Potent Family Sedan: 1993 Ford Taurus SHO
The Taurus was Ford’s mainstream automobile from 1986 to 2019, with six generations built in stretches. From the middle years of 1989 to 1999, Ford marketers saw the need for a performance sedan, perhaps to compete with imports, so the SHO was born (Super High Output). It had a tricked-out V6 and a 5-speed manual transmission (the latter was only offered in the SHO). This two-owner example from Higganum, Connecticut, looks to be in nice shape but will need some mechanical attention soon. It’s available here on eBay where the bidding has only gotten to $1,109 – so far.
Of the second-generation SHOs, the 1993 edition sold the most at 21,550 copies. From a styling perspective, it differed from the standard Taurus in terms of front fenders, hood, headlights, and both bumpers (some of it borrowed from the Mercury Stable). The SHO was treated to bucket seats (leather, in the case of the seller’s car) and a console in the interior. The 3.0-liter, 220 hp V6 was supplied by Yamaha and the manual transmission came from Mazda. Comedian Conan O’Brien used to own an SHO and he included it in some of his TV bits.
A friend of mine owned a 2nd-gen SHO and loved it. He hated to part with that Ford, but the size of his family grew and cars took a back seat. It looked just like this one with the same dark green exterior and grey interior. This one is optioned to the hilt and both owners over the past 30 years have maintained documentation. We’re told the vehicle stays indoors in the Winter, which adds to the overall condition of the body and paint. The seller has updated the climate control with new freon. Also, a group of spare parts will follow the car to its next home.
The car is not perfect and will need some work. The pan gasket on the engine is leaking and should be replaced. The car has also started to burn some oil, but we’re told it’s intermittent. And the timing belt is nearing its expiration date. The rest of the machine has the usual scratches and scrapes inside and out that you would expect after 30 years. The Ford will be sold with a Bill of Sale as the state of current registration does do titles this far back. Have you ever driven one of these Fords?
Auctions Ending Soon
2006 Jeep Wrangler SportBid Now12 hours$12,250
1974 Datsun 260ZBid Now2 days$750
2010 Proterra Ecoliner PrototypeBid Now2 days$200
1960 Austin Healey SpriteBid Now5 days$500
1976 Cadillac Coupe DeVilleBid Now5 days$1,250
Comments
Mine was a 1992, black, gray cloth interior, 5-speed (one of 132). It was a ton of fun to drive. This example looks to have the typical wear seen on a 110k mile car, being a normal Taurus underneath. With the needed upcoming maintenance, it won’t bring much money. And they are not really popular or valuable enough to warrant restoration, but still interesting and unique and fun.
The almost tripling of production in 1993 was because of the availability of an automatic transmission. And lots of them that year were this attractive dark green, almost 40%.
Maybe a SHO enthusiast will acquire it and provide it some love.
That green was pretty popular back then. I had a 94 Cougar in that color.
I would be willing to put in that work if I could get a steal of a deal on it. Even getting it cheap you would have to do the work yourself. Mechanic rates have gone crazy high.
Hummm…a little hesitant about a seller with (0) transactions..I mean everyone has to start somewhere….right…lol
Hence the looooooow bids I’m guessing. These cars were great IMO. Taurus barely had any issues from what I experienced in our county’s fleets through the years…not sure if anyone else had different experiences.
Memories! Owned a red ’91 5 speed SHO with tan leather interior, from 1993-95, and really loved that car!
Back then there was an Atlanta based SHO Club called the SHO Registry – lots of fun!
Few motors at the time could swing the engine to 7,000 rpms like that Yamaha DOHC 3.0L and made for a very competent road car.
The Club rented the motorcycle track at Talladega Motor Speedway for an afternoon in Sept. 1995. About 20 of us burning around that crazy hairpin turn track, showing off how little we knew about skillful driving.
Those SHOs were easily up to the task; mine only had true dual exhaust and Koni shocks.
Had to put our closed fist out the driver window and pump up and down our intention to pass one another. My brother as passenger video taped 100mph+ blasts down the short straightaway and the wonderful induction roar and high rpm flexibility in/out of the turns. We all choose downshifting instead of cooking our brakes.
Laughed later about how Fox body Mustangs would have spun out in showy 360’s in the 1st lap.
These were great cars that were comfortable, provided good mpg, competent handling and acceleration. Car and Driver declared in ’90, I believe, these were the fastest 4 doors available under $50,000 (shot at BMW).
$20 Grand in 1990 bought you an SC T-bird or a SHO.
Long term – I just do not know.
Buyer legit ?
History is so very important on the BF older cars.
Really hope this one goes to a responsible home.
Had a white 89 SHO, the car use to rip along, was just about as quick as my 86 5.0
One of these beat my buddy and i in his LX 5.0… he had wheelspin, then ham handed ✋️ the 1-2 shift.. and the SHOGUN was gone 🇯🇵
Around 92/93 I sold parts to MARTA.(Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) maintenance facility who worked on all the cars and trucks. Among them were the police vehicles. The ford dealer was having trouble getting regular Taurus so they sold them them SHO models. Not used to the extra power it was no time before they were wrecking them.
I had the exact car. Loved it. Got towed away one night & never saw it again
I had a ride in a Taurus SHO on the Dana test track in Toledo with Bob Bondurant as the driver. It was a very impressive performance as he upshifted, downshifted, accelerated and braked around the track minimizing his lap times.
Have owned an 89 and a 92 and bought another 92 used regularly. The latest has posi, sway bars and adjustable Konis all round rudimentary value in cars & though the engine is highly sophisticated with 24 V DOHC, dual range intake manifolds – the ndling dynamics even with the upgrades is somewhat rudimentry noticeable when pushed.
These were very nice and performed very well for the time period. The trade off was repair costs. They were expropriated maintain, and this one will require a lot of money to keep it going. Timing belt? Oil leak? Suspension updates? And who knows what else? This is one to buy if it’s not expensive and/or you can do the work yourself. They are not easy to work on either. It’s tight under the hood.
SOLD for $2,700. That leaves some money in the pocket for the repair work.
Mine was a ’91 tan / tan leather bought in ’92 with 12K miles. Would have loved it more except for the fact that the monthly parts bills were insane, for a basically new car. Traded it for a Maxima that never gave me a single problem.
You are wrong about the 5spd being only for the SHO, I’ve had two very base models ’89 4cyl/5spd Taurus’ in the early ’90s.