Supercharged SVT Thunderbird Won't Make it to Production
Do you want a new Thunderbird? According to Nick Scheele, Ford Motor President and COO, the retro roadster was never intended to run for more than four years. Doing the math makes the 2005 T-Bird the final model year, giving you two years to make up your mind.
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| The Supercharged SVT Thunderbird concept was the star at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show in 2003, but now it won't see the light of day. (Photo: Ford Motors) |
Also dead, and this one even before it had a chance to take flight, the rumored SVT Thunderbird that was reportedly to incorporate a supercharged V8 similar in power to the SVT Mustang Cobra, will not be coming to market. Instead the SVT skunk works team will be focusing on tuning new Mercury and Lincoln models.
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| Ford hoped the Thunderbird would do better than it has, but competition from BMW, Porsche and Mercedes has slowed sales. (Photo: Ford Motors) |
The Thunderbird was never meant to sell in high numbers, but to be fair the blue oval boys hoped it would at least do better than it has. Up against some very stiff premium roadster competition from BMW, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz in its price range, the Thunderbird didn't represent what the majority of buyers spending $55,000 wanted to spend.
While the Thunderbird is definitely on its way out, there is a slim chance Ford will continue its production through the 2006 model year if enough interest is shown on the sales floor.