Photo: Ford
The rumor mill is spinning madly on news that Ford could be staging a rebirth of the Thunderbird nameplate. Speculation is rampant that it might be a front-engine two-seater using Mustang bits to take on the Corvette.
While the prospect of a front-engine sports car to fill the gap for diehard enthusiasts not wowed by the ‘Vette’s switch to a mid-engine layout is intriguing, the smart money is likely to be bet elsewhere. Still, having the Blue Oval offer a sports car alternative to the Corvette that’s not astronomically priced like the GT would be a welcome addition to the automotive landscape.
Let’s hope it’s not a rerun of the last Thunderbird. Building a car using an existing platform without a clear definition of if it’s a pure performance play after Corvette’s audience or perhaps a new kind of Grand Tourer drips with a bad case of déjà vu. On paper, the 2002 Ford Thunderbird had a lot to offer. It was based on a European-developed DEW98 rear-drive chassis developed for the Jaguar S-Type and Lincoln LS. It had two seats. Power came from a V8 engine. It was an open car with a removable hardtop sporting a porthole.
The results, despite the somewhat alluring retro styling, was nothing short of a disaster. The 3.9-liter V8 only made 252 horsepower (later bumped to 280). It came only as an automatic. Handling was middling at best. It turned out to be, as they say in Texas, all hat, and no cattle. It enjoyed a production run of only three years with just over 68,000 built.
Using Mustang bits without a clear definition of what the Thunderbird could or should be is a recipe for history to repeat itself. A shortened version of the Mustang, even with stout Shelby GT350 underpinnings including its massively powerful 526-horsepower 5.2-liter engine won’t add much to the sports car conversation vis a’ vis the mid-engine C8 Corvette.
The other factor arguing against the development of such a vehicle is that it conceivably could cannibalize current Mustang sales. Even though it continues to outpace the Chevrolet Camaro in annual volume, sales peaked at just over 122,000 units in 2016, falling to around 52,000 last year. Even though a Thunderbird sports car might only sell in the tens of thousands, it could have a huge impact on future viability of the Mustang.
It’s true that Ford is committed to producing gas engines through 2040, however, I don’t think even a mid-engine Ford GT-Lite is in the cards to offer an affordable mid-engine alternative to Chevy. I think the fact that this rumor has surfaced in the wake of GM President Mark Reuss’ pronouncement that the Corvette eventually will offer a hybrid, then electric version may throw some light on Ford’s thinking.
With its successful launch of the Mustang Mach-E, Ford demonstrated that it could transplant an iconic nameplate on a vehicle that not only is far removed from Mustang’s pony car roots, but also incorporates a new technology.
Where lightning is usually followed by thunder, so could a Thunderbird EV be in the cards as a follow-up to the Ford F-150 Lightning. The question is what form will it take? Such a vehicle could offer Corvette levels of performance, and thanks to the fewer packaging constraints from EV technology, the design brief is wide open. It could be a low slung two-passenger sports car or maybe a sexy grand touring coupe. In either configuration, thanks to the massive horsepower and torque, a new age Thunderbird may actually live up to the promise of its name.
Let’s hope it’s not a rerun of the last Thunderbird. Building a car using an existing platform without a clear definition of if it’s a pure performance play after Corvette’s audience or perhaps a new kind of Grand Tourer drips with a bad case of déjà vu. On paper, the 2002 Ford Thunderbird had a lot to offer. It was based on a European-developed DEW98 rear-drive chassis developed for the Jaguar S-Type and Lincoln LS. It had two seats. Power came from a V8 engine. It was an open car with a removable hardtop sporting a porthole.
The results, despite the somewhat alluring retro styling, was nothing short of a disaster. The 3.9-liter V8 only made 252 horsepower (later bumped to 280). It came only as an automatic. Handling was middling at best. It turned out to be, as they say in Texas, all hat, and no cattle. It enjoyed a production run of only three years with just over 68,000 built.
Using Mustang bits without a clear definition of what the Thunderbird could or should be is a recipe for history to repeat itself. A shortened version of the Mustang, even with stout Shelby GT350 underpinnings including its massively powerful 526-horsepower 5.2-liter engine won’t add much to the sports car conversation vis a’ vis the mid-engine C8 Corvette.
The other factor arguing against the development of such a vehicle is that it conceivably could cannibalize current Mustang sales. Even though it continues to outpace the Chevrolet Camaro in annual volume, sales peaked at just over 122,000 units in 2016, falling to around 52,000 last year. Even though a Thunderbird sports car might only sell in the tens of thousands, it could have a huge impact on future viability of the Mustang.
It’s true that Ford is committed to producing gas engines through 2040, however, I don’t think even a mid-engine Ford GT-Lite is in the cards to offer an affordable mid-engine alternative to Chevy. I think the fact that this rumor has surfaced in the wake of GM President Mark Reuss’ pronouncement that the Corvette eventually will offer a hybrid, then electric version may throw some light on Ford’s thinking.
With its successful launch of the Mustang Mach-E, Ford demonstrated that it could transplant an iconic nameplate on a vehicle that not only is far removed from Mustang’s pony car roots, but also incorporates a new technology.
Where lightning is usually followed by thunder, so could a Thunderbird EV be in the cards as a follow-up to the Ford F-150 Lightning. The question is what form will it take? Such a vehicle could offer Corvette levels of performance, and thanks to the fewer packaging constraints from EV technology, the design brief is wide open. It could be a low slung two-passenger sports car or maybe a sexy grand touring coupe. In either configuration, thanks to the massive horsepower and torque, a new age Thunderbird may actually live up to the promise of its name.
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