Ford SHO V6 engine

The Ford Taurus SHO originally featured a special V6 engine.

The SHO engines share a common bell housing pattern with the following Ford engines: the 2.3/2.5 L FWD HSC I4, the 3.0 L FWD/RWD Vulcan V6, and the 3.8 L FWD Canadian Essex V6.

Due to the engine's unusual and aesthetically pleasing appearance, as well as its compatibility with common Ford RWD transmissions, such as the AOD and T-5, it is sometimes transplanted into other vehicles. Its distinctive intake manifold is bilaterally symmetrical, so it can be rotated 180 degrees (making it face "backwards" on the engine, relative to its original installation orientation) to ease the engine's transition from transverse to longitudinal mounting.

In 1996, Ford discontinued the SHO V6 and began fitting the Taurus SHO's with the SHO 3.4 L V8 and the Ford AX4N automatic transmission.

Origin
In 1984, executives of the Yamaha Motor Corporation signed a contract with the Ford Motor Company to develop, produce, and supply a compact 60° DOHC V6 engine for transverse application.

There has been some confusion about the original intended use of the engine. It was thought this engine was first intended to power a mid-engine sports car, that project (known internally as GN34) was cancelled. Patents have been found and pictures of prototype SHO powerplants installed in the Taurus show that the original intent was for the larger FWD setup and the GN34 would have come later. There were a few GN34 prototypes produced, most with standard Vulcan engines and a few other factory swaps, a SHO Ranger being one.

3.0 L
The SHO V6 was a high-tech and revolutionary design when it debuted in 1988. Displacing 3.0 L (2986 cc/182 cu in), it was an iron block, aluminum head 24-valve DOHC engine with an innovative variable length intake manifold. Its oversquare and symmetrical design, which sported an 89 mm (3.5 in) bore and 80 mm (3.1 in) stroke, gave the high-revving engine an output of 220 bhp (164 kW; 223 PS) at 6200 rpm and 200 lb·ft (271 N·m) of torque at 4800 rpm at the flywheel, and the added luxury of being able to be used in rear-drive applications. Redline was marked on the tachometer at 7000 rpm, and fuel cut-off occurred at 7300 rpm. The engine was capable of 8500 rpm, but it was electronically limited to 7000 rpm due to the Ford accessories in the prototypes malfunctioning at approximately 8000 rpm. This engine was only available with the Ford MTX-IV transmission.

3.2 L
From 1993 to 1995, the SHO engine was sold in two displacements: the existing 3.0 L continued to be sold mated to the MTX-IV manual transmission, and a new 3.2 L engine (3191 cc/195 cu in) was sold mated to the Ford AX4S automatic transmission. The new 3.2 L engine, while retaining the same 80 mm (3.1 in) stroke of its 3.0 L brother, sported a larger 92 mm (3.6 in) bore that helped raise torque output to 215 lb·ft (292 N·m) at 4000 rpm at the flywheel. Horsepower output was still 220 bhp (164 kW; 223 PS), but now at 6000 rpm: This was due to a milder cam setup compared to the more aggressive intake camshaft in the 3.0 L version.

Modifications
A popular modification to cars equipped with the 3.0 L SHO engine is to replace the engine with a 3.2 L engine. Further modification can include installing the cams from a 3.0 L engine into a 3.2 L engine. These more aggressive cams, along with a higher torque output have been known to allow the manual transmission-equipped Taurus SHO to run into the low 14s on the quarter mile.

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