Istorie
First shown in wood mock-up form at the 1954 Detroit Auto Show, the Ford Thunderbird was a “personal car” more than a true sports car. It was also intended to steal market share from Corvette, a task it fulfilled with a sales ratio of 24 to 1 over its crosstown rival.
Full description
Designed as a retort to the Chevrolet Corvette, the original 1955 Ford Thunderbird was a styling high-water mark in 1950‘s America. Standing aside from the hordes of wallowing barges that ruled the American roads, Ford created a two-seater sporty “personal car” with simple, elegant lines with modest fins, restrained bumpers and minimal bright work but with a classic long nose and sweeping rear deck proportions around a snug-two seater cockpit.
It wasn’t a sports car in the true European sense, more of a brisk luxury tourer, but the image was right and the car scored over the contemporary Corvette (which it outsold handsomely). With 200 hp from a Mercury-sourced 4.8L V-eight, the Thunderbird would steam up to 183 km/h and accelerate up to 100 in under 10 seconds, quicker than an Aston Martin of the day. Bigger 5.1L engines saw a power hike to 245 hp in 1957. Around corners it was a different story with soft springs and low-geared steering, though compared to the average Detroit barge it was reasonably nimble.
There was an automatic model and a three-speed manual with optional overdrive transmission available. There was a power soft-top and an optional hardtop (with that whimsical porthole in the pillar for 1956), while the 1956 Thunderbirds also had the “Continental” spare wheel.
The first owner of this car purchased it at nearby Beverly Hills Ford on Wilshire Boulevard. Its Raven Black paint is contrasted with a white soft top, wide Whitewalls on chromed wire wheels and a black-and-white interior. That formal elegance is accompanied by a generous helping of optional extras headlined by the V-eight engine and Ford-O-Matic transmission. In addition to power steering and brakes, the Thunderbird engine dress kit with finned aluminum valve covers, electric windows, backup lights and a signal-seeking radio. It also incorporates one of the rarest features offered: a “memory seat” controlled by a dash-mounted dial that controls the seat’s fore-and-aft movement and height adjustment.
Documentation includes the original order form dated March 15, 1957.
This car has covered 12,581 mile.
