I’ve been dropping not-so-subtle hints that if you have a Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 in your garage, I’d love to talk, as the need for a four-door hobby car has become top of mind. In the meantime, if I could get over my aversion to front-wheel drive, this 1989 Ford Taurus SHO here on eBay would be on my short list of vehicles to seriously consider. It’s claimed to be an all-original example and selling at no reserve.
The first- and second-generation Taurus SHOs are like a poor man’s BMW M5, or Mercedes 400E, with the exception being the power going to the front wheels in the SHO. All the other boxes are checked, from exclusivity (when’s the last time you saw one?) to an engine blessed by a legendary engine builder’s hand (thank you for the intake runners, Yamaha). The SHO also got a model-specific body kit, interior, and wheels, all of which is maintained here.
The other big deal feature was a standard transmission. While you could get a stick in a first-generation Taurus, why would you? These were very pedestrian vehicles in all other forms, but having a 5-speed with that howling 3.0L V6 up front is a must. The seller says this example comes with crack-free leather seats and carpets with no worn surfaces. SHO interiors of this generation were fairly high-zoot affairs, so they can look worn out if not maintained.
Speaking of maintaining, the seller has performed plenty of must-do maintenance: “….had engine manufacturer-recommended timing belt replaced and valves lashed at 84,000 miles. No engine leaks. Transmission and clutch perform like new. Also had wheel bearings repacked, radiator flushed, and driver seat bolster leather replaced with matching ford leather, making it like new.” Well, that explains why the seats look so nice! This seems like a potential bargain at no reserve – definitely one to watch.
Like a time capsule. Love it. The wheels, the color, the interior condition. What a beauty.
I don’t like fwd either but learned to accept it in the ’80s because there really weren’t any other options in new cars that anybody would let me drive.
this should go to a collector or enthusiast that will cherish it.
I would love a first or second gen sho.. only ones with manual I believe. I can deal with fwd 😎
Lifted from Wikipedia: “At its launch, the Taurus was available in four models; the L, the MT-5, the GL, and the LX. The L was the base model, with only the most basic of equipment. The MT-5 was the second model, which was aimed at Japanese imports, as it was only available with a 4-cylinder engine and a five-speed manual transmission (hence the term MT-5).” IIRC, the four cylinder offered was a 2.5 liter version of the 2.3 liter OHV Tempo/Topaz four derived from the Falcon six. Not sure how long it was offered.
Maybe a poor man’s Honda. The keyboard shouldn’t even allow you to type a sentence comparing a SHO to an M5.
Ever drive one?
Oh no ! it’s JEFF Melvin from high school ! He’s better than everyone else and still using his “keyboard” ….
Yep. I’ve driven the one like this (which a co-worker owned) and a second-gen SHO, which my best friend in high school drove (it was his mom’s car). For a decently-powered FWD, they were great for the time, and I realize they have a following. But during acceleration/deceleration, the torque steer was annoying, and in turns the tendency to understeer when pushed hard really kept it from being fun. My friend who drove it had learned to drive on a FWD, so it felt normal to him, but I drove V8-powered RWDs, so to me, the SHO’s feedback was terrible and the power was adequate at best.
Regardless, there’s no comparing this to an M5. Best modern comparison is a V6 Accord.
Drove a new one on the German autobahns for several years. Absolutely magical going through the gears up towards 130-140mph, but in comparison to a contemporary M5, it floated at those speeds and did not inspire as much confidence in terms of handling or brakes.
I had a boss who had a 1st generation SHO with the Yamaha motor in it and it was a little rocketship. He loaned it to me for a week while he was out of town. I didn’t want to give it back…
Very nice, one that’s on my Christmas wish list. To me, the SHO is a more refined and mature big brother to the Contour SVT. I had an SVT years ago, and can only imagine how much more fun and refined the SHO would be to drive. I prefer the 2nd gen styling, but would gladly take a 1st gen.
Had one, in Red. Want it back, I do. Unbelievably nice handling for any American 4DR sedan.
Back in 1986, before the SHO was available for sale, a ford engineer showed up at my place of employment in one. He was driving it around, putting hard miles on it and looking for others to do the same. We didn’t disappoint him. What an incredible rocket ship that was! I did a little research on the Yamaha 3.0 with the dual length runners. That was a great engine!!
Very cool! Love getting he early scoop on legends like this.
Dad worked for GM & he got to drive stuff before the car magazine tests came out.
I’ve always liked these. Too bad I couldn’t
afford to buy one new. This could be the
compromise I’ve been looking for. For
some time now, I’ve been trying to put
my SIL into a safe, reliable car that hasn’t
been run to death–like a lot of the used cars here in Central Florida. She turned
down the ’78 and ’90 Mercury Grand
Marquis offered on this site saying that
they were too big for her to drive. Maybe
this one is the answer to my problem.
I’ve owned several Tauruses and found
them to be both comfortable and very
reliable automobiles. Who knows, we
both might get what we want.
Ugly but…that yamaha v6 pulled like mad and not even much torque steer i drove one brand new , very impressed!
If only was rwd
I had an 89 I bought slightly used and it was one of the coolest cars I’ve ever driven for sure. Mine unfortunately seemed plagued with early failures of things like blower motor, alternator, fuel pump, etc to the extent that I’ve never driven another Ford. I like to tell people it was my best, and worst car purchase ever.
That was the problem with these cars. Even if the motor runs well, the rest falls apart around it.
Bingo. Put the motor in a boat and junk the rest with all the other Taurus’. How many non-SHO’s do you see today?
Me too. Had a ’91 in this same color. Super sleeper car and super fun to drive. But it had to go when the monthly repair costs were more than the monthly car payment.
My senior year of high school[2000] my dad took a strawberry red on black leather 91 Plus model in trade at the ford dealer he worked at. It was at 120k and needed the timing belt/valve service done, and the radio was missing. Dealer didn’t want to warranty it on the used lot so he got it for $1100 and paid his buddies in the shop $500 to do the belt/valves/plugs etc. I threw in a blaupunkt cd player and 4 JBL speakers out of a repo, and BAM! Very comfy car that absolutely screamed. Would happily go past the 7k redline. The engine was capable of 8k, but the basic taurus belt driven stuff was not. Sucked in the snow so my dad used it as a secondary car for 3 years. I had wanted to buy it off him, and another friend of mine who had a 94 automatic, but unfortunately wasn’t privy to timing belts or interference engines did as well. He wouldn’t sell, and one day out of nowhere he just decided to when neither of us had the money. Sold it to my douche cousin for a grand who drove it for 2 weeks then got scared of it and parked it to rot. Still kinda pissed at my dad for that one, but he saw cash in hand. Maybe he needed it more than I knew.
My other major memory of these is an underclassmen in high school had a 95 as his first car and went over a bridge embankment at well over a buck killing all 4 of his passengers who were classmates of mine. Can’t really fault the car there. Unbelievable he survived relatively unscathed. Physically anyway.
I have the identical SHO that I bought new in 1989. Had it Ziebarted which has helped with rust, which I have kept in check, over the years thanks to Knudsen Brothers. Car was mt daily driver until 1997; has 102,000 on it. Have kept up on maintence. Have a slight rest main seal leak and replaced the shifter “gromit” that wore out a couple of years ago. While the motor is great, the shifter has always lacked the “feel” due to its cable linkage. I’ve purchased a rod shifter but I need the console cover. If anyone has one from a 92-95, please let me know! The car is great fun to drive. In the day, it held its own again 5.0 and IROCs.
Miguel is absolutely correct, the SHO was a great engine, installed in a sub par car.
We bought a new black SHO in 1989. The car went like stink, and handled well, but was very poorly built. There always seemed to be something broken, or falling off of it.
The SHO was my wife’s car. At 13,000 miles, the clutch went. The dealer claimed it was her fault, that she didn’t know how to drive a stick, but this was the 6th manual trans car she’d had, and I’d never had to replace a clutch in any of them. I knew two other owners of 89 SHO’s, and both of them had clutch problems. Eventually, Ford did recall the SHO’s, because of the clutches.
We kept the car three years, and during that time we had problems with the power windows, power seats, air conditioning, all kinds of trim falling off, plus two clutches in two years (though the clutch replaced by the recall, was still going strong when we traded it in at 90,000 miles).
The car was a ball to drive, and shocked more than a couple Mustang GT’s, Camaro’s and Trans Am’s, unfortunately it was just poorly built.
gbvette62, I doubt those issues have gotten better with time.
Has anyone besides me considered there is no comment about a title??? If the title is clear, I might consider this. I’ve been looking for a more practical car… this could be it… outside of the title issue.
Does anyone remember the Topaz having a version of this car as well? My friend in High school had one and it was a screamer.
Ford offered the 3 liter Vulcan in the Tempaz twins with a 5-speed late in their run. They were called XT & LT models or something like that.
Toward the end of their production run, Tempo/Topaz was available with a V-6, not sure which version, Essex or Vulcan. Definitely not Yamaha/SHO.
fox-bodied turboed Lima not too bad either (’83/8)
Contour SVT and Taurus SHO were good for the day, nice thing about the SVT Contour SVT power pack is it is a 98% bolt in to a 2000 to 2007 Focus. Makes the 2300 pound Focus into a fun sleeper.
I always thought these were awesome sleepers, but never drove one. There were a few of these and later model SHOs running around locally. On occasion when these would come up for sale it was never good timing to buy one. My wife and I had a non-SHO ’86 Taurus sedan that we loved as a family car until the automatic transmission gears melted together after returning home from a trip to Gatlinburg, TN.
I had one once and would take another one. Still the fastest I have driven (155mph). The body cladding will invite rust. There are trade offs with the fwd but hey those were the times. I found it to be a superior driving experience to a mustang gt of the same vintage.