![]() But so was Corvette, and the early buyers chose Thunderbird by a landslide - nearly finishing the Corvette before it got started. Yes, the Thunderbird was in part, a parts-bin engineering vehicle. Where the Corvette had a fancifully designed (albeit somewhat wavy) fiberglass body glued together from pieces, the Thunderbird had an all-steel, welded-together body with recognizable Ford design cues, such as peaked headlights, crisp tailfins and taillights adopted from the Fairlane. The T-bird also had the largest engine in Ford’s lineup, a 292-cid upgrade from 1954’s 239-ci Y-Block - and an excellent, Lincoln-based suspension. When the Thunderbird arrived in late 1954, it was equipped with a V8 engine, a choice of manual or automatic transmission - and luxury touches including a folding convertible top. After all, the Blue Flame inline-6 engine, 2-speed automatic transmission and fiberglass construction of the Corvette - hurriedly produced following its GM Motorama debut in January 1953 - were not exactly a world-beating proposition. Seeking an exciting car to claim a share of the emerging new “personal car” (Ford’s gentrified term for “sports car” at the time) market, Ford saw weakness in Chevrolet’s early lackluster Corvette offering. But now, 65 years later, the Thunderbird is long gone instead, while the Corvette carries on following its historic transformation to mid-engine supercar. In one of the great ironies in American automotive history, upon its 1955 model debut, the V8-powered Thunderbird nearly sunk the fledgling Corvette for good. This car, Lot 126, sold for $44,000, including buyer’s premium, at the Barrett-Jackson Online Only auction on May 8, 2020. 1959–60 Ford Thunderbird convertible, 1965–66 Ford Mustang convertible, 1967 Ford Fairlane GT ![]()
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