We likely all have a list of vehicles we would own if time, space, and money were limitless. Sometimes these vehicles represent pure excess – the exotics, the one-of-ones – and other times it’s the complete opposite end other spectrum. I could go out tomorrow and buy a Ford Contour SVT, one of my favorite sedans of all time, but it’s just not enough of a priority when it comes to filling up limited parking spaces. Still, it’s one of the coolest sedans to wear the blue oval badge, and woefully underappreciated. Find this 1998 Contour SVT here on Facebook Marketplace for $4,500.
The Ford Contour was truly a “world” sedan, as it was a European-market Mondeo built in the U.S. It replaced the Ford Tempo, of all things, so by comparison, this four door was a revelation. The styling was handsome, the interior had a thoroughly modern feel, and you could combine the Duratec V6 with the factory 5-speed manual. This was a severely underrated sport sedan when it was new, and a big part of the reason a car like this is so interesting today is because very few are left. Contours and its corporate twin, the Mercury Mystique, seemed to be abused by their owners as soon as it was out of warranty.
The SVT group set about exploiting what was already a capable sports sedan and making it even more so. The work done by the team that traditionally improved the performance of Mustangs did a lovely job on the bread-and-butter sedan, with road test editors at the time calling it an American-made BMW M3. The interior, exterior, and underpinnings all got the SVT treatment, from sports seats and white-faced dials to a proper body kit, unique alloy wheels, and firmer suspension. You might not immediately notice an SVT Contour in traffic, but given how few of the garden-variety cars are left, it’s highly likely if you do see one, it’s an SVT.
One of the biggest complains about the SVT is that the engine bay is tight – very tight. However, the magic of this engine will help you forget the pain of working on it. The Duratec mill was co-developed with none other than Porsche, which focused on head work and main bearing ladder, work that was completed and then the engineering sold to Ford. The motor itself is a honey, developing 195 horsepower an 165 lb.-ft. of torque. 60 miles per hour ripped by in under 80 seconds and the quarter mile in 15.7 at almost 90 miles per hour. Overall, the Contour SVT is still a deal in today’s market, and likely will be for some time until they disappear forever. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Sam61 for the find.
Had this car in blue Truly underrated. I should have kept it but Not Enough Storage did me in (again).
O-60 in 80 seconds?My MGB GT will beat that.
Just kidding,as that was an honest mistake,& I just
couldn’t resist.
I agree with your first sentence – if I had room & money,
I’d grab this in a second (providing it’s as good as it sounds/looks),
& look for a nice SVT Focus,& another Ford LTD LX,and…….
Illinois is a bit of a stretch for me, otherwise I’d be there, checkbook in hand.
I drove one a little while before its public release and really liked it. It was refined like no other Contour, and would really scoot. It was a smooth and comfortable daily driver, and when I had a chance to do some track time at Willow Springs with it, the chassis tuning proved to be better than I expected.
At the time, I would have carped slightly about the body mods — to me, the bumpers and side skirts didn’t improve the standard Contour’s roly-poly appearance at all — but nowadays, it looks just fine.
The SVT people were magicians.
I agree with Jeff’s good write-up. Despite being a credible effort, it never really caught on. Now rarely seen. This one is high miles but looks good, and is priced in “just a used car” territory. AI tells me only 11,445 were built over three model years, which means only a few thousand likely remain alive.
I had the regular V6 with a 5 speed, very fun car, loved playing with civics, mazdas….they did not know what hit them at launch, and merging….sort of funny…embarasing them them..
Reputation ruined by the ordinary Contour, which, at least the US version, was junk. Son had one, with natural gas hybrid, natural gas tank took up 1/3 of trunk space, owned previously by the gas/electric company in LA. $500 at auction. Slow. Loose. Rough riding. Truck lane in the mountains. But always started, never failed, and fine for commuting in LA traffic. A step above a VW Rabbit diesel. A step or three below a V6 Dodge Caravan. Replaced by a used 2002 Subaru WRX, which was a bit smaller but 300% better no matter where it was driven and went the next 100,000 miles with few repairs.
My wife had the 1999 Mazda 626 equivalent, peppy, handled well, decent mpg’s. Wifey was trained on a Volkswagen bug so any car afterwards that had the slightest problem shifting was a pain in the neck for her and she would let me know it. She never complained about the 5 speed on our car.
We gave it to her niece at 189k. Niece drove it for 3 years before handing off to her younger brother. Stayed in the family until 2023 with over 300k miles on it, still running like. a top with no major problems along the way.
These are unrelated to any Mazda model, though later, larger versions of the Duratec V6 were available in the 2003-2013 Mazda6.
The Mazda 626 platform was however used as the basis for the Ford Probe and Telstar models.
And all this time I thought they were cousins!
Thanks!
This one appears to be lowered from stock.
Yes, probably some cheap ebay coilover kit. It looks ridiculous and probably rides like a Radio-Flyer wagon. That would definitely have to be rectified.
I bought a 1995 Contour SE. The SVT wasn’t around yet. I spent that summer in south France and after driving some great handling pocket rockets decided on the Contour. I enjoyed driving it for its road manners, and power from the V6. The cramped interior was a drawback but it gave me over 100,000 miles of reliable driving enjoyment.
It is lowered. I don’t know why anyone would think they could improve on the SVT suspension.
I think the same thing every time i see this Terry. I see the same thing on so many cars including a lot of new cars with Mustangs, Chargers and Challengers. With most being kids who think its cool looking. They are taking high performance cars built to handle and throwing that out the window. How these kids can afford these cars and on top of that throwing thousands of dollars to lower them and throwing the handling out the window is a story for another day.
I took the twin to this in trade for $300 of rent. Ran horribly, which explains why he was so willing to trade it off for little or nothing. Replaced the plugs and wires, and that thing ran like a scalded cat! You could engage the clutch, then put the hammer down and it would smoke the tires in first and second. Sounded like a formula one car!
Porsche may have help tweak these, but Jaguar was involved in the original design. Sold it for $600 and about $200 worth of fresh salmon from a Yakama Native fisherman. 😋 His biggest concern was whether his ice chests would fit in the trunk and back seat. Never even test drive it. Bet he was surprised as he drove away…
Some years back my Son had a 2000 SVT in silver and I had a 1999 SVT in black. Have to say they are a lot of fun to drive they were only made with a 5 speed. Very quick cars that handled like they were on rails we both regret selling them.
there are reasons its underappreciated
I have a black 98 SVTC. Same stance as this one. Bought it that way from a Ford dealer. I can’t say if they handle better lowered but the auto cross folks seem to think it helps. Can’t get SVT specific shocks anymore that I’ve seen. I have a set of coil overs to install one of these days so at least I will have the capability of adjusting ride height. Love the car.