FORD Thunderbird 1972-1976 Photos, engines & full specs

The seventh and largest Ford Thunderbird shook the American car industry in 1972 with its huge size and massive engines. But the 1973 oil crisis deeply cut into its sales.

In 1972 the Muscle-Car era was coming to an end, but nobody knew it. The only thing that stood between the big blocks and the customers was the emissions control regulations. But the carmakers were ready for that and fitted their cars with big engines tuned for shallow power for their engine's displacements. A 4.2-liter Jaguar engine provided 240 hp while the 7-liter T-Bird offered a mere 212 hp. Despite the higher torque, it was slower to the 60 mph mark (92 kph) than the British XJ limo.

Its double rounded headlights at the front and the pinned-out grille in the middle made the Thunderbird like a battleship on wheels. The long hood, suitable to cover one of the biggest V8 engines ever installed in a Ford, featured a profiled surface with a raised center part. From its sides, the car looked like a faux-cabriolet since it didn't feature a B-pillar between the doors and the quarter panel. Its overall length was so big that it should require its own zip-code. A red strip spread across the entire rear board in the rear, but only the outer sides were lit.

Inside, Ford offered the Thunderbird as a personal luxury coupe fitted with leather seats, automatic climate control, a mini AM-FM stereo (options), sunroof, and 6-way power front seats. Despite the car's size, the instrument cluster was compact, and, no wonder, the fuel gauge took center stage.

Ford installed a choice of two engines under the hood: a 7- and a 7.5-liter engine, both mated as standard to a 3-speed automatic gearbox.