1986 Ford Mustang SVO

In 1981, Ford established a new division within their company fittingly named the Special Vehicle Operations Department, or SVO for short. Their task was to take the Ford Mustang, a car renowned for its impeccable performance and attitude and tune it for a new era of automobiles adhering to strict regulations following the 1973 oil crisis. Not only were fuel costs going up, but for many, the muscle car was considered dead. In response, Ford’s SVO engineers opted for a turbocharged 2.3-liter inline four capable of 175hp for the car’s initial 1984 outing and allowed drivers to adjust performance through a handy “fuel grade” switch – with lower fuel consumption possible through a Bosch Fuel Injection System. With additional fine tuning over the years and a new water-cooling system, the SVO’s overall power rating increased to 200hp for its 1986 update.