When the first-gen Ford Thunderbird launched, it was aimed at competing with the Corvette but was more luxurious. The car was a two-seater and could be had with a supercharged V8 under the hood. The Thunderbird was built from 1955 until 1997 and then returned as the small two-seat retro roadster for 2002-2005. The Sketch Monkey has a video where he goes through taking a 1963 Ford Thunderbird, which is a larger four-seat, two-door model.
These larger cars were made for a long period and are among the favorite models for some Thunderbird fans. The last of the modern Thunderbird cars with four seats died out in 1997.
What would a modern take on a 1963 Ford Thunderbird look like? Pretty darn good if it turned out looking like the rendering that is whipped up in this video. The rendering that the designer makes is very cool and looks like a modern Thunderbird. It almost looks like something that a high-end custom car builder would whip up for SEMA or a wealthy buyer.
The finished product certainly looks like a Thunderbird but is too cool for Ford to build. It always tended to make its cars rather plain and boring, which is perhaps why buyers stayed away, ultimately leading to the demise of all cars in the States other than the Mustang. We doubt that the Thunderbird will make a comeback, at least as a car. We could see Ford tossing the name on an SUV, which is all the automaker wants to sell today. The video also gives some fascinating history on the Thunderbird and is worth a watch.
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Comments
Thats crazy
But cool at the same time
Ford makes its cars plain and boring, really? Which one, Mustangs, Focus or Fiesta ST’s maybe, or the Taurus starting from the first one? The Fusion maybe then, or any Thunderbird? The Crown Vic, ok, I’ll give you that one. Compared to Chevy, Honda, Toyota or VW, the Fords are hardly plain and boring.
This car could not be built even if Ford wanted to. The A pillar is not raked enough to meet crash standards and the designers of today would never allow a tall rear roof line. Today they would shorten it about three inches so it gets nearly impossible to get into one. The real death blow would be the buyers. Those that clamored the Thunderbird in its day, 1950’s to 1970’s are not around anymore or to old to drive. When Ford tried to re-incarnate it in 2002, it failed miserably. The bird has no following with today’s younger generation as the Mustang does.
Naw, this design won’t work. Sorry. I still have a ’97 with a V8. Grew up in a Body and Fender family. Frank did the ’51 Mercury for “American GRAFFITI brother and I are planning on giving mine a ’05+ Ford GT sort of body modification and similar effect on seats and dash
……………………………….. “… these are the sales figures for what a modern ’63 T-bird might look like … 0 ……. ”
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