The Ford Taurus SHO Intercoast GTP Was A Wild Tandem-Seat Concept
Up until recently, I wasn't aware that in 1992, California car builder Mel Francis came up with the perfect tandem-seat Ford supercar concept, only to abandon the idea almost immediately. Still, after learning of the work of Mel's Concept Garage, triggered by a glance at the Ford Taurus SHO, I'm just a happier person overall. Because how could I not be?
First brought to my attention in a tweet from an appropriately named account, the concept's creator had this to say about the Intercoast GTP a few years back:
"This prototype was a design exercise built back in 1992 and 1993 at my shop in Ventura, California. It was configured as a trans-continental freeway cruiser that might be just as impractical as any mid-engined Ferrari, but provide better fuel milage than other supercars of its time, due to the narrower greenhouse, while providing a full-size trunk for luggage storage. The entire design was based in '92 SHO mechanicals, with its own steel tube spaceframe chassis. Like in the McLaren F1, the driver sat in the center, so it could be driven anywhere in the world without any modification. The rear seat could accommodate 1-2 people."
Unfortunately, by the time Mel Francis closed his workshop in 1997, the Intercoast GTP was disassembled, with its parts being used for other projects. And with that, the SHO-based supercar became stillborn, just like Ford's very own 1995 Ford GT90, the 'New Edge' dream penned by Camilo Pardo. I guess a Ford halo car just wasn't bound to happen in the nineties, neither officially or California-style.
Hat tip to Its Sho Time and Mel Francis.
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