Ford is looking to bring back a "sleeper" performance car fave, with the return of the company's Taurus SHO (aka Super High Output), but this time it comes with an EcoBoost twin turbocharged engine.

The Taurus SHO joins Ford's growing lineup of performance vehicles for the 2010 model year, building on the legacy of the original, which earned a spot on the Car and Driver 10 Best list four years running.

What people don't know about the new version of the classic vehicle is that its design was inspired by music. Music can inspire car designers. It turns out a diverse range of musical artists -- including Alicia Keys, Paul Oakenfold, Kem, Anthony Hamilton and Citizen Cope -- influenced the design of the all-new 2010 Ford Taurus.

"Music helps us visual people paint pictures in our head," said Earl Lucas, Exterior Design manager for the all-new Taurus. "We know the Taurus has to speak to a diverse group of people, so we chose artists who do the same with their songs."

Songs that are straightforward and simple, in particular, tapped into the Taurus vibe, the designer added: "There's an unpretentious dynamic to Taurus. The new car is more upscale and sporty, but it's also subtle and can be appreciated and desired without being in your face."

While this method sounds a little odd, the Ford designer explained that it's a lot more common than most think. Lucas said designers typically listen to music while they're designing, either sketching on paper or rendering digitally.

"The better the music, the more inspired the designer is when coming up with shapes," he says. "You just feel more creative. Music allows the designer to get into a space that is away from the pressure of the job."

Music also was a key part of early presentations to the Ford marketing and management teams and the dealer body by helping create strong, positive feelings going forward.

"We really wanted the music to set the stage for what the new Taurus was all about, to convey to others the excitement and pride the development team had while designing and engineering the car," said Kristin Hellman, assistant product marketing manager for Taurus. "We needed music that matched the emotion the car brings out in people when they see it for the first time.

"I worked on this program from the very start, watching the car develop every step of the way, and even I gasped the first time I saw our finished 'show car,' " she said. "When we revealed the car to the larger Ford team, we had music that matched that enthusiasm. It really helped match the excitement level we were looking for, and the spontaneous standing ovation from the audience proved we had struck a chord."

The new SHO boasts a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V-6 engine, which generates an estimated 365 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 350 ft.-lbs. of torque at 3,500 rpm, resulting in significantly improved power, torque and fuel economy compared with larger, normally aspirated engines. According to Ford, the new SHO is their most powerful EcoBoost engine.

A key feature of the EcoBoost engine is gasoline direct injection. The direct injection of fuel into the cylinder during the intake stroke, as opposed to port-style injection to an externally mounted intake, produces a well-mixed air-fuel charge. Fuel vaporization during the intake stroke cools the incoming air, improving volumetric efficiency and lowers the likelihood of knock.

It is also features all-wheel drive, a six speed transmission, and SelectShift with paddle controls.

The 2010 Taurus SHO will be available in dealerships this summer, with the base model starting at $37,995.