Teh Car Blogz

A while back, I posted an article extoling the virtues of the third-generation, Yamaha V8-powered 32v SHO Taurus.  Included later in the article was a picture of an SHO engine bay, showing off a shiny supercharger install that I nabbed off of Cardomain.  Well, the owner of the car (Carter Fujibayashi) left a comment on the article about how he had updated the engine and sent a more recent motor shot.  I decided to head back over to Cardomain to check out Carter’s SHO, and it’s such a trick setup I felt the need to share some more details on it with all of you.  Here’s the old engine shot from Carter’s SHO:

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VW Enthusiasts, like any group of nerds, appreciate order in everything they do.  A Hierarchy, if you will.  This hierarchy is usually arranged by order of engines.  At the bottom you have your 1.8L 8v fours from the MKIII’s, the 2.0L 8v’s from the MKIII’s and MKIV’s, diesels, Audi 90° V6’s sans turbos, etc etc.  Then there are the 2.0L 16v’s, the Supercharged G60 mills, etc.  Then on up: the 1.8L 20v Turbo, the 2.0 16v DI Turbo, and the 12v VR6, the Audi 32v V8, and the 24v VR6.  At the top of the heap sits every VW lover’s dream, an engine that never came from a factory but performs like it did: a turbocharged VR6.  This is, to many A-platform fans, the Holy Grail of engines.  It’s compact - the 15° bank angle makes it small, the single head makes it light, it sounds amazing, and with some boost, it makes some serious power.

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