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For the 1957 model, the Ford Thunderbird may be very similar to the original versions from the previous two years. However, this would be the year when the car’s true capabilities would be unleashed on the American public. Even though sales of the original T-Birds completely annihilated the competing Chevrolet Corvette for the previous two model years, Ford still toyed with the notion of taking things a step further, completely outpacing the any form of domestic competition with D/F-Code Thunderbirds.
Interestingly, only 15 units were made, all by hand and for NASCAR homologation. These cars were the first Thunderbirds to receive forced induction via the McCulloch VR57 Phase 1 supercharger, as well as several other significant tweaks that allowed these cars to break several records for performance cars. production and pave the way for the F-Code series of Thunderbirds as well. year. Today, their rarity is higher than ever, making it one of the most elusive classic cars on the market.
Why 1957 Was The Most Important Year For The Ford Thunderbird
After the Thunderbird first spread its wings in 1955, it became an instant hit. The model itself is a direct response to the flurry of interest that arose when GM’s Harley Earl created the first Chevrolet Corvette in 1953. However, what most gearheads often forget is that the Corvette was built to compete directly with the European sports car, as always. ‘t any real local competition (at least on the level that demonstrated mass production).
However, the original Corvettes were basically basic Chevrolet sedans with lightweight, fiberglass bodywork that transformed the package into a roadster. Performance was slow, criticism was widespread, their price tags were high, and the cars did not sell well in their first years on the market.
However, Ford decided to take an alternative route with the Thunderbird. Instead of advertising it as a sports car, FoMoCo’s marketing team decided to describe the new model as a “personal luxury car”, softening the critics’ blows. Additionally, the Thunderbird was not necessarily built to compete with high-end European exotics, but rather, was built primarily to compete against the Corvette. This allowed Ford to narrow their market, as well as broaden the notion of a roadster to a wider range of prospective buyers.
The 1955 and 1956 models were almost identical in terms of appearance, except for the porthole windows that were featured on the latter. This lack of change was something of a rarity for an American car in the 1950s, as designs back then tended to change dramatically on an annual basis. 1957 saw the addition of longer tailfins, but everything before it was pretty much the same on the outside. However, the pivotal factor of the 1957 Thunderbird was the addition of serious power upgrades for these cars, allowing for a level of performance previously unseen for mass-produced American vehicles. Along with sleek styling and a two-seater platform, this was the last year the Thunderbird stayed true to its form before going wild in 1958 and onward. While the later cars certainly weren’t bad looking, they lacked the flair of these original Thunderbirds, which were the main reasons the nameplate was so popular in the first place.
An Overview Of Special Supercharged D/F-Code Thunderbirds
In 1957, the Chevrolet Corvette did better in sales than during its first run. One of the main reasons for this was the addition of Chevrolet’s original small-block V8 engine, which received an upgrade to 283ci for that model year. However, what caught the attention of Ford’s general manager, Robert McNamara, was the use of fuel injection for this platform. While the Thunderbird had been powered by a V8 since its inception in 1955, McNamara sought to take things a step further and maintain their competitive advantage over General Motors. McNamara felt so strongly about it that he said the program was “considered vital to maintaining the Ford car and Thunderbird performance reputation”.
The answer came in the form of a McCulloch Paxton VR57 centrifugal supercharger, which provided forced induction to the car’s 312ci V8. Before reaching the market, Ford’s skunkworks built 15 supercharged prototypes known as D/F-Code cars. Other unique touches include a heavily modified 3-speed manual transmission from Borg-Warner, built strictly for racing. Fiberglass hardtops and seatbelts are also fitted to all D/F-Code variants. Claimed output was 300bhp from Ford, however McCulloch claimed an output in the 360bhp range for these prototypes. The key idea was to create homologation versions of this setup for NASCAR, which dictated that 100 units had to be produced to be eligible for competition. However, the series also decided they didn’t need to use the same model, and as such Ford built 65 Two-Door Sedans, 20 convertibles, and 15 Thunderbirds with the D/F-Code package. NASCAR interests aside, Ford was keen to beat the speed record set by the Chevrolet Corvette in 1956, making it the fastest car built within the United States. To get the job done, the AD/F-Code Thunderbird was sent to the 1957 Daytona Speed Trials, where it broke the record with a speed of 138.755mph, cementing the Thunderbird’s presence as the fastest road car the United States had to offer. united states
The 1957 Ford Thunderbird Special Supercharged 312: The Impact On Modern Society
Of the 15 D/F-Code Thunderbirds, only 8 are confirmed to exist today. These prototypes set the pace for the following F-Code vehicles for the same model year. The F-Code Thunderbirds still got 300bhp, but were limited to around 200 units, making them rare and further establishing Ford in the field of performance cars. However, that kingdom would never again see Thunderbird achieve its former glory.
As a result of Ford’s efforts, Thunderbird sales for 1957 totaled 21,380 units, surpassing Corvette sales of 6,339 cars. Because of this popularity, Ford further explored the Thunderbird’s possibilities by over-enlarging the car for the 1958 model year, adding a backseat and several other features that made the package a strict cruiser, without the high performance potential seen in 1957.
Regardless, sales rose to 37,892 units, and Ford kept up the pace. The T-Bird would continue to be a larger model, even featuring four doors in some versions in the late 1960s. When weight increases, performance always suffers. As a result, the Thunderbird gradually became more of a luxury car than the sporty roadster the name originally represented. It wasn’t until the early 2000s that Ford finally tried to correct this error, though it didn’t exactly work well.
Sources: Ford, RM Sotheby’s, Muscle Car Facts
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