The Ford Crown Victoria may have been produced by the millions, but undoubtedly the rarest and most interesting of all the models was the 1992 Touring Sedan.
Obviously a nod to the growing popularity of performance-oriented sports sedans, the Crown Vic Touring Sedan offered an upgraded suspension, beefier tires, and dual exhausts for increased output of its 4.6L Modular V8 to 210 horsepower.
image: crownvic.net
It also featured two-tone paint, BBS-style alloy wheels, and a special interior that added piping to the standard leather seats, with black trim replacing the simulated wood. Likely not what primary Crown Vic clientele were demanding, the Touring Sedan was discontinued following the 1992 model year, making it one of the rarest Crown Victorias, as well as Panthers of all time. If anyone sees one in the wild, send us the pictures.
Perhaps the fastest taxi cab?
Behind my 14 300 is my 92 Crown
I have actually seen one of these in the wild…although the car was boxed in when I saw it and had an unfortunate broughamy conversion:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrew-turnbull/5726440519
With or without the Touring Sedan package, the 1992 Crown Victoria hit a nice balance in the styling department: It was large and luxurious, yet also was sleek and contemporary. The silly chrome grille that Ford tacked on to the 1993-97 models did the car no favors, and the frumpy 1998 facelift (with the Grand Marquis bodyshell) made it as homely as a 1991 bathtub Caprice.
It will probably be argued by others after me, but Ford did a somewhat better job of appealing to this market with the LX Sport option (model?) that would appear 10 years after this car. If nothing else, the Sport’s bucket seats and floor shifter in a longish console puts it closer to the intended market.
I have to admit I don’t remember this ad or the car, but like the wheels and hate the black lower body paint.
Normally I like 2-tone paintjobs, but I also dislike black as a lower body colour. It reminds me of people that cover rust on the rockers of old vehicles by spraying the lower third of the body with black rockerguard.
The first time I saw a 2015 RAM1500 “Outdoorsman” trim level, which also has lower paint colour, the rockerguard association popped into my head immediately. Why would I want that look on a brand new vehicle?!
Man, you’re right about that black lower body paint. Plymouth Traildusters had a ‘macho’ trim package that mimicked the ‘power wagon’ package available on Dodge 4wd trucks in the late ’70s. Blackout paint on the lower body was used as a painted on body lift of sorts, enhancing the jacked up look. That works on a burly 4×4, but a sedan…not so much. Just sitting there, it looks like the suspension is at full stretch much like the General Lee as it jumps that creek for the three hundredth time.
Yeah I’d say the later LX-Sport is the better performance sedan and I prefer its monochrome treatment to the Touring sedan’s two tone. Though some of the other color options with the metallic grey lower color look much better than this.
I do love the interior with the ebony wood tone replacing the walnut used in the other models. I also like that you could get off white interior.
Hey now, I like two tone paint jobs! And the ad makes this Crown Vic’s lower cladding appear black. In the real world, it was more like the graphite on my wagon.
I love how they’re trying to sell that car on the basis that it will “raise your status”….
Even in the early 90s that was some corny marketing
I was was never a Panther fan until these aero-92’s came out. I love aero-Panthers. I’d love a nice clean P7 if I could land one in P-71 Detective trim!
Olds pulled off the “Touring Sedan” a lot better than the Crown Vic did…
+1
And Olds had the heart to add heavily bolstered bucket seats and a floor console with console shifter. No “touring sedan” should have a bench and column shifter.
Never understood the hate for column shift automatics, they’re perfectly consistent with the American performance car ethos. I personally think the Big Three’s constant attempts to ape BMW blinded them to the genuine appeal many of their brands and nameplates already had.
And the current fetish of console shifts in pickup trucks is just flat-out WRONG.
Have to disagree. Column shifts are in line with a big luxo barge. I have one in my ’05 Ram and I absolutely DESPISE that ill concieved crap. Maybe in a more comfort/family oriented Laramie quad cap the column would make sense. Mine is a Rumble Bee and a single cab which is a sport/appearance package. Being stuck with an automatic is a rough pill to swallow as it is, but the cumbersome nature of trying to manually shift from the column just sucks. Id kill to have a floor shift for my 5spd auto (and the slapstick manual shift from the LX cars) since a manual box is off the table. I specifically like this kind of truck in a 2wd since I ‘need’ a truck at times yet ‘want’ a Challenger. Its a little of both, and I drive it like a Challenger!
Console shift on an automatic is just plain dumb. I’ve driven column shift manuals in dodge trucks and vans. There was nothing cumbersome about it.
The words performance car and automatic do not belong in the same sentence.
hear, hear…column shift is the way to go for automatics. I suspect the floor shift thing was so they didn’t have to try to provide an airbag for a third front passenger. or have you notice your seating area is a lot narrower.
No, just no. Wollowy under steering mess.
How anyone can think that olds is better than the above crown vic is comical.
Maybe it was better as the next gen Olds, which was based on the same platform as the Buick Park Avenue.
I’ve always liked those style wheels. My ideal Panther would be a Town Car, 95 – 97, Black/Black, SWB Executive Series with those rims.
IIRC those were 16″ rather than the standard for the rest of the aero models 15″. Helped fill the fenders a little bit better as well as some extra width.
These are the same 15″ wheels with the same 225-70 tires that came on the HPP and towing package cars. The only difference is the center is painted anthracite or charcoal instead of silver sparkle. The 16″ wheel that came along later and stayed until the new front suspension in 3003 actually does not fill the wheel wells as well. The 225-70 is ~27.5″ tall while the later 225-60 16 is only ~26.7″ tall and they share the nominal 225 width. The LX-Sport and once the only model left was the LX-Fleet ran 235-55-17″ the same as the final P71s for a slight increase in width and a ~27.2″ height.
I’ve never minded the 15″ Rim on cars like the CV/GM/TC. They tend to ride better and look great when you go one size bigger.
Geez, I knew the Panthers were in production for awhile, but 3003? That’s, like, 1,024 years, right?
A fan. Then when the 93s came out, I was horrified at the awful looking grille that Ford felt the need to stick onto the front. The 92 remains the best looking of the early Aeros.
I can tell you this – Mom’s (later my) 93 Vic LX with its front and rear sway bars, its 4 wheel discs and it’s substantial tires on the alloy wheels was always a first rate road car. I can only imagine how much better it might have been with the small upgrades (like the dual exhausts) on the Touring Sedan.
It is a shame that Ford never made a more concerted effort to improve the breed for those of us who are more performance minded. Other than a couple of short-lived stabs at it (this and the later LX Sport), Ford let the Vic wither on the vine as far as the retail market went.
Completely agree on the grille–the ’92 nose was a harmonious part of the design, and also shared a family resemblance with the Thunderbird, Taurus and even Escort of the time. It was going to be the Ford “face”. And then, to see that terrible “grille” replace the smooth nose for ’93 was *very* disappointing. Plus the only reason the high bumper with the intake “slots” worked was in lieu of a grille–that, combined with the grille, just looked off. I’ve always wanted to replace the header panel of my ’97 with one from a ’92, but they’re not easy to find anymore. If one fell into my lap, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
Also a good point regarding the lack of a true performance model. I’ve always found it a shame that, after the Marauder was discontinued, they didn’t do a Ford equivalent. Call it the Galaxie. Huge missed opportunity, though I imagine the disappointing sales numbers of the ’04 Marauder made them question their potential profits. (It might have help had they bothered to advertise it, or priced it a little lower…but that’s a different, yet to be written CC.)
A 4V Mod V8 in an LTD-badged Panther would have been epic.
The 1992 grille design really looked right on this. Too bad some of the ‘traditional’ buyers freaked out about the grille, resulting in the 1993-97 chrome mustache. (They were probably children of the ‘traditional’ buyers who freaked out about the 1960 Ford because it didn’t look like the 1959….)
The (rare) sport-oriented Crown Vics are really great, and under-rated cars.
I own a 2006 LX Sport, and it’s a wonderful car — your comments about 1993 LX hold true with the LX Sport as well. It’s a very capable road car, and over the 8 years that I’ve owned it, I have been completely happy with it.
But they are rare — I hardly ever see another one. I suppose that there was just a small market for full-size performance-oriented V8 sedans by the time these cars were built. Chevy did seem to have success with the 1995-97 Impala SS, but Ford’s forays into the same market seem to have been overlooked. Regardless, they are good cars if you can find them. Sometime soon, I hope to write up a CC on my Crown Vic.
The HPP package which is what the Touring Sedan came with does make a significant difference having had a 92 with and without it. It was the best way to spend $600 automotive dollars at the time. It gave you the one size larger tires. 3.27 gears instead of 3.08 slightly stiffer, slightly shorter front springs, slightly stiffer rear air bags set slightly lower, larger swap bars, the aforementioned dual exhaust, and a quicker ratio steering box with a different calibration in the steering computer to reduce the assist. It was a heck of a deal for Ford too because the only real variable cost was the larger tires and the dual exhaust. The later HPP cars did get the 16″ wheels with the base models were still running 15″.
I disagree that Ford let it wither on the vine, but they failed to really let the public know that they were upgrading it. 95 brought new larger front brakes. 98 brought even larger front brakes that required the 16″ wheels and a completely new rear suspension. And of course 03 brought the new front suspension and all new brakes again. Along the way the HP slowly increased from the initial 190 to 239 for the single pipe versions a ~25% boost.
Rarest Vic of them all…
But still worth zilch in the collector car market. Lol
I’ll bet everyone has seen one of these, except it was painted black and white. These are spec’d out like the Ford Police Interceptor. These were very smooth and quiet,Not really very fast but would easily run up to over a hundred. All those retired police cruisers probably have satisfied the market for high performance Crown Vics. I preferred the original model without the grille.
No they are not spec’d out like an interceptor, they only share the dual exhaust and rear axle ratio with the P71. Asl long as you keep it on the road and HPP equipped car will out handle a P71 of the same year though it’s speed limiter will kick in sooner (except no speed limiter on the early 92)
Differences between the P71 and HPP.
Springs. P71 much higher rate than base and higher ride hieight than base models. HPP slightly higher rate and lower ride height than base models.
Sway bars, P71 uses the base model sway bars (for better off road and median crossing ability) while the HPP cars get stiffer sway bars.
Steering box. P71 uses the fast ratio steering box with lots of boost compared to the base model. HPP uses the fast ratio box with reduced boost compared to base model. (though in later years the P71 got reduced boost too).
Performance wise the power train was similar between the two in the 6 window years. Both had the same HP in the same year. The P71 did get a longer transmission tail housing shaft and slightly shorter drive shaft to raise the critical speed so they could raise the speed limiter setting. The P71 calibration did allow for slightly higher shift points and had a higher neutral idle speed to better keep the battery charged when idling with all the lights and equipment on. Both got 3.27 gears most of the time though eventually 3.55 gears were added to both with the P71 getting the Metal Matrix driveshaft when ordered with the 3.55. The 3.55 gears were dropped from the HPP after a short while.
And yes they will cruise at over 100mph all day long. Back in the days of the R&P speed limit in Montana was when my wife’s family still had a big gathering every summer in North Dakota. I made the trek every summer and I frequently sat the cruise just under 100mph but would occasionally bump it up a little higher for a while. One year I sat behind a state patrol car for a couple of hours while we both had our cruise control set at that just under 100mph speed.
Wow somebody knows their Panther stuff! I stand corrected in my assumptions. I drove a bunch of these Interceptors and thought that these were a big improvement over the earlier square models.
That parchment interior with the leather is so nice I’ve had a hard time replacing mine with anything else. Mine, however, is a lowly P74 not this rare bird P75.
I don’t think I’d care for the blacked-out wood trim at any rate. I echo earlier thoughts on the black paint.
I never knew these existed…I learned something today!
If only the wheelbase were just a couple of inches longer…
There was a LWB variant of the Town Car but it was more than just a few inches, closer to 10″ if I recall correctly.
They did have the longer wheelbase available a 6″ stretch for the Taxi operators. It and a Grand Marquis with the 6″ stretch were offered in retail versions in the middle east. The town car also was available in the regular and 6″ stretch “L” versions in this case with both fleet and retail versions for sale in the US. Personally I think it was one of the dumbest moves that Ford made with the Panther since they introduced the stretch version for the abbreviated 2002 model year and then completely redesigned the chassis for 2003. So essentially 6 new frames in a very short period of time with one of them having a ~8 month shelf life and the TC version less than 2 years.
Don’t get me wrong they needed the longer wheelbase but they certainly didn’t need 4 separate versions with all those unique parts. I’ve given more detail in the past but they should have just done 3 move the CV/GM to the “old” TC stretch the Base TC a bit and then offer a TC L. Lots of room in front of the engine to shorten things up to keep the same or at least similar overall length.
They are out there, or at least they were. Years ago I used to see one fairly regularly with the gray/gray combo. I’ve also seen a few others on the road and saw one for sale on craigslist a couple of years ago. It looked a little rough but I still inquired about it but did not get a response and the ad was removed shortly there after. If I came across one in decent condition in almost any color combo I’d probably snap it up if it wasn’t overpriced.
Definitely the rarest CV but it is up for debate on whether or not it is the rarest of the lesser Panthers. Many believe that the Grand Marquis LSE was produced in lower numbers but no one has been able to dig up exact numbers since they did not have their own body code. The LSE was the short lived counter part to the LX-Sport sharing the console, floor shifter, and Town Car Bucket seats as also used in the Maraduer. It is unclear whether it got the full HPP or the LX-Sport specific HPP. The LX-Sport got upgraded to 55 series 17″ wheels so they used the base rate rear air springs instead of the higher HPP rate bags. The LSE didn’t get 17″ wheels so they may or may not have thought they needed the softer springs to compensate for the stiffer tires which was the rational given for the change on the LX-Sport.
The other even rarer non dealer version could be the 2001 Grand Marquis LS Limited as it was a one year only model that combined the HPP wheels with the Town Car seats that have the storage arm rests and Limited embrodered on the seat backs and floor mats. Otherwise a standard LS car including the lack of a rear sway bar and steel springs.
For the record for those that don’t know I am a huge Panther fan and have been driving aero Panthers as my main daily driver for almost 20 years. In order of purchase.
92 CV LX HPP (wrecked)
93 GM GS (sold to friend who sold it at 296K with original engine, trans and axle that had been untouched other than standard maintenance)
92 CV LX non-HPP but base Rear Air suspension.
03 Marauder 300A (early production)
01 GM LS Limited (now my son’s)
03 CVPI (Daughters)
05 CVPI (my current daily driver)
Not as rare as my Marquis LTS 🙂 !
What was fun about the new and totally revised 1992 Crown Victoria and its Mercury Grand Marquis counterpart was that they were briefly marketed again as top-of-the-line cars worthy of consideration by someone born after 1958. After 1980 or so, American RWD V-8 cars were generally marketed as somehow not top-of-the-line, for the elderly, or not advertised at all for fear that sales might actually go up and screw up the maker’s CAFE numbers.
Ford actually had Crown Victoria advertising that touted it as a car to step up to from the Taurus – perfect for growing families, and families with growing income.
But, it was not to last long. The styling of the 1992 big Fords left the consumer market a bit cold and the image of the full-size RWD V-8 Amercian car was firmly entrenched as an elder mobile. A rounded off new body sans a vinyl roof was not enough to get Crown Victoria past that image.
And, the Ford Explorer phenomenon had been unleased in 1990 and the younger and wealthier family market that Ford briefly pitched the 1992 Crown Vic to was busy making the Explorer a U.S. market best seller.
This touring sedan was indeed rare. I doubt I ever saw one. As others have said, without a console mounted shifter and buckets, it simply was not a contender among cars with sporting pretensions. Which, is a little odd considering Ford may have been the leader in large sporty 4 doors with its XL package. These were only around for 1963 and 1964 – the ’64 being especially cool looking inside and out. They sold 14,661 XL four door hardtops that year. If the console and floor shift were not standard in the XL package, they were common options. The XL 4 door also saw decent sales of typically rare features on Fords such as power windows and air conditioning. Margins had to be pretty good on those cars – probably what Ford was hoping for here.
IMO the aero look killed off the full-size sedan as a retail, personal car because that level of length and width at normal-car height was only bearable to maneuver when you could see all four corners from the driver’s seat.
I drive a ’97 daily and my building only has street parking, so I parallel park it constantly. It’s not bad once you get used to it; you just know where the corners are after a while.
The eight-window design affords a great panoramic view, and if you prop yourself up a bit with your left foot while looking back you can make out the trunk lid enough if you’re unsure of dimensions. But it’s like with anything; you get used to it.
Rare! Never knew these existed!!
I just want to say, aside from the touring sedan package, which I never knew existed,though have for sure seen with those wheels and paint, the aero Panthers were very good looking in their original 6 window purity, and I actually didn’t really mind the 93 facelift that much. Whenever I see one of these I’m reminded how ugly blocky and retrograde the 98s were, which look like a soapbar version of the Box Panthers and lasted far far too long unchanged in both instances.
The weakest point I felt on pretty much every full size car from the 80s and 90s was the names were really really lame, these are no exception. Crown Victoria? Really does anyone under 87 find that name appealing? I always was turned off by these as a kid by the name alone, I still utterly hate it. New Yorker and Caprice are no better, in the case of the latter in fact I find it no coincidence that the 96 Impala SSs (and 03 Marauders) were bought or at the very least are held in higher regard among younger demographics, the names were simply much better and appropriate to the cars they were. The 92 was so different from the awful looking box Crown Victorias that preceded it a name change should have been considered, what was ever wrong with Galaxie anyway?
My grandma actually owned one from 1994 to 2008, at which point I drove it for a few months before it was sold as part of the estate. I meant to comment on this when you originally posted, but it took me a few weeks to find the old pictures of it. It had barely 67,000 miles on it when she died and was remarkably clean for a car pushing 20 years old.
I grew up in that Crown Vic and I remember every detail well (helped by the fact that I took a billion pictures of it in 2008 to document its rarity). I vividly remember riding on the center armrest of the front bench seat when I was about 3 or 4 years old, buckled in with the lap belt. Nobody ever thought of the car as even remotely “sporty” – it was grandma’s big red luxobarge with white leather seats and the permanent stench of perfume wafting around inside the interior. It seemed so luxurious, smooth, quiet, and sleek looking when I was a little kid, compared to the boxy 1980s Toyotas my parents drove.
Once I came of driving age and actually drove it regularly, a bit of the luster was lost… but it was still a pleasant enough car and carried plenty of emotional value. The steering was as over-boosted and sloppy as any Crown Victoria, but the suspension was notably firmer. The upgraded V8 engine with the dual exhausts was adequately powerful, but ruined by transmission programming that refused to downshift in the name of fuel economy. These cars also had the rear air suspension thrown in (like a Town Car) which helped improve ride quality slightly, but was loud and unreliable. Overall, it drove fine, but was only slightly mechanically different than a base or LX model.
Really the Touring Sedan was more of an appearance package than anything. I have never seen another in my life, and even on the Internet I have never, EVER seen another red one. They all seem to be either gray or white. Another oddity – my grandma’s car had cloth-and-leather seats, while I have only ever seen straight leather in pictures like the one in your article.
I thought about keeping it, but despite the low miles it wasn’t pristine, and is there really any collector value to a forgotten trim level of a mass produced 1992 Ford sedan in average condition? Sad to think it probably lies in a junkyard today (sold to a broke-looking couple on Criagslist for $1500 in 2009), but at least I have plenty of high quality digital pictures to remember it by.
Here’s a (bad) picture of the interior, where you can see the different style seats. Sadly the cloth sections had been stained almost black through two decades of dirt build up on the white upholstery.
I took the picture of the interior on this post. It belonged to my mother. Great looking car for it’s age.
I owned one for a bit. It was the typical white on black (or was it dark gray?). Anyway, it was somewhat clean but living it’s life in Maine, the salt had taken its toll on the undercarriage and i used it as a trade in towards another vehicle. I did keep the door panels and a couple trim pieces from the interior when I got rid of it. not sure if I still have them.
I’ve got a one owner (me) P-75 for sale if anyone is interested.