiasts, due to its relation to the Taurus, which classifies it as a "Sleeper
Sleeper (car)
A sleeper or Q-car is a car that has high performance and an unassuming exterior. Sleeper cars are termed such because their exterior looks little or no different from a standard or economy-class car. In some cases the car appears worse due to seeming neglect on the owner's part, typically...
".
First generation (1989–1991)
The SHO differed from the normal Taurus on the exterior by having different bumpers, side cladding, and fog lamps. The interior also differed, with sports seats and an 8000 rpm tachometerTachometer
A tachometer is an instrument measuring the rotation speed of a shaft or disk, as in a motor or other machine. The device usually displays the revolutions per minute on a calibrated analogue dial, but digital displays are increasingly common...
. The SHO became the only Taurus to feature a manual transmission
Manual transmission
A manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox or standard transmission is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
since the 4-cylinder
Ford HSC engine
The HSC is an automobile engine from Ford Motor Company sold from 1984 until 1994. It was produced in Lima, Ohio, largely using tooling and designs adapted from the predecessor 200 CID straight 6.-2.3:...
MT-5 was discontinued in that year. The transmission
Ford MTX transmission
The Ford MTX transmission is a 4 or 5-speed manual transaxle used in some of Ford's front-wheel-drive North American passenger cars.-MTX-II:The MTX-II was a 4 speed manual transaxle introduced in the Ford Escort and Mercury Lynx as a base model "fuel saver" design. The Tempo and Topaz also used...
was designed and manufactured by Mazda
Mazda
is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.In 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales...
and had the following gear ratios with a final drive ratio of 3.74:
| Gear | Ratio | mph per 1,000 rpm | Max Speed (@ 7000 rpm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 3.21 | 6.2 | 44 |
| 2nd | 2.09 | 9.5 | 67 |
| 3rd | 1.38 | 14.5 | 101 |
| 4th | 1.02 | 19.6 | 137 |
| 5th | 0.74 | 26.8 | 143 @ 5350 |
The first generation Taurus SHO can accelerate from 0-60 mph in 6.6 seconds
with a quarter mile time of 15.0-15.2 seconds. Car and Driver reported in their December 1989 issue a top speed of 143 mi/h.
A special edition of the SHO called the Plus package became available in 1991. It came as part of option package #212A and contained different styling cues from the standard SHO, including a plastic 'Power Bulge' hood, chrome window trim, a plastic spoiler without the 3rd brake light, 24V DOHC badges, body colored stripe in the lower cladding, black mirrors, black B and C pillars, rod shifter upgrade, and a body color TAURUS badge. White painted pluses had the option of white painted "slicer" wheels. The 1991 slicer wheels were "Canadian" or non-directional, meaning the wheels on the right of the car would point a different direction than the ones on the left of the car. 1991 was the only year that a "Mocha Frost" color option was offered. Also in 91 a green called "Deep Jewel Green Clearcoat Metallic" was available, but only with the plus option. In 2009, a 1989 Ford Taurus SHO was featured in the movie The Blind Side in the opening scenes.
Second generation (1992–1995)
The SHO was redesigned in 1992, although it continued with the same powertrain as before: The Yamaha-developed 3.0L V6 and 5-speed manual transmissionManual transmission
A manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox or standard transmission is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
. The second generation SHO borrowed from the Mercury Sable
Mercury Sable
The Sable was a very important sedan for both Mercury and the American auto industry.Ford had lagged in introducing mid-size front wheel drive cars to compete against General Motors' Chevrolet Citation and its best-selling Chevrolet Celebrity/Pontiac 6000/Oldsmobile Cutlass/Buick Century quartet as...
's front fenders, but used a different bumper, fog lamps, and no middle lightbar. The SHO also got unique seats, side cladding, dual exhaust, as well as a unique rear bumper. In 1993, the rear brakes on the SHO were converted to solid discs, replacing the vented discs of almost identical dimensions that were used in the 1989–1992 model years.
The lack of an automatic transmission had hurt sales, which was a situation that Ford rectified in 1993. A 3.2 L version of the Ford SHO V6 engine
Ford SHO V6 engine
The Ford SHO V6 is a family of DOHC V6 engines fitted to the Ford Taurus SHO from 1989 to 1995. The designation SHO denotes Super High Output....
was introduced for automatic-equipped SHO, which still had 220 hp, but now boasted 215 lbft, a 15 lbft increase over the 3.0 L version. The 1993 to 1995 automatics use the AX4S (previously named AXOD-E
Ford AXOD transmission
The AXOD was a 4-speed automatic transaxle for transverse front wheel drive automobiles from the Ford Motor Company. It was introduced in the 1986 Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable . The AXOD and its successors are built in Ford's Van Dyke Transmission plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan...
) transmission with these ratios:
| Gear | Ratio |
|---|---|
| 1st | 2.771 |
| 2nd | 1.543 |
| 3rd | 1.000 |
| 4th | 0.694 |
| Reverse | 2.263 |
In 1993, Ford did a minor redesign of the SHO interior, updating the center console. Other changes for 1993 included a trunklid spoiler, with integrated center high mount stop lamp, and "Italian" or directional Slicer wheels. With the addition of Italian slicers the SHO now had right and left specific wheels.
The 94-95 model years featured very subtle changes. They no longer came with chrome trim around the windows, the door handles were now painted body color, and black was no longer offered as an interior color.
By request of Car and Driver
Car and Driver
Car and Driver is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. Its total circulation is 1.31 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011...
magazine, a SHO station wagon was created by the Car and Driver staff with the help of Ford engineers. They started with a production Taurus wagon, and from there installed SHO bodywork, including its unique front end. They then replaced the stock engine and drivetrain with SHO drivetrain. Inside, the interior was replicated of that of a high spec SHO sedan, including its sport seats, steering wheel, and included most of the SHO's equipment. The staff then tested it, and took it on a cross country trip. The model became nothing more than a one off special, and the Car and Driver staff as well as Ford admitted that the SHO wagon was created "just for fun", and was never meant to be a serious production vehicle.
Third generation (1996–1999)
For 1996, the SHO was redesigned. Unlike its predecessors, this SHO was more refined and used less radical bodywork. It differed from the normal Taurus with different seats, wheelWheel
A wheel is a device that allows heavy objects to be moved easily through rotating on an axle through its center, facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Common examples found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle,...
s, bumper
Bumper
An automobile's bumper is the front-most or rear-most part, ostensibly designed to allow the car to sustain an impact without damage to the vehicle's safety systems...
s, drivetrain, as well as a fin being put on the driver's side windshield wiper, to keep it on the windshield
Windshield
The windshield or windscreen of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike or tram is the front window. Modern windshields are generally made of laminated safety glass, a type of treated glass, which consists of two curved sheets of glass with a plastic layer laminated between them for safety, and are glued...
at high speeds. This SHO model sold in lower numbers than the previous SHO generations, with sales peaking at 9,000 units in 1997. As a result, Ford cut the SHO when redesigning the Taurus for its fourth generation. It was also the only Ford Taurus generation with a V8 engine. The 1996 and later models got the AX4N transmission, which has the same gearsets (and thus the same gear ratios) as the AX4S used in the 1993 to 1995 SHO, but had improved torque capacity and shift quality, such as 3-2 downshifts.
Engine
A 235 hp (175 kW) aluminum 3.4 L V8 engine with heads from YamahaYamaha Motor Company
, is a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company. Yamaha Motor is part of Yamaha Corporation and its headquarter is located in Iwata, Shizuoka. Along with expanding Yamaha Corporation into the world's biggest piano maker, then Yamaha CEO Genichi Kawakami took Yamaha into the field of motorized...
and block from Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...
was specified for the SHO model, but it was given the same four speed transmission as the LX: the manual gearbox option was no longer offered on the SHO. Separation of the camshaft
Camshaft
A camshaft is a shaft to which a cam is fastened or of which a cam forms an integral part.-History:An early cam was built into Hellenistic water-driven automata from the 3rd century BC. The camshaft was later described in Iraq by Al-Jazari in 1206. He employed it as part of his automata,...
from its sprocket has been implicated in a growing number of engine failures, at around 50,000 miles (80,000 km). This problem can be rectified by having the camshafts welded. The number of engines with failure has been documented at about 1,200 out of about 20,000 engines. Other undocumented cases very likely exist.
Fourth generation (2010–present)
A month after the introduction of the sixth generation Taurus, Ford unveiled the much-awaited return of the SHO at the 2009 Chicago Auto ShowChicago Auto Show
The Chicago Auto Show is held annually in February at Chicago's McCormick Placeconvention complex. It is among the largest auto shows in North America....
. It replaced the Ford Crown Victoria
Ford Crown Victoria
-1992–1994:Released in March 1991 as an early 1992 model, the Crown Victoria sedan was completely redesigned with a rounder, eight-window roofline . The redesign reduced the coefficient of drag from 0.42 to 0.34; the suspension setup was also heavily revised...
(which was planning a phaseout after the 2011 model year during the release of the car).
After skipping two Ford Taurus generations, the resurrected sport sedan has all-wheel drive and is largely derived from the Ford D3 platform
Ford D3 platform
The Ford D3 platform is a Ford global full-size car automobile platform. It was designed by Volvo before the Ford purchase and debuted with the Volvo S80 sedan in early 1999. The platform is designed for either front- or all wheel drive with an extended wheelbase option.-Overview:Ford's D3...
. It features a 3.5 liter direct-injected
Gasoline direct injection
In internal combustion engines, gasoline direct injection , also known as petrol direct injection or direct petrol injection, is a variant of fuel injection employed in modern two-stroke and four-stroke gasoline engines...
Twin-turbo
Twin-turbo
Twin-turbo refers to a turbocharged engine, in which two turbochargers compress the intake charge. There are two commonly used twin turbo configurations: parallel twin-turbo and sequential twin-turbo...
EcoBoost V6 producing 365 hp at 5500 rpm and 350 lbft of torque
Torque
Torque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....
at 1500-5250 rpm, mated to Ford's 6F55 six-speed SelectShift semi-automatic transmission
Semi-automatic transmission
A semi-automatic transmission is an automobile transmission that does not change gears automatically, but rather facilitates manual gear changes by dispensing with the need to press...
with a paddle- or console-activated Manual mode.
The new SHO comes with Ford's new SR1 suspension setup with MacPherson front struts and a multi-link design in the rear. This includes SHO-specific shock absorbers, springs, stabilizer bars and strut mount bushings. An optional Performance Package offers better brake pads, recalibrated steering, a "Sport Mode" for the stability control and shorter 3.16 to 1 final drive ratio.
Visually, the differences from the regular Taurus are subtle. It is encompassed by a dark grey grille finish that matches the larger wheels, a decklid spoiler, dual chrome exhaust tips, new parking lamp bezels, a EcoBoost rear logo, and an SHO C-Pillar logo.
External links
- Official Ford Motor Company website
- Ford Vehicles website
- The SHO Shop - the first Ford Taurus SHO website
- National SHO Club
- Bring Back the SHO
- Taurus Car Club of America
- SHO Forum