"I told them, I want you to rub your hands over the surfaces, understand the shapes, the forms that build the character lines, really get into it," he said. In Dearborn, he asked each designer to literally wash the two cars, before taking pencil to paper. įor the design, Telnack enlisted competing studios in Italy, England, Germany, California and Dearborn, bringing a 1955 and a 1957 Thunderbird to the Dearborn studio. His successor, J Mays resolved "details, trim, fabric, the interior design and colors" and presenting the 2002 production model in 1999. The AJ-30 V8 was replaced by the AJ-35 in 2003 and later Thunderbirds, bringing with it variable valve timing (VVT) and electronic throttle control (ETC) as well as 280 hp (209 kW) and 286 lb⋅ft (388 N⋅m) of torque.Īccording to Jack Telnack, Ford's Vice President of Design (1980-1997), the Thunderbird design gestation was the longest of his career and was largely finalized before he retired from Ford in 1997.
The sole engine of the Thunderbird was a Jaguar-designed AJ-30 3.9 L DOHC V8, a short-stroke (85mm) variant of the Jaguar AJ-26 4.0 L V8, rated at 252 hp (188 kW) and 267 lb⋅ft (362 N⋅m) of torque - in combination with Ford's 5R55N 5-speed automatic transmission.
Ford announced in March 2005 that the Thunderbird would be discontinued in July of that year, with 9,548 sold for 2005. Sales declined each year thereafter until its cancellation. Initially dealers could charge well over MSRP and sold 31,368 the first year. Production of the 2002 Thunderbird began June 5, 2001, with expected annual sales of 25,000. Ford sold the car to a private collector in 2010 and it was auctioned in 2014.
#THIRD GENERATION FORD THUNDERBIRD LICENSE#
The concept featured a high-flow intake pipe, Gloss Red cam covers with carbon fiber coil covers, cam cover ‘Thunderbird’ script carbon fiber radiator cover and integral supercharger air filters power dome hood providing functional engine cooling chrome trimmed surfaces on the hood's twin air extractors revised chrome grille larger chrome front fender intakes revised, color-keyed rear view mirrors revised front and rear bumpers lowered suspension (1") 18-inch tires on custom 16-spoke aluminum wheels lockable two-piece hard tonneau cover black convertible top rear twin exhaust ports rear backup lamps inset into the license plate housing silver exterior paint chamois interior. Concept and production įord introduced the Ford SuperCharged Thunderbird concept at the 2003 Los Angeles Auto Show as a joint effort of Ford's Living Legends design studio and Ford Performance Group and featuring a modified Jaguar Supercharged V8 rated at 390 hp (291 kW). Production models arrived in mid-2001 for model year 2002, more than two years after the concept. Ford introduced a concept prototype for the eleventh-generation Thunderbird at the 1999 North American International Auto Show on January 3, 1999, 45 years after the debut of the original. The 1997 introduction of the Volkswagen New Beetle sparked a renaissance of retro-styling in American automakers. The Thunderbird was produced in ten consecutive generations until it was discontinued after the 1997 model year. The 1955 Thunderbird had advanced technology for its time, including such features as power seats and a padded dashboard. Originally designed to compete with European sports cars and the Chevrolet Corvette, it marked the first time that Ford make sold two distinct model lines at the same time.
The Ford Thunderbird was introduced in October 1954 for the 1955 model year as a two-seat roadster. The eleventh generation reach a production of just under 70,000 over four model years. After studying alternatives, including the closely related Lincoln MK9 concept, Ford declined to introduce subsequent generations of the Thunderbird. Despite this, the eleventh-generation Thunderbird never achieved its sales projections and was discontinued after 2005. The production model debuted two years later, winning the Motor Trend Car of the Year award for 2002. Part of a retro-styling trend in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the concept was introduced by Ford in 1999. Sharing mechanicals with the Lincoln LS and using Ford's DEW platform, it has a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout with a 3.9-liter (240-cubic-inch) V8 engine and a five-speed automatic transmission. It followed a five-year hiatus of the Thunderbird after the 1997 discontinuation of its tenth generation.Įvoking the exterior styling of the earliest Thunderbirds, the eleventh generation features a removable hardtop with a prominent porthole window, power folding fabric top, and vinyl tonneau cover. The eleventh generation of the Ford Thunderbird (internally codenamed M205 ) is a two-seat convertible manufactured and marketed by Ford from 2001 to 2005 for model years 2002 through 2005.
0 kommentar(er)
