Official press release:

MUSCULAR FORD CONCEPT VAN DESIGNED TO DELIVER THE KIDS - AND PLENTY OF PERFORMANCE

In mid-1994, Ford Motor Company gave a small group of engineers and designers the kind of challenge they love: Develop a hot-looking concept vehicle suitable for an upscale family with kids that delivers a ton of performance.

The result is the Ford SHO-Star, a potent and aggressive-looking concept minivan with luxury features.

Its heart is a high-performance Taurus SHO engine tucked under the hood of a modified Ford Windstar passenger van.

SHO-Star’s 3.0-liter 24-valve V-6 engine develops 220-plus horsepower, somewhat higher than a SHO engine normally produces. The extra power results from a special low-restriction/high-flow exhaust system.

The SHO engine is mated to a five-speed manual transaxle. Its sporty floor shifter is housed in a unique console upholstered in the same dark olive leather as the seating. There are two bucket seats up front and two in the center of the SHO-Star, with a pair of "simulated buckets" mounted on a bench-seat base in the rear.

Key suspension components - including struts, shocks and springs — have been modified so that handling and performance match the SHO engine’s output. And SHO-Star’s 17-inch Michelin XGT-Z tires and polished aluminum wheels are huskier than a conventional Windstar’s.

Contributing to SHO-Star’s visual impact is its lower stance, unique front and rea bumper facings; creamy yellow-green pearlescent paint; integrated lower bodyside cladding and wheel-lip mouldings; blacked-out B-pillars; and chrome-plated dual exhausts.

SHO-Star also showcases advanced exterior lighting, developed in cooperation with North American Lighting, Inc.:

- Each headlight assembly houses a pair of high-intensity-discharge (HID) projector lamps.

- The fog lamps are illuminated, via fiber-optic cable, from a high-intensity infrared light source mounted behind the sheet metal.

- The front turn signals consist of five rows of amber high-intensity light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

- The backup lights and combination brake light/taillight use optical-fiber technology to pipe in light from a halogen source behind the sheet metal.

- Each rear turn signal consists of four rows of red high-intensity LEDs,

- The center high-mount stop light uses a gas-discharge tube.

SHO-Star will be displayed at Ford Division auto show exhibits throughout the United States, starting in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

SHO-STAR CONCEPT VEHICLE

(Derived from stock 1995 Windstar, with revisions shown)

POWERTRAIN

Engine:    Taurus SHO high-performance 3.0-liter 24-valve V-6; 220-plushorsepower
Transmission:    Five-speed manual transaxle, with floor shifter
Air induction:    Based off production SHO mass air sensor with special high-flow air cleaner

Exhaust:    Low-restriction/high-flow system with image-tuned sound, and production catalysts

CHASSIS

Struts/Stocks:    Production Windstar export front struts and. rear shocks
Front End Alignment:    Camber readjusted to one degree negative, minor toe-out increase
Lowered Ride Heights:    0.75" front, 1.5" rear (production Windstar coil springs were modified to achieve ride heights)
Rear Axle:    Production Windstar van rear axle (higher roll stiffness)
Brakes:    Four-wheel disc (production Windstar export brake system)
Tires:    Michelin XGT-Z (front: 245/45ZR17; rear: 275/40ZR17
Wheels:    Etoile 455 (front: 17x8; rear 17x9)
Valving:    Revised front strut and rear shock valving