Have you ever wondered if there were any Ford Taurus model kits that resemble the real car and not just NASCAR variants? Well, there just so happens to be a Taurus model kit of a 1989 and 1991 SHO (Super High Output). But that's just it. There's no other models kits besides those and the NASCAR kits.

AMT/Ertl is the only company to make the Taurus SHO kit. They have two versions. One is the 1989 SHO and the other is the 1991 SHO. Both molds were used to make the police cars kits too so even the Taurus police car model kits were SHOs. They are all molded in a whitish-gray color, except for the windows, tail lights, wheels, tires, and some engine parts. The headlights, wheels, and some engine parts are chrome-plated plastic. The 1989 SHO kit has the stock basketweave wheels and the '89 dashboard. The 1991 SHO kit has the "Slicer" 6-spoke wheels and the '90/'91 dashboard (yes, there is a difference between 1989 and 1990/1991 dashboards in the real car). The 1989 SHO model kit rides kind of high while the 1991 SHO kit rides slightly lower, but still rather high for an SHO. The police car kits added a Jetsonic lightbar, bumper guards, flat dish hubcaps, computer console, CB radio, antenna, guns, and a divider cage as well as the SHO and Enkei wheels. These models kits are discontinued, but they do occasionally show up on eBay. Just note, it's not a "rare" kit because AMT/Ertl made a lot of these kits in the early '90s just like any other car. It's just that there is a limited supply of these kits and AMT/Ertl doesn't make it anymore.

Pros:
This kit is very detailed! There are a lot of little pieces that are separate. These pieces include the oil filter, power steering pulley, alternator, valve covers, timing belt cover, fan belt and pulleys, transaxle, half-shafts, tie-rods, power brake booster, brake master cylinder, front MacPherson struts, rear Quadralink suspension, DIS module, battery, air box and intake hose, intake manifold, engine subframe, oil pan, and exhaust heat shields as well as the standard model kit parts. Also, the Ford oval and Taurus badges are molded into the plastic. As a bonus, the police and Robocop kits come with the stock SHO wheels as well as the Enkei wheels if you want to build the stock SHO out of the police/Robocop kit. Also, the police/Robocop kits do not have holes in the bumper or body for the pushbar or lightbar so you don't need to fill in holes for a smooth look.

Cons:
This kit is very poor quality. A lot of work is needed to make it look and fit right. The casting marks must be sanded off in order to make it look nice. Also it requires a lot of sanding to make the parts fit. Painting is a must! You can get away with just gluing it together, but it'll look horrible and cheap. It's not for 10-year-olds like the box says. It's recommended for intermediate and expert model builders. Beginners will have trouble with painting and building this kit (I know first hand!). A real steady hand will also help in painting. Masking tape helps some of the time if you don't slather the paint on there and make a watery mess. The tail lights are molded in clear red plastic so the reverse lights are also red. It will take a lot of work to correct that. Most people just leave it as-is since it's not a huge detail that detracts from the model. Also, the window piece is missing the rear side windows on the back doors. As any Taurus owner can tell you, the windows in the rear doors only go down half-way so you can't just give off the illusion that the windows are all the way down on the kit. The ride height is unusually high. You'll need to tweak the suspension parts to make it look more normal. There is no decal for the Ford oval and Taurus badges so they will require painting.

Ford Taurus model kits available:
(The first four kits are 1989 SHOs, the last three kits are 1991 SHOs)