Go to car	Latest Comments Car: 95116   By: DiRF   Comment: "Yarp. It's actually an interesting idea... but the..." Car: 36883   By: DiRF   Comment: "Shit, I thought it was on fire...." Car: 94392   By: DiRF   Comment: "...now a 32-year-old design, and, yup, still looks..." Car: 93625   By: DiRF   Comment: "Funny that I bemoaned the disuse of the Aviator mo..." Car: 49143   By: DiRF   Comment: "Oh, absolutely. I definitely credit FCA with doing..." See last 25 comments
Go to Next picture Ricecop Home Linkage Plates Bling Bling Photo Free Post  Top 10 Top 10 Ricers Top 10 Non-Ricers Top 10 Other Good Top 10 Other Bad  New & Retired Newest Images Retired Images  Other Submit a picture Profile Lookup FAQ Site Log Leader Board Site Stats  Online Now 0 Ricecops 1 Guests Detailed List  Login Username: Password: Remember Login? Sign up! Why sign up? Forgot my password	View this image at full size Click here to let us know if the image above is broken. Go back and vote on this image. Picture Information URL: http://riceornot.ricecop.com/?auto=99449 Submitted by: DiRF Comments: 4  (Read/Post)     Favorites: 0  (View) Submitted on: 08-31-2026 View Stats Category: Car Description: "Fake" prototype 1998 Ford Taurus from when Ford Racing and Penske Racing conspired to pull the wool over NASCAR's eyes in 1997 to achieve an aerodynamic advantage. http://photo.ricecop.com/pics/its_a_faaaaaake.jpg    Comments Showing page: 1 of 1 [ 1 ] #1 8-31-2026 @ 08:40:41 PM Posted By : DiRF  Reply | Edit | Del With the Thunderbird going out of production, Ford was scrambling to find a suitable replacement for NASCAR competition, but the Taurus was deemed to have dirty aerodynamics, as far as the needs for NASCAR racing was concerned, due to its sloping rear decklid. To combat this, they convinced NASCAR that the Taurus was going to be "refreshed" in 1998, and presented this alleged prototype of the 1998 Taurus for NASCAR approval, with a rear-end that had been fabbed-up and artificially raised-up by personnel from both Ford Racing and Penske Racing. NASCAR bought the lie, and this car served as the basis for the templates of the NASCAR-approved "Taurus" body. Ford heavily dominated the early portion of the '98 season, until NASCAR stepped in to handicap them so that Chevy and Pontiac teams could stay competitive. #2 8-31-2026 @ 09:18:55 PM Posted By : DiRF  Reply | Edit | Del Now, admittedly, Ford probably could have kept the Thunderbird running, as NASCAR generally allows a three-year grace-period for out-of-production models (like what Chevrolet is doing with the Camaro currently), but from both a competitive and marketing perspective, Ford wanted something new> They'd even contemplated running the Lincoln Mark VIII, and even toyed with the idea of keeping that model in production beyond '98, with additional NASCAR-friendly aerodynamic tweaks, and sell it as the "Lincoln Marauder"... but obviously that never happened. #3 9-01-2026 @ 04:15:03 PM Posted By : Skid Reply | Edit | Del Well, it certainly needs a power washing, among other things, I'm sure. #4 9-02-2026 @ 03:43:30 PM Posted By : ricerocketboy Reply | Edit | Del To be honest, the raised rear fascia could pass muster as some foreign version the US didn't get. Showing page: 1 of 1 [ 1 ] Login to leave a comment	Classifieds  Click here to post your own classified ad

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