Lost Ford Thunderbird Designs Come to Life.

By 1961, the Ford Thunderbird was entering its 3rd generation. The first generation became a timeless classic and a big hit for Ford. However, the “ugly duckling” second generation wasn’t as successful, even with 4 seats instead of two. Ford’s answer for the 3rd generation was, at first, to make the car bigger. The early design above was from designer Elwood Engel. It was obviously not accepted for the new 1961 Thunderbird. But it basically became the 1964 Lincoln Continental.

The 2 images above show the final 1961 Thunderbird. Another great and modern design. The “Bullet” design was popular and very modern. It still is today…

These images show what the 5th generation Thunderbird could have been. It seems Ford was trying many different ideas. From a very conservative coupe to truly futuristic shapes. The first one seems like a totally generic car. The second one just looks like the designers were on drugs. The third one seems like a car from the future and would have been great. And the last one is actually quite interesting.

In the end, Ford picked another great design for the 1967 model. The big change was the addition of a 4 door sedan to the lineup. And, for the first time also, the convertible body style was unfortunately discontinued.

After the 3rd generation, it would take many years for the Thunderbird to look that good again…