Thunderbird

1955 – 2005

The Ford Thunderbird (1955-2005) launched as a two-seat 'personal luxury' car to rival the Corvette, then grew into a range of coupes. It closed with a retro-styled roadster echoing the original 1955-57 classic.

Explore the lineage

71years

11generations

11trims

129–355hp range

CoupeCabriolet

Lineage Trims Owners

The Lineage

11 generations · tap any to explore

1 trimGen 1

1955–1957

Flagship 242 hp

1 trimSecond generation (1958-1960)

1958–1960

Flagship 296 hp

1 trimGen 3

1961–1963

Flagship 296 hp

1 trim4th generation (1964-1966)

1964–1966

Flagship 296 hp

1 trim5th generation (1967-1971)

1967–1971

Flagship 355 hp

1 trim6th generation (1972-1976)

1972–1976

Flagship 221 hp

1 trim7th generation (1977-1979)

1977–1979

Flagship 147 hp

1 trim8th generation (1980-1982)

1980–1982

Flagship 129 hp

1 trimNinth generation (1983-1988)

1983–1988

Flagship 187 hp

1 trimTenth generation (1989-1997)

1989–1997

Flagship 207 hp

1 trimGen 11

2002–2005

Flagship 276 hp

The Story

Why the Thunderbird matters

Ford showed the Thunderbird at the Detroit Auto Show on February 20, 1954, as a two-seat rival to the Corvette. In 1955 it sold 16,155 cars against 700 Corvettes. For 1958 it became a four-seater, and 37,892 were sold that first year. In 1967 Ford offered a four-door for the first time, with rear-hinged doors like a Lincoln Continental. After a break, the name returned for 2002 as a retro two-seat convertible with a removable hardtop, and the last one was built in July 2005.