What happened to the recent SHO?

MikeyLikesIt

PHEV Enthusiast
Jun 11, 2009
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Downers Grove
I was following them for a while being a fan of AWD and factory forced induction. With all the bolt-on's and a tune, you are at about 450 hp and low 12 second 1/4 mile. I have read this is max for this motor and the fuel system it comes with. If you want to upgrade the turbo's, you need a new type of fuel system.

There was a company who did it, and then they fell off the face of the earth. They created a port fuel system to work with the direct injection, sort of like the ISF. I will have to see if I can find a link.
 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
Livernois has done a lot with the engine but the platform sucks.

I said in 2009 I thought it was going to be mediocre because the car is huge and heavy but the real kicker is the all wheel drive system which I think people assume is a true rear wheel biased AWD setup. It's not. You're not dealing with an Audi S4 drivetrain here; you're dealing with a Ford Escape in that the engine is transverse and the car is front wheel drive based. So in normal driving the majority if your power is going to the front wheels.

The point being is that systems like this are not built for performance and they won't tolerate a lot of power.

The other shortcomings are going to be the turbos which I believe are custom cast so they're not really upgradable. Similar to the newer N55 twin scroll BMW's, you hit the flow ceiling quickly and there's not really anywhere to go after that. This is speculation though.

Nonetheless, the Taurus kind of blows and anyone looking for a true performance car probably isn't dropping 40 large on that. I'd take a Chevy SS and never look back.
 

blakbearddelite

I'm not one of your 'shit-hole' buddies!
TCG Premium
Jun 28, 2007
29,201
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FL
I'm glad someone asked because I was also wondering about the aftermarket for those cars. It seemed like a good recipe for 11's, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

Not that this site is representative of all car enthusiasts, but I don't remember a single person here that took of these cars and modded it. So I assumed that the aftermarket for these cars suck and no one wanted to buy one.
 

Bru

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Staff member
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May 24, 2007
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I don't know much about the aftermarket, but the Taurus in general is massive on the outside and tiny on the inside. Huge waste of space. Plus the SHO was 4,500 pounds, used a basic FWD-based AWD system and I don't think they paired a "torque vectoring" stability feature until later in the run to help its nose turn into a corner. Definitely didn't use a vectoring system like Acura's SH-AWD, which does wonder's for a FWD-based system. Ford did a lot to the car in later years with the performance package to make it handle better than you'd expect for a FWD-based performance car, but those early ones would plow like grandma's base Taurus.
 

Xfirez51

Fast BoyZ of IllinoiZ
Jan 1, 2013
1,795
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Northwest Chicagoland
Livernois has done a lot with the engine but the platform sucks.

I said in 2009 I thought it was going to be mediocre because the car is huge and heavy but the real kicker is the all wheel drive system which I think people assume is a true rear wheel biased AWD setup. It's not. You're not dealing with an Audi S4 drivetrain here; you're dealing with a Ford Escape in that the engine is transverse and the car is front wheel drive based. So in normal driving the majority if your power is going to the front wheels.

The point being is that systems like this are not built for performance and they won't tolerate a lot of power.

The other shortcomings are going to be the turbos which I believe are custom cast so they're not really upgradable. Similar to the newer N55 twin scroll BMW's, you hit the flow ceiling quickly and there's not really anywhere to go after that. This is speculation though.

Nonetheless, the Taurus kind of blows and anyone looking for a true performance car probably isn't dropping 40 large on that. I'd take a Chevy SS and never look back.

Was always a fan of the 1st and 2nd Gen SHO using the Yamaha V6. So when I heard they were bringing it back, I was excited. Frankly, the Fusion would have made a better platform, certainly in terms of size. The current Taurus is massive looking and not the game changer that the original Taurus was in the mid 80's. Ford bet the ranch on THAT car and won.
BTW, agree on the Chevy SS. Much nicer car.
 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
Was always a fan of the 1st and 2nd Gen SHO using the Yamaha V6. So when I heard they were bringing it back, I was excited. Frankly, the Fusion would have made a better platform, certainly in terms of size. The current Taurus is massive looking and not the game changer that the original Taurus was in the mid 80's. Ford bet the ranch on THAT car and won.
BTW, agree on the Chevy SS. Much nicer car.

It had a lot to do with the fan base of the original car that it was called the SHO in the first place. In 2009 my buddy started a website (Welcome to BringbacktheSHO.com The Lattest news on the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO) petitioning Ford to bring back the SHO now that they were bringing the Taurus back from the dead. My buddy is a bit of a nut. He owns an 89' with 50k miles and one of the original Ninja Turtle Firestone race cars from the early 90's which he restored and even got a company to make all the original decals for.

Ford actually got a bunch of the higher ranking club members in a focus group, my buddy included. About a year later he tells me they want his car out in Dearborn for the public unveiling of the new SHO. I was his plutonic plus 1.

As soon as they took the wraps off the car my sad face came on. Small brakes, same suspension, automatic only, a front wheel drive biased all wheel drive system and all in a car that was bulbous on the outside and tiny in the inside. It was as if to say "We've learned nothing". They went on to brag about their performance package which no joke, did not include better brakes but better brake PADS. :ROFL: Oh and thicker sway bars.

At the time we considered getting into making parts for them but I looked at the car and kind of knew it was going to be a dud. As a mediocre looking daily driver with enough power to comfortably merge it's great and that's what it should have been sold as: a top of the line Taurus.

They called it the SHO because they wanted to appease the SHO guys and hopefully appeal to their goodwill.

And that's more than you ever wanted to know about anything. I'll teach YOU to make a comment and not expect me to go off on a long diatribe as a response.
 

Xfirez51

Fast BoyZ of IllinoiZ
Jan 1, 2013
1,795
6
Northwest Chicagoland
That's ok Mike. It was a pretty good story. Always enjoy getting the backstory on how things really work. they usually turn out to be less spectacular than imagined. I remember when the original had come out, I actually walked into a BMW store to do a drive comparison w a 5 series. The sales guy asked me what else I was looking at and I said SHO. He snickered. I bought a new 1990 black on black SHO, LOADED, FOR 18K. Loved the car. My wife liked driving it too. But typical Ford, brakes and clutch were too small for the car. I've owned several more since that one. Great road car.
 
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