We drive one of the original factory sleepers: Ford Taurus SHO. With a manual transmission. Merch: Keytags : motoloot.com/c... Shirts, hoodies, stickers www.redbubble.c... Patreon / regularcarreviews How to submit a car • Video
I have had 4 of these. The look on a late 80's Corvette owners face when you drop it to 3rd from 5th and leave them looking at Taurus tail lights is priceless!!
It's because the Corvette was supposed to be American's number 1 sports car. It wasn't from the mid 70's to late 80's. Then the ZR-1 showed up, but then the Viper showed up too. I like the Viper and Vette, but this Taurus is something I can actually afford, and it will take along three friends and a cooler full of beer.
@@jamessawchuk5682 Your statement really isn't true... Corvette production and sales were higher from the mid to late 70's than at any other time in the marque's history. They built almost 54k of them in 1979... During the mid 80's the Corvette was so dominant in SCCA showroom stock GT racing it was BANNED and they had to create their own racing series. And the ZR1 (along with the L98) set multiple World Land Speed Endurance records that still stand TO THIS DAY for a production car, something no one else could ever do (not Viper, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, no one...) then or even now. A mid to late 80's Corvette has to be the ultimate performance bargain and best cheap base for a performance project car that money can buy. Anyone can afford one. Loved my Taurus and my Vette by the way...
Ford forced Yamaha to choke this engine from it's original 300 Hp. So Yamaha out of spite made it so this car out accelerated the Mustang GT over 100 MPH. It's 1 cam swap away from this HP BTW.
The Tardisi s right. My friend cam swapped and welded cam gears to shafts of his with a aftermarket exhaust for the fastest Ford in texas! NOTHING beat it!
It was Ford's regular 3.0 v6 Yamaha helped design dohc heads and that super high flow intake. The 90s were a strange time for Ford. When the Taurus was faster than their flagship sports car.
@@the_platapus3522 unfortunately that block was a waste of a v8. Those 3.4 v8s were garbage they were notorious for having the phasers on the cam break and cook the entire engine..and they were interference designs so yea
The first time I saw the SHO was the 1998 version in Gran Turismo 4 I was about to ask "why the fuck is a car as regular as a Taurus in Gran Turismo", but then remembered that 25% of the game's car roster is Kei cars.
I loved my 1990 SHO. It was easily one of the best cars I've owned and driven. Not much in the corners, but it did pull like a banshee down the on ramp. Ran mine to 255,000 miles and was still able to sell it for $1300. Upgraded to a 2008 Impala SS. Surprised RC doesn't have a review on that murderous car yet. A 5.3L 327 small block that made 323 ft-lbs of torque + FWD + 4 speed transmission from a Lumina... WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Of course GM went bankrupt thereafter... so everything went wrong.
The first car I bought out of college (1995) was a 1994 Taurus SHO that had 15K miles for $15K. Loved that car but sold it for a WRX. Loved that car, too!
Those old SHO’s were quick as hell. I love sleepers like those things. My buddy had a Thunderbird that was similar to the SHO. Did those have the same engine??
If I had to do the "it's not dangerous" sell, I'd say that the "SHO" meant that it was just a bit higher output than the base version and had the same safety features as the base.
The thing is, it is from the "parents'" generation. We know the car. We also know that with the age of the car, it probably doesn't put out the HP that it did brand new. I never got one because it was insanely priced.
ha hahahahah oh sweet southern children. you dont know the cars here. it looks decent up top, where theres paint. but by that thing is rotting from the bottom up. i garuntee if he tried to do any real work underneath every bolt will either strip break off or take half the frame with it from rust. look at that exhaust. notice all the clamps. that exhaust is a year or two from turning to dust. everything else under there aint looking to pretty either.
I always loved the subtlety of the SHO. You had to know what you were looking at. The bumpers were slightly different and sportier, the badging blended into the moulding, the tiny wing, dual exhausts etc. And the notoriety of a special Yamaha engine....pure 90s lore! I lump this thing in with the Impala SS, T-bird turbocoup and Mercury Murader...all gorgeous atainable dream cars from yesteryear!
"While the Falcon sprint never outran the mustang..." I understand you're talking about the American Falcon sprint but, the Australian Falcon sprint from 2016 outruns the 2016 Mustang GT.
Conan O'Brien had/has one of these, in manual. It used to be a running gag especially on Late Night. Conan would always make fun of it being so crappy and dull. I don't think that's the whole story. I think he might be a secretive enthusiast. Kind of an opposite to Jay Leno. He might even still have the Taurus. I mean, why wouldn't he? He kept it for at least twenty years while having plenty of money for flashier vehicles. This doesn't really matter but I find this interesting.
Amplifier800 About 7 years ago when the SHO came back out again they did a segment on his show where he went and checked out the newest SHO and compared it to his old one.
These vids are so good, especially the c4 corvette one. I think the rev limiter was due to the torque curve/powerband peaking at 7300 not due to the accessories as they could have just underdriven them.
Got one with an automatic in June 1994. Pals called it a "babe magnet". Great car. Kept auto trans properly maintained, never had a problem. Ran like a wet dream.
We Use To Rent Taurus SHO's From Budget Rental Car When We Took Out Of Town Trips Back In The Day In 1989 They Were Automatic Transmissions & If We Lucky We Got One With A Sunroof & It Was White Or Silver In Color A Beautiful Car To Take Long Trips In Love The Automatic Transmission Rides Better& Quieter
I will always love these cars. though i have moved on to other platforms, this was an amazing first project car for me, i had an 89, 92, 93, and 97. Nothing i have owned since has ever had quite the same feel. Deff. worth owning one.
Iron dukes were gutless little bastards, but they were a pretty indestructible engine. I've seen an imperial fuckpile of them abused for hundreds of thousands of miles in S-10s, their only 'maintenance' topping off fluids (including oil) as they ultimately begin to leak. I think they're pretty good if you don't expect them to be powerhouses or rev to the moon.
I have a 2011 sho with 40k miles here in California and there are the ecoboost 3.5 twin turbo v6 365hp and 350ft torque @1500. Yeah lives up to the sleeper name
Except that it doesn't look like a sleeper when it's got 20" rims on it and sho badging all over the place. Also the new Taurus's are much heavier cars compared to the first and second generation ones.
I nearly bought one of these a few years ago. It needed a full suspension rebuild, and the intake manifold had a crack in it, and I didn't want to faff with that. I still kick myself a tiny bit for not getting it.
Loved my 95 SHO. Definite conversation starter at the car meet when you outpace Corvettes. The engine was made for a different car that would have been a rear mounted engine configuration. Supposedly was going to be the ditomasso Pantera
But... But no. You made an error here in describing the Taurus at its time. It was anything but plain Jane. It was revolutionary. That sweeping dash and smooth interior were design queues lifted directly from the most sci-fi show on TV at the time, Star Trek the Next Generation. I mean, sure we see that show today and it looks like an old doctors office full of various shades of mauve but everything before that was hyper boxy, utilizing parts that existed out of the bin. This car... this car... look at how the headlights are integrated and not the same old square off the shelf sealed beams, and the gentle curves of the A and B pillars. It was a very sleek design among its peers. And the trim was intentionally color matched. It was a time when the automotive industry was very intentionally shunning chrome trim that lived on cars before this. It was a movement referred to as the 'sano' look. As a 17ish year old kid I thought this was a pretty awesome looking car, and it was a sedan. That's quite a feat.
Yup the only car that was even close to being as revolutionary as this thing was the Nissan Maxima SE of the same vintage...when equipped with the DOHC V6. In fact I believe Car and Driver compared them (the taurus barely squeaked out a win). Unfortunately, in 1995 Nissan got it right just as Ford was moving away from the original winning formula.
SHOUT OUT TO NOVA SCOTIA! Rockin the Mac Pass. And that nice lightly salted undercarriage. Antigonish checking in. Wanna know something spooky? I worked back shift sunday night into monday morning. As I mopped the floor i thought ''man! Mr.Regular should get behind the wheel of a SHO'' Im not even kidding. What a treat to come home and find a SHO from Scotia none the less! Now i want to make the drive!
this Taurus SHO is a gen 2. the gen 1 had a waaaayyy more flashy body kit. i think ford wanted to tone it down some because it was a tad bit too 80's gaudy.
There are actually more Fords with japanese engines because of the ties to Mazda between around 1975 to 2015. And yes, the Focus RS having a very similar engine to the Mazdaspeed 6 is likely one of the products of these collaborations.
You're wrong about the SHO on many levels. Great handling car (with minor adjustments). I drove a SHO on a racetrack for about 6yrs and it was one of the most predictable, fun and quick cars I've ever had the pleasure of driving.
Jake Akhtar Ford had the cheesiest jingles back in the 80's and early 90's. The best one by far was "pick up the tempo of your life!" One for the Tempo.
Speaking of obscure performance Fords, there's an Escort ZX2 SR on my local Facebook marketplace... Not running and covered in dirt for $450 lmao. If I had somewhere to store it and work on it I'd consider buying it. :c
My current DD is a stage 4 FIST and I had a Focus built with nitrous in the past. My best friend had Contour SVT and we were always pushing shit way to far against my focus. I always loved how a Contour SVT without the rear spoiler looked. His was silver and it no joke turned heads. It is def one of those offbeat cars.
I had a '93 automatic. Bought it in '96 for $13K. Loved it. Great power - could spin the front tires off the line. Amazing handling for a family-sized sedan. Drove it across the US & got 30 MPG. The only problem I had with the engine was I needed to replace the crankshaft position sensor. That was well over 100K miles.. Eventually the rack & pinion wore out, and I needed an SUV, so I sold it.
Boyd Gray I want to import one of those engines. even if I never actually put it in anything... though, the hot version would be an interesting swap into my crown vic
dchil15 The final Falcon is, according to specs I can find, a 1700kg car. My Vic is 1790kg, at the curb. The difference is marginal when talking large cars and I wouldn't be going through the hassle for a weak power plant; obviously, I'd go after the most powerful version I could get my hands on, any of which is an improvement over the 260hp it probably isn't chugging out now... Compared to most sedans accommodating for tall people on the market today, the old panther cars are freaking lightweights.
Isn't it a Ford Barra engine? I saw one the other day on Craiglist on New Jersey just today I was thinking that it would be great for a car project and apparently was sold..
My dad always drove sleepers and never traded them in. Just kept them all. The sho replaced an Omni glh turbo. Dad replaced the sho with a Saab 9000 turbo spg. Always manuals. The Saab was the ultimate pony car assassin. I worked for him for two summers and he gave me the sho for my first car. I loved that car. Got a lot of tickets… when I tried to play dumb with one cop he said “sure kid I know what this is” lol. Then proceeded to write me a $450 ticket.
This car was definitely legendary status back in the day. But I think we need to remember that while the V6 Taurus SHO was something quite special in 1989 when it was introduced, by 1994 it was already 5 years old and only around for one more year. The car was updated in the early 90s but that was more of a slight face-lift than anything. It was still the same chassis and engine from 1989. The video mentions that the interior and exterior appearance where outdated and bland but I don't think that was the case in 1989. He really should have emphasized the fact this was a car close to the end of its generation. This may be a 1994 and so we are comparing it to the competition in the mid 90's, not the late 80's to early 90's. You couldn't even get a V6 in the Honda Accord until 1995! The Acura Legend had a V6 in 1989 but it only made 160 HP until the 1991 model when it was bumped up to 200 HP. Point is a few years can make a big difference here. The SHO was indeed Super High Output for the time.
The Nissan maxima SE of 1992 with its VE30DE was a direct response to the SHO. It didnt even match the 225hp output until 1995 though. The SHO was truly special for its time. If it were a Camry or Accord I guarantee it would be very well known, but current mindset of anyone under 35 is that American cars are all dated junk :(
I test drove an 89 in 1997 and was blown away (considering my daily at the time, and being a sophomore in college, was a 1990 Cavalier). If I had the cash, I would have gotten rid of the Cavalier in an instant. For those knocking the 225 hp, I had a Dodge Shadow ES with the 3.0 V6 and manual a couple years later. It made only 160 hp but was light. It was a Camaro and Mustang killer (which says more to the Camaros and Mustangs at the time than the Shadow). I always wondered why they replaced the Shadow with the crappy Neon.
yea but the shadows had the Mitsubishi engines in them though. I had the standard transmission variant in mine and the car was a no holds acceleration beast only thing I hated about mine was where on the gear shift they put the damn reverse gear.
I got a 99 Taurus SHO and while it does have questionable styling it is a 3.4 litre V8, that revs to 7000 rpm. I love that car, it really screws with people and is surprisingly well made
chelsea falgout wow, I can't believe someone bought this in manual. I myself love shifting gears, and during my hunt for old cars from the 80s and 90s I find them to be equipped with the auto trans 95% of the time.
Originally these only came in manual. It wasn't till '93 or '94 that an automatic was offered, and those came with a larger version of this motor, a 3.2L. My buddy in high school had one of these when they were still fairly new, it was a manual and surprisingly quick.
I always liked these. I drove a Solara coupe for a few years, and with its 200-hp V-6 and five speed manual (and ho-hum looks, and disinterest in hard cornering) I considered it a Toyota equivalent. It even had a dual-length intake runner! Could have used those extra thousand revs and 25 horsepower though.
The SHO was a great American car (with a little Japanese help). It was also considered a pretty good handler for the time. Automobile Magazine did a comparison of a SHO and a BMW 535is around the late 80s/early 90s. While more crude, the SHO made a great showing, even with its balky shifter and front drive. $25k may have seemed like a lot then, but keep in mind the 535is was probably $35-40k...and slower.
Man spot on for stickyness in every thing. I'm a poter at Ford and every old Ford I touch feels gross and weirdly sticky. That's a astrovan to a powerstroke f250 from the 90s
My Hyundai from 2007 has the same sort of plastic and it’s just starting to go. I like to call it “Thinkpad plastic”, since all IBM Thinkpad laptops have the same sort of sticky plastic
Funny thing is the MTX is a Mazda unit. So it's a Ford body with Yamaha engine, Mazda transmission. Also, 2:25 bored not stroked. The 3.2 had a different cam profile than the 3.0. Cheap mod with the 3.2 is to swap in the more aggressive 3.0 cams.
Great cars! I had a black 1991 back in 1994 and my dad had a 1994 in the early 2000s! One of the most beautiful engines ever in my opinion! Both of ours were manual transmissions!
drivenovascotia There's a few of us in here. The drive down to PA was totally worth it. Mr Regular, Roman, and Intern Ben were all really nice folks to meet ;)
MTX 220hp/200tq ATX 220hp/215tq 3.2L was made with bore, not stroke. Can't say in the almost 20 years I've played with these cars, that I've seen a condensation problem on the engine. Now... Dirt and liquid will make it between the hood/bumper gap and build up on the front valve cover.
had a 91 sho, and was tearing everything on the road up!, including these 94 shos!, had 4 twelves in the trunk, beating crazy!, the front toe links are real brittle thou!, bad ass cars thou!!!
In '94, I was a sophomore in high school when I turned 16. My father took me down to the local Ford shop to get me my first car. He initially took me down there to get me a brand new Explorer Limited. When we were done there, I was asked to come back the next day to pick up my new car so that they could wash and detail it before I took it home. The next day came, and my father and I went back down to the Ford shop to pick up my new car. We left the dealership with my brand new SHO! It was emerald green w tan leather throughout, automatic, and sunroof. It was literally taken off of the showroom floor for me, that's why we had to go back to pick it up. I never drove it until then! Totally awesome car! The accelerating growl was sweet! Unfortunately for me, I didn't get to keep it for very long. My cousin got it into an accident. It was flatbed to a body shop and we were told that it would take an extended period of time to repair, and cost $14k. We left it there to repair. Two days after that, my father came home and handed me the keys to a brand new Land Cruiser in Moonglow Pearl. The SHO was an excellent car then, and I would consider obtaining a good condition one but only a '94-'95 model years. '95 was the last year model that the SHO was a good looking car!
technically that's what its supposed to be called, but everyone says "SHOW" because it's more fun/interesting i suppose. like how everyone still says Miata even though Mazda now markets it as MX-5
Chuck Beck that mad scientist put this engine in a festiva and it out run every single car on the planet and handling and acceleration when it was made look it up it's called a Shogun
I drove one with the manual and it made it fun. In my opinion, they looked best in the dark forest green color. And actually the new SHO is twin turbo v6!.
I had one just like this one back in 94. It was a very fun car when you pulled up to a Mustang or even a Vet. The look on their face was priceless. The gearing was just right to take off a little more than normal at when you put it in third and floor it it was like afterburners came on.. Love the DOHC engine.
I owned a 1993 SHO. White with black leather. I did get it up to 131 mph just south of Alliance Nebraska. It still had more but I could feel the back end start to lift.
OBD1? That's weird. My 1993 had OBD2 and was appointed much nicer than this one in the video. Actually it was a just tad little nicer than my wife's Lincoln Navigator. THX sound, BOSS Speakers (7) with built in handsfree mobile phone, glove leather Electric seats that were heated, interior soundproofing (Like Lincolns) and moonroof, Digital dash with trip computer. Total luxury on the inside. Extreme High Gloss Black on the exterior added the somewhat bad feature of people not seeing you at night and pulling out into you. The excellent handling was the only thing that prevented collisions (3 Times that happened (I think one guy heart attacked coming out of a Huddle House parking lot)). 4 Wheel anti-lock Brakes, 5 speed manual. 0-90+ in about 4 seconds (ticket to prove it). The car reinforced the old saying of "Never Mess with a Black Ford". Total Sleeper. I wish I had never sold it.
I remember when I first started driving in 1994 and thinking the Taurus Sho was a piece of junk. I knew nothing about cars back then and one night some dude in a SHO smoked my buddies tuned up car. We went home and learned about the SHO soon after. Those cars look so slow but dang they move….
SHO Super High Output. I went to ford school for this motor back when it first came out. Ripping apart the CV joints out the front end. They tested this motor at 7/8 grand RPM for hours and it don’t blow up. These motors were blowing up the transmissions also. Great motor. The front end would skate all over the place when you dumped the clutch. Autos were ok .. but when with a stick.. you had a lot of fun. The insides were nice .. nice leather gut .. all power ..electronic heating and air .. and it was sharp looking with the rims also. My buddy had one and we would rip over vets .. Irocs..and a lot of “Muscle cars” back then.
Cool car!👍 My Uncle had a couple of these back in the day... in Yes, MANUAL transmissions! 😊. One problem was that these would continually burn up clutches because they couldn’t handle the HP of these Yamaha engines.
I had one of these. A 94 with the auto. Your review was very accurate......I was surprised, really. Absolutely right about the water pump. Mine leaked, killed the crankshaft position sensor, and left me stranded. Only once though. But you were wrong about the automatic in one sense......it was weak. I went through 3 transmissions in the 6.5 years I owned my SHO. Very expensive when they died. But even with those issues, and the expensive valve adjustment process with the shims and all that every 60,000 miles, I really loved that car. Revved for days, great on the highway, handled great for what it was. And with the proper modification from Mr. SHO Doug Lewis, she was a great car to go hunting other cars with. Finally sold her and bought my current 2000 Saleen. Still wish I had that big green beastie.
I loved my SHO. 5 speed in a 4 door helped me navigate around that new father minivan curse. That engine is awesome. One of my favorite things about it is that the intake manifold can be reversed 180 degrees to make it a rear wheel drive compatible engine. I’ve seen them swapped into all kinds of stuff.
