More than twenty years ago, an automotive legend was created by accident. Ford Motor Company had cancelled a planned sports car, but was left with a warehouse full of high-powered engines and no idea what to do with them. So a small team of Ford engineers did what millions of amateur mechanics and tuners have done in their own garages for decades - an engine swap. They pulled the anemic four-cylinder out of Ford's basic midsize car, and dropped in the more powerful mill. They added a stick shift, sport seats and a tachometer that went to 8,000 rpm (no need to be subtle), and the Ford Taurus SHO was born. The car was a sales success, giving thousands an excuse to buy a torquey sports car and a sensible family sedan with just one payment.
It's been out of production for ten years. But the SHO is coming back. An all-new, 2010 Ford Taurus SHO reaches dealerships in a matter of weeks. The automotive press has been behind the wheel for the first time - and what do they make of the newest Super High Output bull?
The headline on Edmunds Inside Line says it all: "Ford Builds a BMW."
The 2010 Taurus is not the relatively raw shop-job we saw in the late ‘80s. The current car is an upscale model, with all of the features one would expect on a luxury car. Esquire named the SHO its Car of the Year, saying "A few years back, Ford might've thought twice about putting massage seats in a Taurus when such an option wasn't available for Jaguars. Or it might've detuned the top-spec motor to keep a respectful distance between the lowly Taurus and the Volvo S80." But now that the company has sold Jaguar, Land Rover, and Aston Martin (and is rumored to be trying to part with Volvo), "This is it. This is the flagship. So Ford came at it with both barrels." Esquire calls the Taurus "a $38,000 American sedan that stacks up against the big-money German autobahn slayers. It's almost too bad, in a way: The Taurus SHO would've made a pretty good Jaguar."
Edmunds is especially impressed with the twin-turbo, 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 that powers the new Taurus. "No previous SHO could have put this much power and torque to the ground without wrenching the steering wheel out of the driver's hands," they write. But with the standard all-wheel-drive system on the 2010 Taurus SHO, "Acceleration is impressive, whether launching from a standstill or booting the throttle out of slippery corners. The SHO simply hooks up and goes, pressing our backsides deeper into the seatbacks than any previous SHO could."
Motor Trend is impressed with more than just the car's straight-line speed. "Standard SHO tuning provides a nice, grown-up ride/handling compromise and reasonable all-weather performance," they write. With an available 12S-SHO Performance Package that adds larger wheels, stiffer suspension damping, larger anti-roll bars and re-tuned stability control software, "Our SHO car felt far nimbler and more agile than its Rubenesque dimensions would suggest."
Car and Driver was impressed with the interior. Taking the car to a gathering of original SHO owners, they note, "The faithful have no complaints." One SHO-enthusiast commented, "Looks as nice as the [Lincoln] MKS in there." C and D writes, "We'd have to agree, which makes us wonder who would buy the pricier MKS." They find the new car too big, however. The Taurus is now a full-size sedan, competing with the Toyota Avalon or Chevy Impala instead of the midsize cars the old SHO beat out. Car and Driver wonders if the huge, luxurious Taurus SHO has strayed too far from its engine-swap roots. "How about this, Ford? Give the Fusion the SHO's drivetrain," they suggest.
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