In a worldwide economy, the cars offered within the U.S. market are sometimes seen across the remainder of the world — and particularly the enthusiast models. The Porsche 911, for instance, is way the identical here because it is in Europe, and the identical goes for the Volkswagen GTI, save for a number of select trims. Irritatingly, Europe gets the present fastest front-wheel drive production automobile on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the GTI Edition 50, but for some reason, we don’t. But I digress. The purpose is that almost all performance models make it to markets worldwide.
But greater than 25 years ago, Ford gave the U.S. something based on a European sports sedan, but with a rather different body. It was called the Ford SVT Contour, however it was sold across the pond because the Ford Mondeo ST200, and it was adored by U.K. customers.
The SVT was America’s answer to the game compact class’ rising popularity: About 200 horsepower, solely manual-equipped, more enthusiastic suspension tuning, and bespoke bodywork to indicate its intentions. The ST200 had the identical engine, transmission, and give attention to fun, but while this fast Ford impressed U.K. enthusiasts, it wasn’t such a success within the U.S. It could sound like blasphemy nowadays, especially amongst Jalopnik readers, but sales numbers don’t lie. Here’s what made these cars special, and why, seemingly, the Brits received it much better.
The fundamentals
Each the SVT and ST200 were thoroughly tuned for performance. They were regarded for his or her responsive steering, good grip, and firmer ride, and when paired with a smooth-shifting manual and torquey 2.5-liter V6, the entire package was renowned for being quite fun to wheel around. The primary-year ’98 SVT made 195 horsepower and 165 pound-feet of torque, courtesy of our 2.5 getting a better-breathing intake tube and manifold, greater throttle body, more performance-oriented camshafts, and a wider exhaust system. The ST200 was no slouch, either, putting down 202 and 173, respectively, when it hit the showroom floor in 1999. Each hit the 60 mph mark in around 7.5 seconds.
Fun fact: Ford USA put the Mondeo’s 10.9-inch front brake rotors on the SVT — but the corporate didn’t carry over the ST2000’s better-looking, touring-car-racer-resembling 17-inch wheels, too. The SVT only got 16s.
As Mike Fernie wrote of his high-mileage ST200 for Automobile Throttle, “The ST could be thrown into corners, compressing the stiffened sport suspension with complete composure while the steering loads up progressively in a way that simply oozes motorsport.” Alternatively, Don Schroeder wrote for Automobile And Driver that “the Contour SVT is a pleasure at lower speeds, but on faster corners, its soft suspension becomes a liability. We’ll concede this automobile’s need for a supple ride, given the Contour’s four-door duties, however the Contour is up against purpose-built performance cars without such practicality constraints. Within the handling war, it bows to them.” It placed fifth out of six cars within the publication’s Best-Handling Automobile of 1997 rankings, getting beaten out by the Honda Prelude SH, BMW 318ti Sport, Mazda Miata, and Chevy Camaro Z28.
Different racing pedigrees
What might’ve helped the Mondeo’s reception — as touched on in Fernie’s impressions — was the indisputable fact that it was raced extensively within the British Touring Automobile Championship through the ’90s. Following the FIA’s Class 2 Super Touring ruleset (which was originally designed for the U.K. specifically), that is widely considered among the finest chapters of skilled racing; front-, rear-, and all-wheel drive compact four-doors sporting rowdy sub-two-liter engines. The motion was awesome and it garnered immense fanfare. The ST200 was the UK buyer’s own street-legal super tourer, with slick looks and hot performance to match.
The American-market SVT Contour never saw the identical grid. The U.S.’s only taste of Super Touring was the North American Touring Automobile Championship, which had a sadly transient stint over here. Mockingly, one team imported and raced a Euro-spec Mondeo. Nevertheless, the Contour did make an appearance in SCCA Pro Racing’s World Challenge. By way of numbers, 11,500 SVTs sold over the course of three years, 1998 to 2000. Just over 4,800 ST200s were sold (1,852 within the U.K.) within its year-and-half run between February 1999 and August 2000. Considering the U.S. market is significantly larger than that of the U.K., the SVT’s figures aren’t particularly impressive.
Then, the Contour didn’t sell well-enough on the whole during its 1995-2000 run, as price-conscious shoppers didn’t find the rise in price definitely worth the increase in quality over the Tempo that it replaced. When the model that a sport compact relies on is not around anymore, well, pour one out. This little fast Ford impressed U.K. enthusiasts, but American buyers largely (and sadly) glossed over it. Either that, or they simply didn’t get the possibility to purchase one on account of its short run.
This Article First Appeared At www.jalopnik.com
