The Ford Thunderbird holds a special place in the hearts of Blue Oval fans, dating back to the car’s launch in 1955 as a luxurious two-seat drop-top. Over 10 generations, the Thunderbird quickly evolved into a larger vehicle for the whole family before it was discontinued following the 1997 model year. Ford revived the Thunderbird in 2002 with its original formula intact, but poor sales led to its demise as well. But for those that dig the 11th gen ‘bird, the rare Ford Thunderbird 007 Edition might just be the cream of the crop.
This 2003 Ford Thunderbird 007 Edition is number 096 of 700 produced and is currently being auctioned off over at Cars & Bids. Like all 007 Editions, it’s finished in the same Coral paint used on the Thunderbird driven by Halle Berry in the movie Die Another Day, which of course was one of the many installments in the ongoing James Bond saga.
In addition to the paint scheme, the Thunderbird 007 Edition features a white hardtop (along with a black soft top), a white interior, “007” badging on the dashboard, and an individually numbered production plate. This particular car is in rather immaculate shape, which isn’t a surprise given the fact that it has a mere 13,200 miles showing on the odometer.
Otherwise, this 007 Edition is pretty much identical to any other 2003 Thunderbird. That means it’s powered by a 3.9L DOHC V8 that produces 280 horsepower and 286 pound-feet of torque, which is routed to the rear wheels via a five-speed automatic transmission.
There are a few notable flaws, including stone chips and a couple of scratches, and the shocks need to be replaced. The lock-up torque converter is believed to not be working as well. But otherwise, this low-mile T-Bird is about as close as we can get to a new one unless Ford’s recent trademark filing for the Thunderbird name turns into yet another revival for the beloved nameplate.
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Comments
The 2003 through 2005 models had a horsepower bump to 280. There were also some accessory additions for the later model years. The specialty models like the 007 (03), Pacific Coast Roadster (04), Cashmere (05), etc., are among the most popular for this generation. As a side note, the movie car was actually a 2002 whereas the production model was a 2003. Also, the movie car had a coral top, the production model a white top as shown.
13000 miles and it already has issues. Not a good sign for long term ownerships. Anything with a Jaguar engine I would run away from.
It’s not just mileage that affects a car’s reliability, age is also a factor. This one may have only 13,000 miles on it but it is 18 years old. As for the Jaguar designed engine, it’s Ford built and Ford modified it for improved performance.
Beautiful T bird, More then worth enough to repair the loc-up.
Sounds like a stale creampuff
Currently own a 2005 Cashmere with under 30k miles and no issues. Gonna hang on to it until she goes classic.
finding parts for this vehicle will be a problem, only 18,000 produced.