The Ford Festiva Shogun is a unique automotive creation. The Shogun was a mid-engined marriage between a Japanese-designed American subcompact and a high-performance three-liter V6 engine meant for a sedan. While the Shogun intended to have a production run of 250 cars, only seven were ever made. Now, there are only six.
Since Thursday, wildfires have been raging in Colorado in an area northwest of Denver, between Boulder and the state’s capital. A definite cause has not yet been confirmed. Sheriff Joe Pelle of Boulder County initially believed that downed power lines could have sparked the wildfire, but that later proved not to be the case.
Extremely high winds with gusts over 100 miles per hour and a drought-ridden landscape created the environment for the most destructive wildfire in Colorado’s history. The wildfires continue to devastate the largely suburban area, with almost 1,000 homes confirmed destroyed so far. Over one hundred thousand residents have been ordered to evacuate the fire’s projected path. Three people are feared to be dead.
The massive blaze also consumed one of the world’s seven Ford Festiva Shoguns. Linda Jackson in Louisville, Colorado was storing the car in her garage for a neighbor. She described when the fire arrived at her home to Denver7,
“I think it was around 1 o’clock. I could see flames. I could see flames in my backyard and I knew I had to get out. I went downstairs, no electricity in my garage and my garage wouldn’t open. I thought about just walking out and walking down the street, but I called 911 and the fire department came and got me out.”
The Ford Festiva Shogun is a heavily modified Festiva with a Taurus SHO V6 fitted behind the front seats, designed by Chuck Beck and Rick Titus. The 220-horsepower low-volume special also featured larger wheels and new fiberglass bodywork to accommodate them. While I’m gutted a Shogun has been lost, I’m even more heartbroken for the thousands who have lost their homes.
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