The Ford Contour SVT got a lot of attention from enthusiast types when it debuted in the 1998 model year, since it was a sporty, European-designed sedan with a powerful engine and mandatory five-speed manual transmission. In the showrooms, though, it didn't do so well, and so I don't see many of these cars when making my junkyard rounds. Here's a 2000 model that I spotted last month in a Denver-area self-service yard.
The 2.5-liter Duratec V6 in the Contour SVT sounded much better than most Detroit V6s (which tend to sound like sad vacuum cleaners choking on bicycle inner tubes), and 200 hp was decent for a 3,100-pound sedan in 2000; that was more power and less weight than the 2000 BMW 323i, albeit with front-wheel drive. The car was really a first-generation Ford Mondeo, which sold well in Europe but seemed cramped for the price to American car shoppers.
This car made it well past the 200,000-mile mark, which is very good for the sort of car that tends to get hooned to death.
Source: Read Full Article