Only 55 M-codes were sold with their high performance 340 horsepower engines. Of these units, 5,913 were convertibles and 455 were Sports Roadsters.

Some of this was probably due to the fact that Thunderbird would have a comprehensive restyling for the upcoming 1964 model year. Ford offered their Thunderbird with the simple construction and reasonable price tag of a Ford.ġ963 was not a knockout year for the T-Bird as only 63,313 were sold, about 15,000 less units than the prior year. What the first Thunderbird highlighted was style and sophistication that used to be available only from expensive European imports like Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar. Sleek, aerodynamic design of the 1963 T-Bird. The first Thunderbirds carried over current Ford themes including the egg crate grille, single headlamps built into the front fenders, single circle taillights and stubby tail fins. The Thunderbird development program was launched by Ford in February of 1953, just a month after the Corvette prototype’s debut at the General Motors Motorama. Many collectors believe the third generation Thunderbird is where Ford really got their idea of a personal luxury cruiser together. This fact probably led Ford to create a new automobile niche called the “ personal luxury car“. In reality, the two cars were really two different machines from the exterior body material to the interior appointments. They were competing head to head but Ford appeared to put more creature comfort features into their Thunderbird. 1963 ThunderbirdĪnother important thing to note was that the Ford Thunderbird was not really built solely as a sports car like the Chevy Corvette. The first 1955 Ford Thunderbird was built in September 1954 in Dearborn, Michigan.

The winning employee, a Ford stylist, won a suit from Saks Fifth Avenue. As a side note, the “ Thunderbird” name was drawn from an in-house contest at Ford Motor Company.

1963 ford thunderbird sway bar