Q-ship #03 - 1998-00 Contour SVT

By John leBlanc

With Ford tripping all over itself these days--between the Firestone/Explorer fiasco and the Jack the Knife beheading--its easy to forget that buried away in the labyrinth of such a huge organization are some serious car nuts. The company-sanctioned skunkworks Special Vehicle Team is responsible today for some very non-Q cars such as the Cobra and Lightning. But they were also responsible for what was as close as any American manufacturer has come to building an affordable autobahn-capable machine, the Contour SVT. To build their Q car, SVT started with some innocuous tin in the form of the Euro-sourced Mondeo. Starting with the engine, they added a higher-capacity air cleaner, modified camshaft profiles, a larger throttle body nailed from the Taurus' 3.0-liter Duratec, and a less-restrictive exhaust. This produced 195 hp for the first two years--up 25 ponies from the base car's 170--and then a nice round 200 hp for the swansong 2000 model. Despite the front-wheel drive setup, the sticky P205/55ZR-16 rubber worked especially well with the upgraded brakes and suspension. Outside, the Contour SVT wore subtle SVT badging, fiberglass lower-body cladding, a unique front fascia with fog lights, and a flat-black lower rear fascia that looks respectable on black or silver SVTs. Grand Am drivers were perpetually disappointed as in true Q car fashion, the SVT was the only Contour model that you couldn't get with a rear spoiler. With only 11,445 produced spread over the three model years, the Contour SVT rightfully qualifies as a sleeper and when Ford nixed the Contour in North America in 2000 it further solidified its reputation.
Pity, isn't it.

Engine
configuration V6
power 195-200 hp
torque 165-169 lb-ft
displacement 2500 cc

Gear box
5 speed manual

Performance
0 - 100 km/h 7.6 sec
top speed 229 km/h (limited)

Current price: $10,756 - $14,055 US.

Q rivals: Audi A4 1.8T, Jetta VR6, SAAB 900S

Anti-Q rivals: Mustang GT, Camaro/Firebird, anything from Saleen

Q rating: 4/6