To find a successor to the class 1044, the ÖBB ordered a new high-performance locomotive for all train types from SGP in the nineties. With AC traction motors, it had to be able to haul 660-tonne express trains at 220 km/h on flat lines up to a gradient of 0.5 percent, but also 600-tonne trains at 100 km/h on severe gradients of 2.8 percent. In 1996, three prototypes were built with the electric part from a consortium of BBC, ELIN and Siemens.

The body got a modern design and livery created by Wolfgang Valousek. Most of the cabs was constructed from glass fiber reinforced plastic. At the time when the prototypes were delivered, the ÖBB had already decided to order the Taurus from Siemens as standard locomotive. Certification for 230 km/h did not take place, so they were restricted to 160 km/h and used for the rolling highway. In 2007 they were sold to Hector Rail which now uses them in Sweden as their class 141.