Call Me Mondeo: 1999 Ford Contour SVT

The biggest complaint I have about this next car is the name.  Say it out loud: I drive a Contour.  An SVT Contour.  Yuck. Contour.  Blech.  SVT Contour sounds like something you'd lookup in a medical encyclopedia and recoil in horror at the associated illustration.  Ford should have kept the global name and called it the Mondeo...but at least we were able to get one in the USA with a 5-speed manual gearbox and some tuning from Ford's Special Vehicle Team. Find this 1999 Ford Contour SVT offered for $3950 in Altadena, CA via craigslist.

The Mystique of the Mondeo: 1998 Ford Contour SVT

Merriam-Webster defines the word con·tour (n)| \ˈkän-ˌtu̇r as (1) an outline especially of a curving or irregular figure (2) the general form or structure of something or (3) a usually meaningful change in intonation in speech.  I wasn't familiar with that last definition, but the fellows at Ford's Special Vehicle Team put some contour into the 1995-2000 Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique sales literature with the release of the 1998 SVT version which added a 2.5 liter Duratec V6, 5-speed manual box, upgraded brakes, snazzy interior bits, and a sport tuned suspension.  Find this 1998 Ford Contour SVT offered for $1200 in Warwick, RI via craigslist. Tip from Art C.

Under The Radar: 2000 Ford SVT Contour

The US market Ford Contour was sold as a re-purposed European Ford Mondeo, but in truth it only shared a few pieces including the windshield, windows, side mirrors and door handles.  Everything else was standard parts bin junk left over from the Tempo or borrowed from the Taurus or Escort.  That didn't stop Ford from making an interesting SVT version that might not command much respect on the street, but is a bit of a sleeper. Find this 2000 Ford Contour SVT offered for $650 in San Jose, CA via craigslist.

4k: Patience is for Chumps: 1998 Ford SVT Contour with Taurus 3.0L

The SVT variant of the Ford Contour offered tight suspension tuning on an already competent chassis to make one of the best-handling front-drive cars Ford ever sold in North America. However, its extra 25 horsepower over the regular V6's 170 happened near redline, and torque remained the same at 165 ft-lb. Impatient, rev-wary owners rarely felt the difference. Luckily, Ford Taurus performance is here to save the day! You'll probably never hear those words in succession again. Find this 1998 Ford SVT Contour with 3.0L Duratec swap in Grand Rapids, MI for $4,000 via craigslist.

5k: Mean Mondeo: 1999 Ford SVT Contour

The Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique were based on Ford's CDW27 platform, a confusing amalgam of acronyms, but it was a global platform that was used to build the Europe-only Ford Mondeo and later the Jaguar X-Type. Take a workaday chassis and add a dose of magic from Ford's Special Vehicles Team and you get a car that looks like the next econobox rental reject, but is actually a hoot to drive.  Find this 1999 Ford SVT Contour for sale in Alameda, CA for $6,000 via craigslist. Thanks to tip from Kaibeezy T!