The 1984 to 1986 Ford Mustang SVO was a good looking car. It was a different approach to the pony car with a turbocharged inline 4 cylinder engine. This example is a 1986 Ford Mustang SVO located in Lynwood, Washington just north of Seattle. The car is white with a grey leather interior and listed here on Craigslist. The car boasts a 5 speed manual transmission and factory sunroof. The listing was sent to us by Barney and we appreciate his keen eye for head turners. It is not every day you see a Mustang SVO. The seller has this car listed at $12,000 which is approximately in the middle of the market value range for driver condition SVOs ($11,000 to $14,000). The odometer reading is said to be 69,000 miles.
All Mustang SVO models came equipped with a turbocharged 140 cubic inch inline four-cylinder engine. This 2.3-liter powerplant was factory rated to produce 200 horsepower and 240 lb-ft of torque, making it respectable in terms of output for its class. Remember in the 1980s when all the car magazines declared that the American V8 was dead and would be replaced by smaller turbocharged engines? Well, this 1986 Ford Mustang SVO was one of the cars cited as an example of things to come. Out of all the turbo cars that were produced, only the 1986-1987 Buick Grand National and T-Type lived up to the hype. Unfortunately, Buick canceled the car when it was at its best. SVO stands for Special Vehicle Operations. It was a division started by Ford Motor Company around 1980 to focus on producing cars with special handling and generating power more fuel-efficient engines.
The interior of this car looks well maintained and, while wrinkled, the leather seats are no worn on the bolsters or showing much wear. The SVO Mustang was designed with the intent to redefine the pony car segment. Despite its innovative engineering and the inclusion of a 5-speed transmission, the SVO struggled with acceleration and was considered slow off the line. As a result, it was not able to compete with the V8-powered muscle cars from the 1970s that still dominated the streets in terms of straight-line speed. I remember pulling away from many SVOs at the light or mid range in my 1979 Pontiac Trans Am. But I am sure they were able to skip many more gas station stops than I was!
Although the SVO did not match the performance of its V8 muscle car predecessors in terms of acceleration, many owners have stated that the SVO handles better than the Mustang GT. This reputation for superior handling set the SVO apart and contributed to its distinctive place in Mustang history. Ford produced 9,835 SVO Mustangs from 1984 to 1986 and deserves a lot of credit for bringing this car to market.
Thanks BJ, interesting to hear they weren’t too quick on acceleration, did the 2.3 suffer from excessive turbo lag?
Ford equipped these w mandatory 5sp as you know, and steep 3.73 Trac-lok rearends.
The 1986 model eliminate the turbo lag. The SVO would stay on the heals of a GT from a standing start and would slowly start pulling away from a GT at about 90 mph. I bought an SVO new and ran it against my roommate’s GT (same model year) many times
The 3.73 gears were a big plus for launch. Had an 86 Black with Stage 1 turbo, ATR header, 3″ pipe, dial-a-boost…and made fodder of the 5.0.Top speed was 142. Ahhh memories..
You people don’t understand how a turbo works. (any Firesign Theatre fans out there?) Just because you call a SVO a ‘muscle car’, it’s not going to be able to compete with a BOSS 429! It’s a different animal. Here’s a news flash for you, It will be slow off the line! When I drive my 1987 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe I don’t even smash the gas pedal until I’m in second gear, and then HANG ON. Just try to keep up with me in your Toyola Corona or your V6 Camera. Show me a factory ‘muscle car’ that has 1.5 HP per cubic inch.
I’m a Mopar guy but I always liked the SVO’s. Thought they were good looking and pretty quick for the time. Probably the only 80’s Mustang I’d like to have.
The hardware, upgrades come to mind 1st: 4-wheel discs on Mustangs today can thank the SVO Team as they came here first, borrowed from the Mark VII.
Koni shocks were another reminder that handling was the Team’s focus, and that the 5.0 GT/LX was getting a partner, not a competitor.
I can always tell when someone has owned or driven one – generally impressed as the Hurst shifter, intercooler aided turbo and 5.0 exhaust hustle the SVO to 60 mph in just over 7 seconds. Not bad but the power band does not build fast enough for some.
I leased/owned the 5.0 HO new for ’82, ’83, ’84 and ’86 but none were as nimble as the SVO and its upgrades ended up making the turbo coupe and later Mustangs so much better.
Hear, hear! The only Ford I’d really consider (other than my trusty ’53 Jubilee). I recall as a GM employee, driving “competitive cars” on the GM Proving Grounds, being pretty impressed with the SVO in1985. To be fair, I’d never owned a V-8 and immigrated to Michigan from New England where the roads followed the old cow paths and were not straight for 100 feet anywhere.
I’m the proud “new” owner of this SVO… It will now reside in Texas!