http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/14/r...-the-original/

 

awesome

 

+1..

 

That's awesome! I think that is John Neff's SHO, too. I heard them talk about his '91 SHO he got off eBay.

 

I love the OG SHO's intake manifold runners - beautiful.

 

Good read.

 

I like 93-95 sho's. I still think those look much nicer.

 

I think a Fusion SHO would be more the spiritual successor to the original Taurus SHO.

The new Taurus SHO checks all the possible "gotta have" boxes but just doesn't have the panache and soul of the original, regardless how "good" it is in strict objective numbers. It seems a car obsessed with doing no wrong rather than one trying to do something truly special -- more the child of product planners and marketeers than of the engineers that seemed to give birth to the original.

Besides, peeking under the hood is about as rewarding as peeking at the rubber mat under your dish drying rack whereas the original SHO's engine bay was an enthusiast's temple to speed.

 

If Ford had thrown in a set of GT500-esque Brembo stoppers, upgraded the drive-line to handle the 400+hp and 400lb-ft of torque the Ecoboost V6 is actually capable of in production trim, and then unleashed those extra ponies from the EB V6, it would be much more difficult to argue with the SHO badging. In fact, that would have been devilishly close to a 12 second automobile and would absolutely have made for one heck of a four door counterpat to the upcoming 5.0L V8 powered Mustang GT.

In fact, we might even have forgiven that Taurus SHO for the bland engine compartment treatment.

 

A lot of people forget that the first couple years of SHO weren't all that great either. Sure, the engine and the idea were there, but the 1989 SHO isn't the one in Neff's garage. The SHO really hit its stride with the '91 SHO Plus, that's the one people are remember fondly. For a first effort, this new SHO is pretty effing amazing and I look forward to where they take it with regular updating.

 

I agree 100%.

 

Except this isn't a first effort at making a Taurus SHO, Ford's been at it, off and on, since 1989.

That said, I think the first Gen and Gen 1.5 were the best effort and most iconic. They tried to make the second Gen "better" by simply adding more, but it ended up missing the whole point and spirit that was at the heart of the original SHO, even if it was objectively better in content and numbers.

I think this latest SHO rendition is closer to the V8 second gen than the iconic first, a very fine car that does nothing wrong but just doesn't have the passion and spirit of the original.