[/QUOTE]Sometimes people deserve to have their loyalty rewarded, the 2010 Taurus SHO is one of those rewards. It has been a hard few years for Ford fan-boys, testing their belief in the Taurus nameplate without a Super High Output brand. Two successively uninspiring models led to the retirement of the Taurus name, and a third wore the name after an uncomfortable resurrection. The newly-redesigned Taurus is a product wearing the badge in much the same way as the original, a jaw-dropping entry at a critical moment for the company.
The new SHO boasts the highest level of tune so far announced for the Ecoboost V6 — 365 HP and 350 lb-ft of torque, going above and beyond the previously rated 355 HP in the 2010 Ford Flex and 2010 Lincoln MKS. The more important part of those power figures is where it comes in at, with peak torque starting from 1500 RPM and topping out at 3500 RPM. Shoot, that's almost in diesel territory. Ford isn't being bashful about this new SHO either, boldly claiming the Taurus SHO will outperform the BMW 550i while returning 25 MPG on the highway and coming in at a reasonable $37,995 price. Those are certainly fightin' words.
And what of that product? To those in the know, the new SHO's lived in the realm of a wink and a knowing nod, as it's a sleeper through and through. There are dangerously few details to give away the potential of the car. Outside, the only indications of something out of the ordinary are the small SHO badges on the C-pillars, the SHO/Ecoboost badge mounted low on the trunklid, dual exhaust with chrome tips, a tasteful spoiler on the deck which hides the backup camera (if so optioned), and a unique satin finish on the grille. That's it. Oh wait, there is one more thing only lifetime members of the SHO club will recognize, a SHO-only color called Atlantis Green Metallic, a modern interpretation of a shade the 1991 SHO wore, Deep Emerald Green. Very cool.
The Taurus SHO continues it's subtlety inside and gets all the goodies of the normal Taurus, but packs on various shades of suede seating surfaces (the brown seen here being hideous compared to the black we saw), aluminum trimmed pedals, piano black and aluminum trim, a perforated leather wrapped steering wheel and leather door treatment (the interior looks much better in black than brown, trust us) and it's all rounded out with small SHO badges on the dash and floor mats.
On the equipment front, aside from the 3.5 liter twin-turbocharged Ecoboost V6, the Taurus SHO comes standard with all-wheel-drive, a paddle-shifted six speed automatic transmission specially tuned to rev-match and hold the gears of your choosing. The standard Taurus SHO also gets a retuned suspension, designed for carving corners over sucking up potholes and standard nineteen inch wheels with optional twenties.
But the SHO order sheet holds a secret. Check option box 12S and Ford takes the SHO to the next level with the SHO Performance Package. The performance package includes upgraded brake pads, a more aggressive calibration on the electric steering rack, more aggressive tune on the stability control system and faster 3.16 final drive ratio over the standard 2.77, and as a cherry on top, Goodyear Eagle F1 tires on painted twenty inch wheels. Yes, the SHO has a track-pack, that's not us being glib, those were unofficial words the Ford folks were throwing around.
__________________
:bouncy:
