Ford’s 1989–95 Taurus SHO was a Four-Door Hot Rod with a Japanese Heart
Most of us probably think of the Taurus as a plain-Jane commodity car. The truth is that the original Taurus saved Ford’s bacon in the mid-1980s, staving off bankruptcy and selling over two million units from 1986–91. Your college roommate might have had a hand-me-down Taurus. Maybe your kid’s teacher drove one. Those in the know, however, remember that one specific Taurus was a genuine BMW fighter, and one of the fastest four-doors in the world during its heyday.
Known as the Taurus SHO (Super High Output), this ferocious Ford was the product of an unusual fling between the Blue Oval in Dearborn and Yamaha in Japan. While not exactly a cheap car when new, the SHO sold itself on performance per dollar and practicality. The target market was the driver who had Mustang dreams but lived more of a minivan life. These days, the original SHO sleepers of 1989–95 are more popular as collector vehicles than they have ever been, but they remain seriously attainable fun.
While the regular Taurus was selling in droves in the second half of the 1980s, Ford had some contractual obligations with Yamaha to satisfy. The Japanese firm had developed a double overhead cam, 24-valve version of Ford’s transverse 3.0-liter Vulcan V-6 for a model that never got off the ground, and Ford needed somewhere to put the engines. The Taurus was the natural choice, but originally this “Super High Output” model was supposed to be a limited affair. One 1989 commercial for the car called it “power in the hands of a fortunate few.” Then, over 15,000 of these fast Tauruses sold for the year. Car and Driver called it “the latest automotive breakthrough” that “turns the high-performance four-door sedan class on its head.” Ford decided, sensibly, that the SHO must go on.
