In 1989, Ford brought out a performance version of their popular Ford Taurus called the SHO (Super High Output). There were not many American cars that had performance sedans at this point, reserving that mission for coupes. Here is a 1990 Ford Taurus SHO for sale here on eBay in Ramsey, New Jersey.
While the SHO looks different from a regular Taurus, mechanically is where the SHO shined. It has a 3.0 liter Dual Overhead Cam 24-valve V-6 engine that was built by Yamaha. The engine provided 220 horsepower @ 6,200 rpm. The transmission is a 5-speed manual overdrive. Ford even provided a 6-year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty on the SHO when new. Four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes were standard as was a special handling package. This car only has 66,800 miles. The air conditioning was converted to 134A in 2004 and it has the original exhaust system.
Outside, the SHO gave the owner something to “show” from the regular Taurus as well. The “SHO” model designation is molded into the center of the rear bumper. It features ground effects body panels and a front air dam with fog lamps. The 1990 SHO was only available in four colors, this one is finished in its original Light Titanium Clearcoat Metallic.
Inside the SHO was distinctive as well. This model includes power operated individual front seats featured in leather. While the driver’s seat has seen some wear, there are no rips or tears in the perforated black leather. Also included are an illuminated entry system, sunroof, leather-wrapped steering wheel, power antenna, driver’s side airbag, and tachometer. The original owner replaced the factory radio with an aftermarket Kenwood radio with CD and MP3 capability. The carpeting and headliner are in excellent condition.
This is originally a North Carolina car with two previous owners. It has been garaged every day since new and never taken out in bad weather. The car drives fantastic and shifts well. There are a lot of detailed pictures included in the ad. Have you been looking for a Taurus SHO in great condition? This may be the one for you.
Beautiful car! It’s in better shape than my dad’s SHO+ was back in 2001. Hope the timing belt was done as that was the death of most of them. Most 2nd or 3rd owners of these were domestic car guys not used to having to pay attention to that. It should have been done at or before 60k. This is my favorite color and body style on these. It’s very understated, and can easily be mistaken for a run of the mill taurus. They lost that with the 2nd gen with the bulkier ground effects and nose. The 3rd gen just looked like a spaceship, and only came in auto. If I had this I’d just throw some slicers on it and a borla catback.
Well put.
First thought on my mind was the timing belt due to the mileage. If it hasn’t been replaced, any prospects interested should look into getting this done before any serious driving takes place. The cost to replace the timing belt is a fraction of the cost of replacing the motor after the pistons and valves occupy the same space at the same time.
Always liked these jelly beans…especially in this flavor.
Yeah, my dad got his really cheap as he worked at a dealer and it came in as a trade in with 122k with only one timing belt change. They didn’t want to do the timing belt or warranty it so he got it for wholesale. He immediately did that and the water pump knowing this. Was a really fun car! When I got my hands on it being a punk kid I moved the taurus badge 2 inches to the right and placed the “CLI” from a friends wrecked 91 eclipse in front of it. Made for some fun explanations when I told people SHO stood for Super High Output.
Quick for such a tank. The timing belt is one thing and those oil pans were another!
Well there are certainly some interesting components to this car. Not a Ford fan but I’ll let that slide. But I’m sorry to you fans externally this car is seriously lacking any personality.
In the context of the late 1980’s-early 1990’s it had quite a bit of personality. That is just my opinion, I could be wrong.
Had a 93 that I really enjoyed BUT the 60K mile service on these is a killer and you’d have to suspect a clutch would be in your near future. IF you can do it yourself than this is a nice car at a good price but if you’re paying someone else to do it ……..
Miss my 89, for as big as it was it handled pretty well. Hope they put the larger clutch in it. Was an issue initially.
Thats the beauty of it Doug B. Lackluster looks with an awesome drivetrain. Its called a sleeper.
Some perspective. The years from 75-85 were pretty bleak from a performance standpoint, unless you want to count paint, decals and showy exterior trim. By the mid 80’s the industry was trying to bring actual performance back but it was also rapidly adopting front wheel drive across the board. Remember how close the Mustang came to going front wheel drive? At the last minute that car became the Probe and the fox body Mustang was approved for an major update. That would come for the 94 model year. The Probe became a footnote.
Any way, engineers were struggling with how to deliver high horsepower without massive torque steer. Transverse FWD powertrains unavoidably have unequal length halfshafts which are a major contributor to the problem. The 225hp in the Taurus SHO was considered to be the upper limit for FWD at the time. And they DID solve the problem. A lot of people thought these had a lot of torque steer but in fact if you were on clean, dry concrete they would pull straight. It was the loss of traction on one wheel which would result in a pull. So it might pull right or left depending on the difference in available traction between the two front wheels. A car with inherent torque steer always pulls the same direction.
Ford and the industry learned a lot and even higher horsepower would become possible over time. Thankfully RWD vehicles did not disappear either but the SHO was quite a revolution for its day.
Spot on posting.
If you never drove one they are a real fun car to drive. Worked a Ford dealership, this Yamaha motor was the only SHO to own. Someone is going to get a late Christmas present, they will suprise a lot of people. That was half the fun having people wondering what just blew their doors off. Very unassuming vehicle. But you must follow the manual on maintenance schedule.
Interesting that Barn Finds over recent days has featured three non-Mustang Ford performance cars of the late 80’s-early 90’s: this SHO, a Mark VII LSC, and a T-Bird Super Coupe. In hindsight, all of these were credible efforts and (though not particularly valuable) interesting models to collect.
My 92 SHO 5-speed was a fun car to drive.
I remember this generation Ford Taurus SHO. I find this generation more attractive than later versions of the Taurus.
I’ve always desired one of these. The understated looks are part of the cars personality. Like a mid nineties Impala SS or Shelby creations of the Eighties…
I really hope an 86 Taurus LX wagon in medium canyon red shows up for sale someday on Craigslist or Ebay.