So begins the tale of the Super Sable, the Mercury that made an ultra-light splash but that remains unknown to all but the most hardcore fans of the departed brand. Officially dubbed the Aluminum Intensive Vehicle, the starting point for Ford and aluminum went way harder than it absolutely needed to, leading to a tantalizing “what if?” timeline that could have positioned the automaker at the forefront of performance if only it hadn’t decided to test the waters with a member of its recently expanded luxury stable.
Did you know that in the mid-90s, Ford built an all-aluminum Mercury Sable powered by the same engine found in the Ford Taurus SHO? Although it never went on sale, a test fleet was slipped quietly onto public roads, and some of these vehicles are still around today (albeit in varying states of disrepair). I dove into this fascinating ‘what might have been’ for Motor Trend.
