įor these reasons alone, it’s easy to see why the ‘58 and ‘59 models remain the favourite T-birds of many Ford lovers and the most remembered models today- even better is their ever-affordable price. 1959’s NASCAR season proved to be another shining success for the Thunderbird, as modified second-generation body fit with a 7L, 350hp engine won six races against fan favourites like the Oldsmobile Super 88. In response, sales nearly doubled and the Thunderbird won Motor Trend’s ‘ Car of the Yea r’ award. Sold for a pretty affordable price, Ford defined and marketed the T-bird as a luxury not just for a privileged few as the price made it one of the first plush convertibles in reach for hard-working dreamers too. In 1958, Ford general division manager Robert McNamara ordered stylists to make the Thunderbird more family-oriented, resulting in the addition of two extra seats, alongside a comfier bucket seat style and a roomier boot.įor once, stylists had trumped engineers: they transformed the Thunderbird into practically anyone’s dream car. The Thunderbird’s New LookĪfter an extensive review of market research revealed the T-bird’s two-door coupe style was too limiting for families, it became clear that Ford were missing a key group of potential buyers. Whilst both had impressively high-performance engines, the Thunderbird’s highly stylised, glamorous frame propelled it miles ahead of Chevrolet’s Corvette, becoming an instant classic. Unsurprisingly, the 1956 Ford Thunderbird’s sales surpassed that of the Corvette almost twenty-three fold. The Corvette didn’t look upmarket or sporty, just heavy and a little slow. Whilst the performance of the Thunderbird was on par with that of the Corvette, there was a large discrepancy in appearance: the Thunderbird was angular, smooth and glossy, with its main bulk offset by the undulations of the pop up headlights, creating an upmarket, glamorous look.īut unfortunately for Chevrolet, the Corvette’s high-performance engine got lost in the awkward and clunky hood and bumper. With all the engineering feats over the last seventy years, 193hp perhaps doesn’t seem all that impressive, however, in the 50s, both the 193hp Thunderbird and the 195hp Corvette were remarkably agile pioneers of higher horsepower models. Mid-sized, sophisticated and swanky, with a refusal to compromise between high performance and high style, the T-bird was equipped with a 4.8L, 193hp big block V8 engine that provided 280ft-lb of torque. With Ford keen to distinguish the Thunderbird from the already hugely saturated sports car market, they stressed that whilst the two-door coupe was a sporty car, it absolutely wasn’t a sports car. Having heard whispers around the industry of Chevrolet’s plans for nearly a year, the Thunderbird was both inspired by and a contender to the Chevy Corvette.
Little over a month later, Ford debuted the Thunderbird. In January 1953, Chevrolet revealed their “new dreams sports car”- the 195hp, two-seat convertible Corvette boasted 260ft-lb of torque. This short classic car review aims to give a glimpse of this trend-setter’s legacy. Spanning eleven generations of models with over 4.4m T-birds produced, Ford’s sporty, sophisticated and elegant Thunderbird established its own market segment: personal luxury cars.
Kennedy’s inauguration-the Thunderbird is practically a celebrity in its own right.
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Given its plethora of film and TV appearances-including a feature at John F. The Ford Thunderbird is one of the most iconic nameplates from the muscle car era.
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