The 143 mph family sedan of the early 90's, for under 25 grand. Ford took an otherwise boring run of the mill Taurus and decided to drop in the 3.0L Yamaha built V6 that they had contracted Yamaha to built.  They mated it to a Mazda built 5 speed transaxle (more 93-95 cars however had a Ford automatic) which provided positive, solid shifts, although not nearly as smooth as a Honda or BMW.   A huge amount of work was done to the suspension tuning, making it stiffer, adding bigger anti-roll bars, and doing everything possible to dial back torque steer.  Along with the minor exterior changes, front facia, rear bumper, small trunk mounted spoiler, alittle body clading and 16" wheels (up from the base Taurus's 15's) the interior was upgraded with leather seating and sunroofs on some cars, a standard auto climate control, and an optional JBL audio system.  The car tracks straight on the highway, and can hold its own on back roads, as long as maintenance is is kept up on the suspension.  Steering feel is good and torque steer is very controllable, only showing itself in first gear on bumpy or wet roads.  For most of the earlier SHO's brakes were a weak point. They were just alittle unndersized, never lacking in stopping power, but if subjected to alot of highspeed braking, or track use were easily warped after a few 5 or 10 thousand miles.  The 220hp Yamaha however is a unique engine that makes you crave flooring it to listen and feel the secondary intake runners open above 4k rpm.  Its raw power delivery is unlike any family sedan of today and you'll surprise many people when they look under the hood.  This was one of Ford's best cars of the early 90's, when they were thriving and not afraid to try something alittle different.

1994 Used Ford Taurus 4 Dr SHO Sedan: Loved it, Miss It This car was a blast! With a 3.0 Liter V6 designed by Yamaha and a matching 5 speed transaxle, this car really had some go for a luxury sedan.

1994 Used Ford Taurus 4 Dr SHO Sedan: Loved it, Miss It This car was a blast! With a 3.0 Liter V6 designed by Yamaha and a matching 5 speed transaxle, this car really had some go for a luxury sedan.

1994 Used Ford Taurus 4 Dr SHO Sedan: FAST. Period. Awesome performance. Great fuel mileage for a yamaha racing motor. 5 speed manual, sport everything, loaded with options....

1994 Used Ford Taurus 4 Dr SHO Sedan: Four door grocery getter designed to avoid the police while kicking butt against the import crowd. The SHO combined all the luxuries available at the time with far above average power and handling performance.  A joy to drive and a reliable ride.  I've had mine since 1997 and the odometer currently sits around 270,000 KM