1960 thunderbird mecum12/30/2023 After Henry Ford II returned from the Los Angeles Auto Show (Autorama) in 1953 he approved the final design concept to compete with the then new Corvette. Crusoe saw a painted clay model on May 18, 1953, which corresponded closely to the final car he gave the car the go-ahead in September after comparing it with current European trends. The concept was for a two-passenger open car, with a target weight of 2525 lb (1145 kg), an Interceptor V8 engine based on the forthcoming overhead-valve Ford V8 slated for 1954 model year introduction, and a top speed of over 100 mph (160 km/h). Hershey took the idea and began working on the vehicle. Walker promptly telephoned Ford's HQ in Dearborn and told designer Frank Hershey about the conversation with Crusoe. Walking in the Grand Palais in Paris, Crusoe pointed at a sports car and asked Walker, 'Why can’t we have something like that?' Some versions of the story claim that Walker replied by telling Crusoe, "oh, we're working on it".although if anything existed at the time beyond casual dream-car sketches by members of the design staff, records of it have never come to light. Crusoe and Walker met in France in October 1951. Hershey's participation in the creation of the Thunderbird was more administrative than artistic. Boyer was lead stylist on the original 1955 two-seater Thunderbird and also had a hand in designing the future series of Thunderbirds including the 30th Anniversary Edition. Crusoe, a retired GM executive lured out of retirement by Henry Ford II George Walker, chief stylist and a Ford vice-president Frank Hershey, chief stylist for Ford Division Bill Boyer, designer Body Development Studio who became manager of Thunderbird Studio in spring of 1955, and Bill Burnett, chief engineer. The men and their teams generally credited with the creation of the original Thunderbird are: Lewis D. The Thunderbird was similar in concept, but would be more American in style, more luxurious, and less sport-oriented. The completed one-off generated interest at the time, but had meager power, European looks, and a correspondingly high cost, so it never proceeded to production. The Thunderbird created a market niche that eventually became known as the personal luxury car.Ī smaller two-seater sports roadster was created at the behest of Henry Ford II in 1953 called the Vega. The Ford Thunderbird is a rear wheel drive automobile which was manufactured by Ford in the United States over eleven model generations from 1955 through 2005. The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Ford Thunderbird page on, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. The front of a third generation Thunderbird appears on the cover of the 2020 book Gospel of the Sparrow by Bernice Roysland. The 1964 Beach Boys song Fun, Fun, Fun is inspired by a 1963 Thunderbird and the chorus ends with the line, "And she'll have fun fun fun 'til her daddy takes the T-bird away." The Ford Thunderbird was the car of NASCAR Winston Cup (the series that would eventually become Sprint Cup) driver's champions Bill Elliott (1988) and Alan Kulwicki (1992). Our Privacy Policy is also available there.ġst Generation Ford Thunderbird (1955-1957)Ī sports coupe produced by Ford originally sold from 1955-1957 as a response to the Chevrolet Corvette, the second through tenth generations would be sporty four- and five-seat coupes known as a "personal luxury car." The eleventh generation (2002-2005) would be a return to the two-seat model, a "retro" homage to the original first generation Thunderbird.Ī Complete Guide to Used Cars (1995 Edition) Best Late-Model Bet in the Mid-size Car category (model years 1985-1988)ĪMT created a model kit by putting an Allison diesel engine in a 1968 Thunderbird dragster, calling it the Allison Thunderland. By accessing/using The Crittenden Automotive Library/, you signify your agreement with the Terms of Use on our Legal Information page.
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