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Fun with the Family Sedan !!
by Todd Brooks
Reprinted from NOV/DEC 98 issue of the Ford Motorsports Enthusiasts Newsletter

While the 98 SVT Contour certainly fills the bill for a family four door sedan, it's capabilities far exceed that of even the most discriminating auto enthusiast. My wife and I visited the local dealership in late June. The lease was up on our 1996 Contour GL. Decisions, decisions, we were really pleased with the overall performance and had no problems with our GL. We decided to go with another Contour, only this time we wanted the V-6 and perhaps the SE sport package. The four cylinder was fun and spirited when mated with the 5 speed manual, but hey, we need MORE POWER! Upon arrival at Alan Ford our salesman, Kevin Kobak, gave us the keys to an SE. My wife and I promptly jumped in and set out for a test drive. We came away quite impressed with the additional power and taught suspension. Upon our return, Kevin handed us the keys to a 98 1/2 model SVT Contour he had tucked away, all the while saying, "if you drive it, you will have to have it!". I had been reading about the SVT for several months, every article I came across had nothing but great things to say. From the pages of Road and Track, Car and Driver and numerous other publications, every magazine agreed that the SVT Contour was the biggest bang for your hard-earned buck! Well Kevin was certainly right! After a prompt thrashing of a near-by on ramp, my wife and I just looked at each other only to see ear-to-ear grins on both our faces, its was all over but the signing!

It is a true test of patience for the first couple thousand miles. The Dura-Tech V-6 just begs for the upper end of the tach, keeping the needle below 4500 is a test of will. As the odometer approached 5000, I felt it was time to see what the car was really capable of. Having been into autocross racing back in the late eighties and early nineties, I was thinking of entering one of the local races when I received a profs note from Greg Coleman. The Profs note read, "Finally!! For all of you who know what 'heel and toe' means, for all of you who take pleasure in late apexing the off-ramps and for all of you who trail brake into the driveway, your FME in conjunction with the Shelby American Automobile Club - Motor City Region Presents; OPEN TRACK ROAD RACING at Waterford Hills Road Race Course." I just couldn't believe my eyes, how awesome is this? SIGN ME UP! October 4 finally arrived! I felt like a kid on the day of Christmas with my stomach all tied in knots from excitement! Upon arrival to the track, I couldn't help but notice the serious hardware throughout the pit area. I felt like a kid in a candy store! Mustangs with superchargers, full roll cages, full race suspensions, heck, some of these Mustangs looked like a rolling SVO parts catalog! While the Mustang seems to be the preferred chassis, there were numerous other vehicles, from BMW M3s, Camaros, Dodge Neons and a few Hondas, just to name a few.

The moment I had been waiting for had finally arrived, the helmet went on and before I knew it we were out on the track! The first four laps were under caution, about half speed, so as to let us amateurs get our feet wet before putting the hammer down. The slow laps were over, the green flag was given and off we went! The first session was going to be merely an exercise on getting to know the car and how it handled during aggressive cornering. The SVT Contour proved to be just as comfortable on the track as it is on the street cruising to and from work. With the first session now over, it was time to rolJ into the pits and give the car a thorough once over and check the tire pressure. Other than a little power steering fluid boiling out of the reservoir, the under hood inspection looked fine. The tires were rolling over on to the sidewalls, so additional pressure was mandatory. The time came for the second session and I definitely felt in better shape to explore the limits of the car, the nerves had calmed and I was confident the vehicle was mechanically ready to let it all hang out! In the first session I clocked a best time of 1:45. I knew the times would only get better from there, but how low could they go? During the 20 minutes of session two, I only had two laps that I felt the times would be worthy enough to call a starting point. Right out of the gate traffic became a problem, riding on the heels of a Camaro for a few laps proved to be very frustrating, finally he was given the passing flag! Keeping in mind this is not a race, I would have loved to take the inside line on this guy, the back straight is the only place I couldn't match the power of the good old V-8 of the Camaro. The second session produced two laps in the 1:34's, the others varied from 1:36 - 1:43, traffic being the biggest factor. It was now time for lunch and then out to flag for a couple of hours. I must admit, flagging was a real hoot! The Hill Top Ragging station turned out to be fantastic, providing a great view of the entire field! One sight that just thrilled me time and time again, was a silver BMW M3 that would loft the right front wheel every time it crested the Hill Top descending right hander, Awesome! Session 3 was about to begin, and hoping to avert the traffic problems of before, I jumped in the car and staged early so I could be first out on the track. After a couple of fast laps it was time to really push the limits of the car. Did I say push the limits? I guess I should have said find the limits! Feeling a little over confident, I had the SVT in a full four wheel slide through Big Bend, when suddenly the rear end broke loose and started to come around to meet the front ! I managed to get the car back under control just before it was about to get embarrassing ! Now that the limits have been established and my recovery techniques have been adjusted for front wheel drive use, session 3 would come to an end with a best time of 1.28 and several laps in the 1.30s. Progress ! We had about a 30 minute break and then back out on the track to bring the 98 season to a close. While lining up for session four I noticed only about half, maybe even a quarter of the folks were joining in, this would set the stage for the fastest times yet ! Fortunately, I did not have any heart stopper moments during the last session, everything just started to click and feel smooth. Braking later and later down the back straight and carrying more speed than ever through the turns, the tires were screaming and beginning to fade away along with the brakes. I would have given anything for a set of BFG R1's and a set of high performance brake pads. However, all of this abuse and thrashing gave me a lap time of 1.26, the best of the day ! All of the laps were under 1.29! Not too bad for a guy that is usually on two wheels in the dirt !

Many thanks to all the folks in the SAAC-MCR for holding such an outstanding event ! Well organized and just plain great people make for an enjoyable day. I can't wait for the driver school next year, sign me up ! Hopefully I will have a set of those BFG G-Force radials and a Vortech supercharger by then !