While “sports sedan” isn’t what most people thought of when looking at the Ford Contour, the folks at Ford’s skunkworks, the Special Vehicle Team, apparently saw some potential.
The result? The SVT Contour, a hopped-up sedan that could be bought from a Ford dealership near you.
This particular example, a final-year model rated at 200 horsepower, is billed as one …
Wow, can’t recall the last time seeing one in that color. As I recall, our test car was dark red.
Cool car. I remember the shifter feeling precise.
Sadly, as I remember, the Contour also cost about the same as a Taurus, meaning it wasn’t seen as a good deal by most people.
Wow, under 80,000 miles and $6,500? I see no significant damage or even any evidence of tin worm. Someone with better eyes and more knowledge about these cars please tell me what's wrong with it.
I had a friend who was an accomplished driver (and rider of motorcycles) who generally didn't like fwd cars...but he loved both the SVT Contour and the Taurus SVO.
Coniglio Rampante said:Wow, under 80,000 miles and $6,500? I se no significant damage or even any evidence of tin worm. Someone with better eyes and more knowledge about these cars please tell me what's wrong with it.
I had a friend who was an accomplished driver (and rider of motorcycles) who generally didn't like fwd cars...but he loved both the SVT Contour and the Taurus SVO.
Few know what "SVT" means, probably hard to find some parts, it's... still a fwd Ford Contour so anyone shopping for a used small sporty sedan from that era is going to look for a BMW E46.
I think they are awesome. And it still bugs me that Ford won't stick with a consistent branding for their factory hot-rod models.
My 2000 CSVT was one of my favorite cars I've ever owned. Quick, pretty good handling, comfy, and reasonably efficient. It was a great DD that also saw duty as a track day car and autocrosser.
I effing love SVTs Contours. I saw one around my town in highschool in that exact color. I still think they look cool. Never did get to drive them. Fun fact, even the SE V6 models had 170hp, not bad back in that day. I remember Peter Egan was considering buying one.
They supposedly had oil starvation issues on long right (or was it left) turns that could nuke the motor. At least so says the internet.
They weren't a high seller when new, and my guess is that Fast and Furious crowd ruined what ones did get sold. I also wonder if cars like the Mazda6 were more appealing (more power, a bit more space, probably just as sporty). I think they are nice size, somewhere between a compact and a full size sedan of that day. Nowadays what a "compact" sedan is.
That one looks minty, someone hear should buy it!
Here;s another one...green, too! Marketplace - 1999 Ford Contour · SVT Sedan 4D | Facebook
In reply to CyberEric :
100% believe it. My brother nuked his engine doing exactly that.
Appleseed said:In reply to CyberEric :
100% believe it. My brother nuked his engine doing exactly that.
When I tracked mine, I deliberately lifted a bit and gave it a "wiggle" in sweepers, just in case. Though I was on street tires, so I was probably fine.
Some friends built this one. It was a very quick(and well driven) race car but they found out about the oil starvation issue. I want to say they switched to the Escape V6? Does that sound right?
I owned the first year manual V6 SE for a bunch of years. It was sorta Beige Gold so folks would ask me if it was a rental. Very under the radar but a nice entertaining ride. Traded in for a Miata. I really wanted a SVT version, just that much better.
I was checking CSVTs yesterday and peeking on availaoand pricing and also seeing for comparison purposes where the late fusion sport (2.7 Ecoboost AWD) prices were at this point.
Test drove one when new. Long test drive. The salesman wanted a nap so asked me to keep driving. Wish I had bought it.
I had a 98 CSVT that was my DD for a decade. In many respects a good sleeper drivers car. The little known bad news was that over time the wiring harness insulation-on mine and on many- cracked into pieces that caused 'mystery quits' that were more than a little inconvenient. Quite a few "what the hell?' moments.
I drove base model Contours (Zetec fours with automatics) for several years as fleet vehicle. They were fantastic handling cars. I think a SVT version would be a tremendous track day car. But...the V6 is crammed in the engine bay, and working on them is not fun. Plus, SVT parts aren't very plentiful. It's a car for a committed fan, not a casual person who just wants to try it for fun.
One of these used to rip it up locally in CP.
That color looks just like my 91 Es_cort GT.
In reply to jstein77 :
Forgot abour your Ford Econobox. Those were cool cars–and also something you no longer see so often.
There was a slightly smaller version, done for Lincoln-Mercury, to which they repurposed the name Cougar. Saw one as an SVT, I think, it was at an autocross where I was running my Taurus SHO. The Mystique was of course the L-M Contour, my mom had one with that interesting color-shifting paint.
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