What Does 'SHO' Stand For On The Ford Taurus SHO?

The Ford Taurus was unveiled in 1985, and had a long production run with upwards of 8 million models leaving the Chicago plant over three decades. This family-friendly, economical four-door was extremely popular in the U.S., where it achieved the honor of being the highest-selling car from 1992-2001. Ford discontinued the Taurus after over 30 years, but there is a surprising side of this car worth revisiting — the SHO variant.

The 1989 Ford Taurus SHO (or "Super High Output") swapped out the more sedate 3.0L V6 for a souped-up version of the engine crafted by Yamaha. Dubbed the "Shogun engine," this variant of Taurus generated 220 horsepower and could achieve a 0-60 mph time of less than 7 seconds. These figures were just a few examples of what made the Ford Taurus SHO V6 engine so special. The Taurus SHO was considered shocking and completely unconventional when it launched in the late '80s.

With the soaring demand for Ford's car upon its release, the 1986 Ford Taurus was far more important than you realize, and helped the struggling automaker stay relevant. Those in charge also saw an opportunity to capitalize on the four-door sedan performance market following the success of the Taurus. Yamaha agreed to work under the hood of the Taurus SHO in 1988, and it was the first engine the Japanese manufacturer provided Ford. Instead of the limited special edition run originally envisioned, Ford ended up moving around 15,000 SHO models over three years, and decided to keep moving forward.

Not only did Yamaha create a robust powerplant that provided impressive specs for the Taurus, the engine itself was also visually stunning. One of the most notable aspects of the Shogun engine is its snake-like intake system, which wasn't a common look at the time. There would be a total of four generations of the performance sedan, but every Ford Taurus SHO had to stand up to the original, which ended up being a difficult act to follow.

Back when the Ford Taurus SHO was first introduced, not only was it something completely unexpected from the automaker, it was also listed for around $20,000. This price tag is significant because few four-door sedans could match the performance of the Taurus SHO — and the ones that could often exceeded $50,000 at the time. Believe it or not, in the late '80s Ford's SHO was only bested by premium BMW models, but offered better specs than other renowned performance sedans from automakers like Mercedes and Audi.

The 1989 Saab 9000 Turbo, which retailed for around $31,000 at its launch, managed to output only 160 horsepower to the Taurus SHO's 220 horses. Unfortunately, if you're looking for a 1989 model today, they are rare: Since late 2020, nine Taurus SHO models have sold, with zero models currently on sale at Classic.com. There are a few of the last crop of 2019 Taurus SHOs available, but expect upwards of 80,000 miles and a cost of more than $20,000.