Remember When The Ford Taurus SHO Had A V8?

Screenshot: MotorWeek

The original Ford Taurus SHOs were so cool. They’re not exactly powerful by today’s standards, but you got a high-revving, Yamaha-built V6 and a manual transmission. An SHO was a total sleeper, especially when you remember how popular the first two generations of the Ford Taurus were. They were basically everywhere. You weren’t going to be chasing down BMW M5s on back roads, but it was still a cool car. And then there’s the third-generation Taurus SHO, which you may have forgotten ever existed and is probably best described as weird.

A Ford Taurus SHO is the True Star of ‘The Santa Claus’

For 1996, Ford decided to go in a completely different direction with the Taurus’s design and went all-in on roundness. As a kid, I thought it looked absolutely incredible, and to this day, I’ll still defend its styling. But most people disagree with me, and the fact that the quality was pretty bad doesn’t help my case. But even with its weird styling, Ford still brought out a new SHO and gave it a Yamaha engine.

Except, instead of going with a V6, Ford chose to shove a 3.4-liter V8 under the hood. Of a front-wheel-drive family sedan. With a four-speed automatic. You know, because of course that’s what the Taurus needed. Although, to be fair to the third-gen Taurus SHO, it only made 235 hp and 230 lb-ft of torque, and plenty of front-wheel drive cars today make at least that much power.

1997 Ford Taurus SHO | Retro Review

And as much as it shouldn’t have worked, when MotorWeek got behind the wheel of its 1997 Ford Taurus SHO test car, it gave it a surprisingly positive review. Not only was it slightly quicker than its predecessors, but it was also more agile. With two more cylinders driving the front wheels. It shouldn’t have worked, but apparently, it actually did.