Vehicle: Ford Taurus SHO
Years made: 1989-1999
Engines available: 220BHP 24V DOHC Yamaha V6 (89-95), 234BHP 32V DOHC Ford/Yamaha V8 (96-99)
Transmissions available: 5 speed Mazda transaxel (89-95), 4 speed Borg Warner automatic transaxel(93-95), 4 speed AX4N automatic transaxel (96-99)

What it is: The SHO is a Taurus. It features a very reliable Japanese Yamaha motor; the V6 version is known to easily exceed 200k miles. It can successfully race and win over many cars thanks to its excellent high-end power. It will also carry you in comfort to work everyday (except when the CPS goes) with 30 miles to the gallon. In this respect, it is a sleeper.

What it is not: The SHO is not based on a F1 prototype, cannot rev to 12k RPMs in stock form, and does not have a hidden super-mod to allow 300BHP. It is not a wild looking Italian pony. It is not meant to be either.

What it was supposed to be: The SHO engine was originally designed to be placed in a mid-engined sports car to compete with the Vette. This idea flopped, yet Ford was under obligation to buy a certain number of engines from Yamaha of Japan.

What it can be: With mods from such vendors as SHONUT and SHO Shop, you can easily have a 400HP (at the wheels) supercharged Viper-eater (just ask Pat McGrath!). Unlike a Mustang or the like, this goal cannot be achieved with a cost. S/C kits start around $4500, and that's just the basics. You cannot simply turn a baby into an Olympic athlete, it must take other steps to get there.

What to do with it: If you just bought a SHO, you should probably begin by taking care of it. A common mistake with these cars (or any) is to start modifying it before it is in good running condition. If it is near a multiple of 60k miles, it will need the 60k job performed (ie. Valve lash adjustment, timing belt, etc.). If it has gone over 3k miles without an oil change, change it! Good oil and a good filter are also important. If you want your SHO to be like the ones out there that can be bounced off the redline on a daily basis, run on the dyno once in a while, and go drag racing on the weekends, all while existing for the last 200k miles, you need to put in good oil. Many owners recommend Castrol GTX or Valvoline oils, or for synthetic, Mobil-1, Redline or AMSOIL. A good filter can be tough to find, but many prefer the Ford FL-1A, or for performance, Mobil M1-301, and K&N HP2009.

What not to do with it: No burnouts with a stock differential. A common mistake of new owners, this will cost you a transmission. And always check your oil, many SHO's use up a quart of oil every thousand miles or so. And be fairly gentile on the clutch, as they are difficult to replace, and don't last that long in the car. For example, the earlier (mostly extinct) smaller 9.25” clutch could go in as little as 5k miles. That's about 2 oil changes! The larger 9.75” clutch can last much longer, but still requires reasonable driving.

Year-by-Year Changes
By Member: kjw86ca

1989 - came with the "basket weave" rims. A couple rare Taurus SHO's came with black basket weaves this year. Only available in MTX.

1990 - New dash introduced, new gauge cluster, steering wheel with air bag, new electronic EATC.

1991 - saw the addition of the SHO Plus model. It had a fiberglass hood, 24 Valve DOHC emblems on the side, and the first year of the body colored "TAURUS" logo on the trunk lid, many received updated rod shifter.

1992 - New body style ONLY available with a manual. Power still came from a 3.0L 24 Valve DOHC V6. Body colored "TAURUS" logo on the back, "SHO" stamped into rear bumper and "SHO" stamped into the sides. "24V DOHC" emblems now standard on all SHO fenders. 1992 had dual turn down style exahust tips. No spoiler, updated dash and interior panels, many characteristics of gen 1 still.

1993 - Despite being redesigned for 1992, 1993 saw a lot of changes. The interior was upgraded to an even better design, with a much nicer center console, a smoother steering wheel. I'm pretty sure 1993 had a standard passenger side air bag also. Exahust tips were changed to come straight out from under the bumper, and I beliver a spoiler became standard equpitment. This was also the first year of the SHOmatic. (Thats what motor trend called it...) This engine had 220 HP, 220 ft/lb torque. It came from a 3.2L 24V DOHC V6.

1994 - Different sway bar combinations, new computer for ATX, tweeking done to ATX transmission to improve durability. Body color door handles.

1995 - Last year of the V6 SHO.

1996 - Introduction of the oval Taurus. SHO was not introduced until a few months into the 1996 run. In the mean time, the gen 2 bodystyle SHO was still sold. The 1996 SHO came with a Ford/Yamaha designed 3.4L 32 Valve DOHC V8. Almost 240 HP (I think around 237 to be exact.) Ford prints that the engine has 235 HP, and 230 ft/lb torque, however. Only available in ATX. Came with a JBL sound system, big oval dual exahust tips, and a very rare cloth interior. They mostly all had leather. Also a cool little "PRND21" selector on the instrument cluster.

1997- Pretty much everything stayed the same.

1998-New "crystal" turn signals are put on the cars. I think late 1998's had a "black out" style headlight. Sound system changed to MACH audio. Rear turn signals changed to red instead of amber.

1999-LOTS of options taken out. No rear cup holders, no door trim, no pockets in the backs of the seats, no access to 2nd gear on the transmission selector, gauges changed to count by 20's instead of 10's. Came with blacked out headlights. Last year of the SHO. 1989-1999 RIP:-(.