1989 Ford Taurus SHO Review: Still an Iconic Sleeper?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 พ.ย. 2019
- The 1989 Ford Taurus SHO is one of the most iconic sleepers of all time. When Ford dropped a high performance Yamaha V6 into their well received Taurus, a future classic was born. This is the review that this car deserves. Ride along as we experience the very first model year of the Ford Taurus SHO. It's SHO-time guys! #sho #fordtaurus #carreview
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They could’ve also made a wagon version of this and called it the “S. H. O. W. Super high output Wagon L.o.L 🤷♂️
deno spyridon hahaha, but all joking aside...that thing would have been epic!
There is a guy on LI who made an SHO wagon. It's very clean and looks like it came out of the factory.
Craig Wildfeuer I’ve seen a couple that folks have made online, not sure if I saw that one or not. You have a link to it?
Many many years ago I saw somebody who had built a sho wagon on Craigslist
I saw one with the back cut off and turned into a truck bed it was done REALLY good looked fantastic but I would never have bought it
I had a nice Mustang Cobra and a Taurus SHO at the same time years ago, and people liked my Taurus more, and I’m not even sad about it. I miss my SHO’s.
Killer two car combo! That engine in the SHO was just so special.
Thanks for the history lesson! Own a '15 SHO and got curious about its history since I was a baby when the original came out.
Pierre Topeze I appreciate that! I could have seriously got into the history, but I like to keep my reviews under 2 hours.
I can honestly say owning a 89 myself your 0-60 should be in the 6.7 to 6.8 range. But like you said your shifting killed time and reving it all the way to 7k to 7200 helps a good bit
Dave Christian I agree that some time was definitely left on the table here. Temps were in the low 50s, so not ideal for testing. Also the tires weren’t very grippy, and the difference a good set of performance tires can make is huge. I could certainly see the car dropping into the 6 second range with those changes. That being said...anything getting in the 7 second range in my real world testing is still quick.
@@autoobsessivegarage you'll get there pretty quick. The only upgrade I have to my 89 is a steel billet flywheel,stage 2 west bend clutch. And a ceramic throw out bearing. The clutches on these cars a junk but the upgraded throw out bearing makes it more reliable
Why doesn't this channel have more subs!? This is QUALITY CONTENT! Nice job on the video bro! Keep it up! +1
KekizYT thanks a ton man. Hopefully more folks find out about it. I’m really trying to put out the best content I can.
This video just showed up on my recommended. New channels take time to grow because of the TH-cam algo. I'm the latest sub, #425 haha.
ragingbull94mtx thank you man! I enjoy making the vids and that’s what matters most to me...although entertaining you guys with my random and often times beyond rough projects is a damn close second.
Nicely done resto on the car, it looks gorgeous! I owned a couple of 95 MTX SHOs many years back, bought them cheap and did suspension, brakes, wheels & tires plus whatever basic repair and maintenance was needed. Ran them as beater track day cars, lots of fun especially on wet days.
fastEdCanuck thanks a ton. I bet they were a blast to beat on!
My very first car was a white 1994 Taurus SHO and I loved it. I miss it still to this day.
Christina & Mike Bertono my first few cars were complete junkers...It’s probably a good thing that I didn’t have something this fast haha.
Found one 89 model 3 months ago in Louisiana for $1,200 with a blow head gasket. Same color as yours. But after the owner refused to give me sufficient info ( I'm from Houston) I decided to step back and to buy an 1998 Contour SVT with 84k miles for $2,000 that I found in San Antonio that is only 3 hours from my home. I had a great deal on the SVT but I still want an 89-99 SHO. nice info bro !!!
Ernesto Piris-Grau bummer on that SHO deal, but the SVT Contours are also really sweet.
Dude thanks for making this. I love the first gens. This one is really clean.
I had a 93 and a 95
Bruce Inglis thanks man!
I had two SHOs 89 and 93 5 speed love them, I like it when the Honda guys tried racing with me, made me
laugh so much, great car!
I had a 94 Moonlight Blue 5-speed SHO - and I do miss it too. Since I'm a Honda guy now, I wouldn't sleep on any V6 6-speed Accords if you happen to run into one. :)
Not only the Honda guys, there wasn 't really anything around in 89 that could take this beauty... The SHO was only 0.1s slower to 60 than the V8 vette...
@@mlee6136 Only manual 535i was almost as fast but it had a bigger engines. SHO was 3rd after 750i and M5 but what was the price for those ? However RWD Bimmer handling was miles away even if you throw in a poor 316i or 318i
That's some of the slowest performance shifting I have ever seen. Lost 1 second due to bad shifting.
I love the dots on the dash I've never seen anything like that in any other car
Great review! Beautiful example of that first gen - I see the second gen every now and then but haven’t seen a first gen but maybe once - always loved that model SHO!
donteadoss thank you sir! I don’t think there are too many first gen survivors out there.
Indeed - so great to see one in such pristine condition; that engine looks so uniquely gorgeous in this era of plastic covers - love it!
I love my SHO nice build clean 💯
SHO joe - thank you sir!
Good job on the video! I purchased a 1989 SHO brand new off the showroom floor! Drove it for about 40k miles and traded on a brand new 1991, traded it for a 1993 atx, then a 1995 mtx. Sold the 95 a couple years ago. Seeing your video, makes me wish I kept it. You should upgrade the front brakes to the mustang cobra 2 piston baer calipers. It's a direct bolt on affair(after you redrill the rotor to match the sho bolt pattern).
towedmycar thanks man! Like a good drug, SHO keeps you coming back.
Back in 1992, I owned one that I had bought used in GERMANY. Once while on the autobahn from Hockenheim to Mannheim (A6) there is about 10 mile stretch with 4 lanes that narrows back down to two lanes. I was clocking at 140 mph on an early empty Sunday mornin'
when at a distance I can see two semis. I planned on zooming past before the lanes narrowed further when out from between the two trucks a VW Passat (with the P.O.S .pkg) pulls out in front of me already in the two lane section. The stock breaks overheated and I lifted the back of his wagon into the air enough that I could see under his bumper. I imagine that since he was accelerating he kept his VW going straight and the hood and grill on the SHO where damaged. It was ALL my fault since I should have slowed down and to "expect the unexpected". After a hefty fine and a nice repair bill I added a new hood and the police vent grill. Nothing in that class was available with that kind of power and refinement. My 1988 GT (Fox body) had nothing on the SHO since the hood wanted to fly off at 110 mph. This is/was an incredible car for its time and after that I had two more Gen 2's.
Nobody had anything like it. Before ever lifting the hood I would ask my German friends if they were ready for what they were about to see. After confirming their "Ja!" I would open the hood and... gently help them pick up their jaw from the ground. The "Job 1" Ford is long gone but hopefully the Mach E will one day come close in status to that of the SHO. ☺️
Wow, that story is amazing! Glad you made it out okay. Yeah the engine tech and performance was light years ahead of the brakes. I really attribute the trend of adding absurd engines to standard issue sedans to make them truly special while maintaining a normal car’s looks to the SHO.
Great video very well done👍.
Thank you very much!
Just bought a '90 SHO and looking forward to seeing how you went about restoring yours. $900 and needs at least a clutch, the 60/100k service, and most likely a fuel pump. But other than the seat skins interior is very nearly mint.
Pyro Cowboy heck yeah, sounds like a sweet deal. Check out the series for sure...pretty good stuff in there. Let me know if you need any extra info. Have fun with it!
I had a '92 and a '97. The Gen3 was a pain. The Gen2 was just fine, but I sold it 5,000 miles before the timing belt interval. Couldn't see myself laying out that kind of bread any more.
All this to go with my '95 Probe GT and my Dakota
V8. My commute (160mi R/T) so I sold everything but my truck. My '92 felt much faster and capable than my '00 Maxima (non SE).
Gen1 and Gen2 great cars to own but probably not a good idea for a daily driver anymore. They certainly had their moment in the Sun. Rising in value now.
Oh yeah! Sweet ride. I wanted one then, I wouldn't mind having one now.
Thanks man. These things are getting harder to find as time goes by...well, in any condition worth restoring anyhow.
lol i recently got a 2015 SHO, a gen 4+ is certainly worth a look. People still dont expect them. These initial ones are super cool.
No stick, no sale.
J Gray that Ecoboost engine in the newer SHOs is so good. I find them to be very comfy cars too.
5610winston imagine how sweet the new SHO would be with a Mustang GT 6 speed manual.
Nice review; I agree with most of your comments. I had a 1991 that I bought in 2001 and sold in 2011 with 165K miles. The 91 had a better instrument panel. Getting the best 0-60 times is all in the launch; not aggressive enough and it bogs. But overall a blast to drive and it was always fun suprising the ricers and the occasional BMW 525. I got 28mpg on long trips and 25-26 in mixed driving. I think that the 91 also had a better shift linkage; I could do very fast 2-3 shifts and never grind anything.
Paul Hudson I’m sure they made small improvement to the SHO over time. MotorWeek Retro just recently posted their review of the 1989 SHO and clocked a 7.0 sec 0-60 time. Mine wasn’t that far off considering I was not on a track and my car was 30 years old.
Rod shifter
I had a 98 with over 250k miles on it (welded cams, of course). I slapped a Lightning conical 88mm intake adapter on it for a homemade cai, and put some borla's on it. Miss that car, got so many second looks on the street lol.
bergePanzer581 sounds like it was a great ride.
Was it quick ?
@@Highlander1432 they were quick out of the box. The miles didn't seem to have adversely affected it much. I had a GTP sedan around that time too and it was about equal between them.
@@bergePanzer581
That's cool. I like the 90's era of sedans for some reason. You had the best of what America had to offer for sedans
My Dad had a 96 GL had the Duratec and Floor shift similar to a SHO was a nice car when I was a kid.
I bought a 91 SHO when I traded inn my 1983 Rabbit GTI. I wanted a car with a manual transmission like my Rabbit had, and the SHO was the only car I could afford that had one. I loved it! It was fun to drive a car that looked like a normal sedan but could outrun any normal sedan. It was a poor man's BMW M5 at about one-third the price.
That’s an awesome story. Yeah, the SHO is definitely one of the top sleepers of all time.
Had one that same colour miss that car so much was fun took it to collage no one had a clue what it was lol 😆
Man I wish I found a clean fully loaded 89 like this. This is the absolutely fully loaded version which is super hard to find now adays. I love this thing!
They are incredibly rare to find and in this condition…they just don’t seem to exist at all.
@@autoobsessivegarage This is an exceptionally rare find. You have passenger power seat, electric antenna, sunroof, electric climate control and car phone. These are all individual options that some of the cars have and some don't, this has all of them plus full leather! This is like the rare of the rare, really good find!!!
I have a sleeper a 2010 first gen body style Ford Fusion Sport reminds me alot of your 89 SHO probably similar sized too! Love it was my Dads since brand new. Car never seen winter and is as nice as it was 11 yrs ago when brand new. Also a rare production model in the Fusion car line. Has the Cyclone engine that is also used in Mustangs
That is pretty sweet. Gotta love the sleepers.
niiiiiiiice. Love the fact you restored a bad one. That's the bee's knees sir.
Haha, someone’s got to do it right?
I did the 60k on my 93 SHO way back in the early 2000's. I think I started on a Friday and finished Sunday night. 😂
Pretty nerve racking as I wasn't the most mechanically inclined back then. After all was said and done, it wouldn't start. I had forgot to connect the ground strap to the intake manifold.
Oh man what a bummer…I’m sure you were crushed when it wouldn’t start. At least it was something small. Yeah the 60k service is not for the faint of heart.
Loved my 91. Upgraded brakes with antilock and driver airbag. Bought it new in 91 for $17500. Deep deep discount for the $24500 sticker.
That was a genuine steal. Antilock was also a solid move to improve braking distance. Such a fantastic car.
Sounds great!
She loves to rev!
My 88 Ford Taurus was beautiful. I drove it 10 years. Finally, Ford recalled it for the engine mounts. I didn't get that repair done. The engine mounts broke and the engine dropped down into the steering shaft and broke. Couldn't drive it anymore. I had it towed to a Chevrolet dealership and traded it for a Chevy Pickup Truck.
That first gen Taurus was a fantastic looking and driving machine. It's not a secret anymore that it truly saved Ford at the time.
My dad bought a new Chevy truck in the 80's and couldn't even get it back to the house. My brother bought a 2015 Silverado and it started having transmission issues at around 80k miles. I had a 1990 SHO that I drove like I stole on a regular basis past 200,000 miles. I gave it to a guy at work who needed a car. He still has it.
I worked on those cars when new. When the Auto came out Ford recalled every single transmission. Remove and replace only. I personally did 8 swap-outs.
GOOD!!!
nhzxboi wow, that’s crazy.
MAZDA transmissions. (Garbage)
Factory clutch was barely sufficient for stock power also
@@Highlander1432 No, no. I'm talking the Autos...AXODE at the time. When the SHO automatic first came out, Ford put them on "lot-hold" recalled every automatic transmission. Exchange unit sent for every one. For what reason, I have to idea. The replacements worked quite well. That was actually a pretty popular car.
@@nhzxboi interesting.
I had a 93 and 95. Both auto. I remember the transmission feeling like it was slipping but someone wrecked it before I had a chance to check it out
20 years ago too lol
Damn man now i cant stop thinking of the ford fiero.
Odin I know right! Could you imagine this power plant in a mid-engine car? Would have been sweet.
They made I think 6 Ford fiestas. Look up Jay Leno’s fiesta.
7:35 sounds so peacful…
This part should be: ASMR, 89’ taurus sho driving into the sun
That’s what I was going for hahaha
@@autoobsessivegaragehaha
I want Doug Demuro to review one of these. I'm glad that you reviewed it. It was an amazing car for its time and a competent one for the modern day. 19/26 city/highway from a 220hp engine, when GM was still making cars 6 years later that were getting that kind of fuel economy with 4 cyl engines. Ford won't soon outdo themselves again like they did here.
BIT LOT agreed. Power, fuel efficiency, and build quality were way ahead of the market.
Doug is a moron.
NO!!!
Almost all of their lineup had a sleeper version. The GM equivalent to this would be the Z34 Lumina with 3.4l DOHC. I'm a Ford guy though. A standard C4 Vette would have trouble getting away from this Taurus.
I hope he never does. He always makes cars go up in value a little bit when he does. The "youtuber" tax
I had an early Feb 1989 built Taurus SHO. Current red. No rust. Sat for years due to clutch and linkage failure. It was decent condition but had its issues...the interior was grey with this redish colour stripe on the seats...looked factory but Im sure it wasn't. Very unique car, special, but I could hardly give it away....one of those cars, scarce but not worth much. Got a 93 SHO runs and drives which i can't get anything for it. Nobody wants them at least where I live.
The Chris Collection the issue is that they weren’t very rare to begin with. I have been seeing prices creep up for really clean ones which are actually also very hard to find. Once all the non maintained ones (or rusted out ones) are scrapped, I’m thinking values will increase.
@@autoobsessivegarage the first year, 89 was the rarest (under 10 tho built!) And the 91 Plus was the rarest ever SHO built. Believed it peaked in 93 was the year most common (cause the automatic)... either way I had alot of fun with my SHO, it was cheap wheels in my college days, was pretty awesome to have the quickest car in the parking lot. Except for another manual SHO. Near 20 years ago lol
@@autoobsessivegarage for a while, I was buying all the SHO center caps I could get my hands on. I must have about 40 of them now. Even a set of the rare white Slicer caps.
The Chris Collection all the collectors will be hunting you down for them in 10 years or so.
7:37 and for those who are tryna make the sho a turbocharged family sedan, make sure to shift like that, or your wheels will spin like crazy, happened with many guys who have tried to do power shifts on the SHOs
I’m all about those smoother shifts with cars of this vintage…usually.
@@autoobsessivegarageyes, very understandable
It's a fun car (the '89) The biggest complaint of mine is the shifter is long throw and you gotta push the clutch down deep. These factors kept it from reaching it's potential.
General Zod I will take a mediocre manual over no manual option at all any day. You are spot on with the feel too, it is certainly notchy when sliding into gear.
I had a one year only mocha frost with nitrous I loved that thing
That sounds fun.
My DD is a 94 moon 🌙 light blue atx sho. Freaking great reliable car, but I take care of it religiously.
As one must. Sounds like a sweet ride.
Thank you i owned one. replased injectorts then did not solv things put new coils and injecters in after that was it. omg fun. my car before was a 87 escort lol.
That’s quite the performance increase from Escort to SHO.
I miss this car so so much
Me too sir, me too. I can totally see myself hunting down another one.
@@autoobsessivegarage I used to have a first gen
IMO this was the first "muscle car" from Detroit since about 1972 or so(excluding the turbo Buicks) IE cram a high performance engine into your basic family car. Yeah performance came back to the RWD V8 cars(Mustang, Camaro, Corvette) about 3-4 years earlier with multi-port fuel injection, but those were all low slung 2 door coupes with a small or no back seat. IE not a real practical "car" for a man with kids like a GTO, Chevelle, big block Galaxie, big block Impala or Road Runner was back in the day.
Aaron Smith I fully support your opinion. The SHO really put super sedans back on the map.
I love this car 👍👍👍
ace boogie it really is something special.
@@autoobsessivegarage oh i know my buddy had one of these when i was in high school a black one with the black spliced mags he crashed it then he got another one just like yours another 89 same color and all i thought personally it looked way better than the black one especially with the with the stock wheels they just make the car pop thanks for keeping them stock 👍👍 even my dad fell in love with the car the first time my buddy came to pick me up in it at my house and he saw it as soon as i came back home my dad told me tell your buddy if he ever wants to sell that car i want it he was hooked for the fact that it was a manual taurus and the sound from the dual exhaust which shook the windows in my house while my buddy was outside revving it my buddy even let me drive it when i say i love this car its because i know this car driven this car i have been in it when my buddy raced it and i have seen the looks of shock and disappointment when people lost to this car i know and love the 89 sho like an old friend all the other sho's do not exist to me its all about the 89 forget the rest 220 hp it sure as hell feels like its making more than that anyways sorry for the long comment but man i love this car more than most people.i know this beast and its awesome !!!! Take care and thanks for replying ✌
Could you review a LX or GL type that went till 95?
I’d be into that…just need to find a clean enough example.
326,468 miles and counting.
Nielson Lucas that’s friggin impressive!
@@autoobsessivegarage my 92 sho has almost 188K and it's still going
AirRookie barely broken in!
@@autoobsessivegarage yea :), I baby/casual use my manual transmission because I heard it has 2 flaws
Are you serious ?!
I'm looking at buying a 1990 SHO the guy says it's been sitting for 8 years and needs a clutch. No title and I got him down to 400 dollars delivered. Should I pass?
Really depends on condition. Lots of rust makes it hard no for me. If not, that price seems too good to pass.
Where can I get one can’t find a decent one I want 89’ grey jus like his any inquiries?
The later ones come up more often…clean up samples of these early ones are now very rare. I’d just keep closely following Marketplace and Craigslist. Good luck.
Your 0-60 and 1/4 mile times are much slower than any other published numbers I've seen. MotorWeek was in the upper 6s. Possible elevation variance?
More than likely it’s because magazines (and related tv shows) make adjustments for weather and sometimes don’t count the launch. Mine is a real world acceleration test.
Also the car is as probably a bit quicker when it was 30 years younger haha.
According to Carfax, the 1989 Taurus SHO had an odometer problem. Maybe it was incorrectly recorded.
Nielson Lucas Good to know. Overall condition makes only 32k miles seem plausible, spark plug wear and various other items lead to believe that the odometer has done a lap around the 100k mark.
i need to find one... ive always wanted something that will sho me the temperature outside
I see what you did there.
@@autoobsessivegarage actually i just noticed my 2016 sho does alot more than temperature but wont sho me tire pressures
car looks mint .... how many miles on the car
saw the mileage on your dash video
this is the only fwd car i will drive i would love if they made an action movie have one of these cars in a car chase
That would be epic!
@@autoobsessivegarage I mean they likely never did because a taraus was a boring car i would use them in an action movie they are light and fast and see a guy wiping that little car around like nothing.
This car is more futuristac then the 2019 😂 i might buy one when im older
Agreed, the styling and features are still fantastic. Totally get one!
Good video, you deserve some more subs hope your channel does well.
Hardware Hank thanks a ton, I really appreciate that.
The 60k service on one of these are not that hard at all if you know how to turn a wrench its just time consuming because of limited space under the hood
It's a very straight forward procedure and I even covered it in the restoration vids. It's certainly one of those "if you're not sure it's been done, do it." kind of maintenance tasks.
Is that Laureles Grade that I see?
Negative on that...it’s my private undisclosed test track.
@@autoobsessivegarage Very considerate of you to respond. Thanks, man.
Fun & informative video(s); you got my subscription. Keep up the good work.
Safe travels.
That was an running ass car my godbrother blair had one
loved my 89 sho the 1990 and up slicer wheels were directional and made in italy
the 89 had the escort 5 speed the 2nd gen was much better
i had a 91 plus 1 of 2500 that i crashed leave a reply if you wanna see some pics of the cars
15k were made in 89 only 8k for 1990 and 1991
1992 to 95 were not even 3k a year
Yeah they got super rare as the years went by due to them not selling as many…which is shocking. Bummer it got crashed, very hard to find another today…in good condition.
There is one on eBay right now asking $12.000 😳 so yeah they are on a raise 😳
Yikes! I bet she’s pretty clean. I can see these creeping up in value overall.
Please stop calling it a "show." Makes me wince! :-) As someone who drooled over these when I started driving back then, it will always be three syllables: ess-aych-oh. Almost bought a newer one recently, but headroom was such that the seat had to be reclined to ridiculous angle [sad face!]. Funny to believe that 30 years ago, they were more spacious. But new or old, they are still sleepers. Give those fast & furious idiots a surprise...
Jason Rubery hahaha man throwing around SHO as a one syllable word was quite the fight starter back in the day...so I throw it around to celebrate. Can’t beat a sleeper...always nice to beat a “fast” looking car in the gramps mobile.
You mean the SHO. ok... SHO
You're slightly obsessed 😂
Waylin Van Halen hahaha “slightly”
By the way, it was a Ford block with a Yamaha top end and intake system.
John Mc Donald I thought Yamaha also altered the block and not just the head and obviously the intake manifold.
@@autoobsessivegarage I do not know if the block was altered, I know Ford used top of the line block it came from Ford racing it had all forged internals and was ship to Yamaha were they installed the heads and intake and sent back to the USA, the first prototype had way more HP like 300HP at 8500 RPM Ford said that was too much com it down, it was a 5 valve head to and stick coils for the plugs, way ahead for its time.
15.5 sec in the quarter mile when Motorweek tested the car in 1989
Rico Martinez amazing how I was only 0.8 secs off with a 30 year old car not on a drag strip.
@@autoobsessivegarage I think an auto reviewer going for a best time would have dumped the clutch a lot more aggressively than you did.
Need to show ya how to launch that thing Son
Hahhaha bring it.
@@autoobsessivegarage When get a chance, 'll take a vid for ya
Come on, you were short shifting on that... I had a 1990 SHO, stopwatched 0-60 at 6.8
Thomas Dvorak fair enough, I was only shifting at 7k. Also, the VBOX Sport is a bit of a heartbreaker.
Alot of guys were able to run mid 14 second quarter mile times stock
@@Highlander1432 they weren't stock to run mid 14s. They were 15 second cars stock at best. I have owned 3 of them.
Better tires make it much quicker...
Always true good sir.
Rust claimed them in salt states.
toyoscio sad, but 100% true.
HAHA, $2000 for one in need of tlc
I bought 2 SHO's for $900 combined (89 and auto 94)
And drove the second one home
Unless you include repairs, then the bill probably will hit $2000....
You’re killing it man, congrats!
I'm on my 7th SHO. Second 89. Put the drivetrain in a Fiero
Sad that this once fast car can't even keep up with a modern V6 Camry full of goceries.
Ugliest bubble sleeper!! I wish I had one!!
The later generation Taurus models were bubble design to the max. These are by far my favorite looking ones and are getting harder to find in good condition.
Ford is hilarious.
GM had their H.O. stuff so Fords like. Hrmm. Yeah!? Well. We're the. Um SUPER.. High Output manufacturers. YEAH!
Side note.
This is basically not as good as a Maxima that came out just a couple years after it, but it was kinda cool.
Beau Mancini haha I like that. Being a couple years ahead is a major factor in the automotive world. No doubt that the SHO influenced other automakers.
It was Not A Popular Car ... An Production numbers an Sales Were Less than Ferrari who hand builds cars ... You can Buy a SHO for cheap usually , Last one I bought was 1500.00 an it was near concours condition with 80k miles on it ...
tan 89's were weak...find a black one...waaay faster
But the tan was such a sleeper color. Everyone knows the black ones are stealth fast!
Not that fast and hard to get parts. VERY hard. I had two of them.
Todd actually the SHO was quite fast and quick for its time...just check any auto magazine or video review from that period.
Only a very few number of parts are hard to get, nearly everything else can be sourced. There is a great amount of support for this vehicle and very active forums online always willing to lend a hand.
auto obsessive garage I owned two, I don’t need to check.
I have all these options but the sunroof 😞
I love sunroofs but at least yours is lighter and will never leak!