The Sports Sedan

The idea of a nimble sedan that performs like a sports car has held great appeal for enthusiasts for many decades. Relatively trim and compact, with plenty of room for passengers and luggage, a sports sedan should be capable of threading the needle in performance driving situations, and covering many miles at a quick pace. Over the past four decades, small sedans from Italy and Germany have defined the genre.

At the heart of the sports sedan concept is an ability to make smooth transitions—transitions from braking to cornering, and from cornering to accelerating. Ideally, a sports sedan should perform as fluidly as any sports car, yet still serve as a practical everyday driver without the compromises that sports cars often impose.

The upper intake manifold (plenum and intake runners) is polished internally by extrude honing.

If the character of a sports sedan is one of smooth transitions, then a free-revving and powerful engine is an essential part of the equation. Aggressive driving in a sports sedan should also be a visceral experience, with rich sounds coming from the engine bay and exhaust. But the engine must not only deliver easily exploitable power when you’re unravelling a favorite back road, but also perform like a faithful servant when carrying children to school, or slogging through rush-hour traffic.

The SVT Contour V6 features four valves per cylinder.

A sports sedan’s chassis and suspension must exhibit a similar dual personality: athletic abilities to match any two-lane, and a practical nature that readily shoulders the burdens of daily life. The suspension needed for these twin tasks must be supple so it’s not a torment to live with, yet responsive when the road home is long and winding. In the end, the suspension must blend the seemingly contradictory qualities of comfort with exceptional grip and handling poise.

For 1998, the Ford Special Vehicle Team has brought its driver’s-car philosophy to an already excellent sedan, the Contour, heightening its performance attributes and refining it into a crisp and nimble sports sedan to be appreciated by the automotive enthusiast.