Ford May Revive the Thunderbird as a Corvette Rival
Rumors of a new Ford Thunderbird started again this week, but when will we see a new Ranchero?
Speculation started again this week that Ford is planning to revive the Thunderbird. In a story posted on Ford Authority, sources indicated that it would be launched as a grand touring car. If true, it will continue Ford’s recent trend of resurrecting or repurposing old names. In the Thunderbird’s case, naming a GT car after the mythical bird makes plenty of sense. The car was originally built to compete with the Chevrolet Corvette.
Ford first launched the Thunderbird in 1955 as a sporty two-seater. More personal luxury car than an outright sports car, the Thunderbird gave Ford a halo car. Its movie star looks and good performance led to strong sales. The standard 312 cubic engine V8 made 215 horsepower with the Ford-o-Matic transmission or 325 horsepower with the three-speed manual. If that wasn’t enough, a Paxton supercharger was an option for 1957 and gave the T-Bird 300 horsepower.
The original Thunderbird outsold the Corvette by a margin of 23 to 1. But when Ford increased its size, making it a four-seater, sales increased dramatically. The Thunderbird found its niche as a cleanly styled, well-appointed personal luxury coupe. Known as the “square bird” the 1958 to 1960 Thunderbirds gave way to the “bullet bird” of 1961 to 1963. The “flair bird” followed from 1964 to 1966 and yielded to the “glamor bird” of the late 1960s.
The Thunderbird continued as Ford’s flagship model into the 1970s. Sharing a platform with the Lincoln Mark series, it offered the style and features of the more expensive Lincoln at a Ford price. It reflected its times, growing ever larger until the Oil Crisis hit. Ford downsized successive generations and moved it to the Fox platform. Restyling in 1983 and 1989 led to a resurgence in popularity, reviving its performance credibility. Bill Elliott and Davey Allison raced stock car versions of the Thunderbird with plenty of success in those years. The “aero birds” regularly exceeded 200 mph and set the fastest lap at Talladega, averaging 212.809 mph. A record that still stands today.
Eventually, the Thunderbird headed out to the pasture. The line ended in 1997 only to briefly return as a retrostyled two-seater in the early 2000s. During that time coupes died off and sedan sales stagnated. Ford got out of the car market, focusing on trucks and SUVs. The Thunderbird joined the Falcon, Fairlane, Galaxy, and Torino as distant memories in the Ford lineup.
Then Ford filed a trademark for the Thunderbird in January 2021. And with the resurrection of the Bronco and Maverick, it makes sense for them to revive the Thunderbird. It’s a great name and deserves a spot in Ford’s lineup. The Thunderbird has a cult following and generates significant collector interest. It’s also a great platform for resto-mods as this Coyote-powered 1988 T-Bird shows.
However, if Ford intends to continue resurrecting nameplates, I have one request – can we bring back the Ranchero next?
Images: Ford Motor Company
