When The Mustang Ditched Its V8 For A Turbo 4
84,893
Published 2024-04-06
This 2.3L DOHC V10 was built by the Ford SVO team as the next generation of high-performance Ford engines in an era that was defined by emissions regulations, and it had all the potential to dethrone the V8 at the time.
But as we know today, the SVO Mustang didn't dethrone the V8, in fact in lots of ways it was one of the reasons that the V8 itself stayed in the Mustang until this very day. This is the story of the iconic Mustang SVO.
*Note, we are not historians. If you see an error in our research then please mention it in the comments!
For business inquiries or other inquiries, reach out to: [email protected]
NOTICE: Clips used from other videos are fair use and fall under U.S. copyright law because this work is transformative in nature, and has no negative effect on the market for the original work. It is against the law to fraudulently claim a copyright on a video you do not own under the DMCA or to abuse YouTube’s copyright claim tool. Copyright concerns and takedown requests can be submitted to: [email protected]
All Comments (21)
-
It's 2024, the mustang has a 4 cylinder Turbo and Ghostbusters is once again, on the big screen
-
I'd take the SVO in a heartbeat.
-
I owned Two - First one was so New, it didn't have the advertised Four-Shock Rear Suspension. Drove it for more than 100K miles. Lotsa fun. Paid a Real premium for it at Intro - $16K, IIRC. Traded it in for the '86 just as they were put n Clearance Prices - Paid $13,400 for that One, New. Bought a Borla Exhaust system. Convinced a Muffler shop to make Me a "Test Pipe" to lose the Catalytic Converter. Drove that SVO from 1986 to 1994. Disconnect the Lil Hose to the Waste Gate, and the EFI could handle things well - up to an indicated 20+/- PSI indicated boooost on good Fuel! This was in Southern CaCaLand, before the CARB got nasty. Often had the Car well above 150 Indicated, going up 395 into the Desert. Had a Ton of Fun, RidgeRacing/Canyon Carving from Ontario over to Pasadena. Miss That Car.
-
Owned a 1986 cougar xr 7 turbo 5speed! After bypassing the boost controls for 1st and 2nd gear and adjusting the air vane to optimum flow I was able to walk mustang gt 5.0 to 100 plus mph, Smoked a lot of camaro irocz's and transams Plus destroyed a ton of g body gms that were suposed to be fast!
-
I personally had that option in 1985 and ordered a 1985 1/2 SVO. It didn't disappoint, but in hindsight the handwriting was already on the wall by the time it debuted in 1984. Muscle was coming back and even though the Mustang GT's were gaining popularity with the 5.0, they didn't handle anywhere near the SVO. It was a car that would have been super popular if introduced 5 years earlier. Timing is everything.
-
I had a 1984-1/2 SVO. Sold it to guy (with buy back option) that was engaged to my sister. Wedding never happened, never saw the car again. He won twice...got the car and avoided my train-wreck sister!! lol...
-
I had the younger cousin to the SVO, the 88 T-bird turbo coupe in 93 as a first car. Had a blast with it.
-
In 1984 I was 23 years old and knew a guy with the 1984 SVO mustang. (for the time) It was fast. I had just bought my first new car, a 1984 Hurst/Olds. In stock form the SVO spanked my Hurst. But I added a 140hp NOS kit, bringing my Hurst to 320 hp. This finally took care of the SVO. All of this took place in Beaumont, Texas. I said I knew a guy with a 1984 SVO Mustang, I knew him from crossing paths in our cars and we did compete. But we never exchanged words, I never even knew his name. In 1984, that SVO and my Hurst were pretty fast for street cars of the time. It blows me away how far current day street cars have come, especially with horsepower numbers. Thankyou for featuring the SVO.
-
I had many Foxbodys but my 85 Dark Sage and 85.5 Medium Canyon Red SVOs were my favorites.
-
always loved the svo.. especially the 1986
-
I had a stock 1988 Merkur Xr4Ti. It had what looked to be the same engine as this SVO. But my Merkur had the automatic and I recall that they intentionally limited boost to keep the engine torque from destroying the auto transmission. Yet it was pretty fast, especially suited for high altitudes mountain roads. It had more turbo lag than modern turbos. And it was hard to work under the hood since that turbo got so hot. It was running great when I sold it for too little, since no one knew what it was. I wish I still had it.
-
My cousin had the 84 SVO, and I had an 86 GT in high school. That SVO was quick as hell, but I'm like you - nothing sounds like a 5.0... loved that car.
-
Back in high school, my friend got an 84 or 85 turbo coupe. That was a slick ride back in the late 80’s. When that turbo spooled up, the howl was so loud that you first thought a cop was behind you!
-
My step dad had an 84. I used to take it out while my parents were on vacation and I was home alone. It was a smooth operator, definitely a very cool car
-
An underrated car. The 2.3 was a great motor
-
Still have my '84 SVO I bought from original owner back in 1999. Only 34k miles, garage kept, every record including window sticker from new!👍
-
I had an 84 SVO. What a great car. I've also owned an 88 Mustang G.T. with the manual transmission. Both cars gave me no problems and where easy to work on and so much fun to drive. The SVO was special as it was out of the box thinking. I later owned a GMC Syclone pickup truck. These type of vehicles are for enthusiast with a more progressive outlook on performance. I've always owned and have a thing for turbo vehicles. They are a ton of fun to drive and own. If I had the money to build my dream car collection I would defiantly have an SVO in it
-
Towed my old friends SVO back to his house. These are one of the best sounding I4 ever made imo. These cars with a forged bottom end with a top end to match,big turbo, man, ton of fun. I myself had an 89GT.
-
Shame there was never a Cosworth Mustang.
-
My buddy had one of these in high school in 2005. Thing was friggin' hoot and would hold a curve rather impressively.
