Tag Archives: thunderbird

Thunderbird Sports Roadster

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1962 Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster

Offered by Mecum | Houston, Texas | April 14, 2023

Photo – Mecum

The Sports Roadster is the coolest of the Bullet Birds of 1961-1963. Actually, it’s probably the coolest Thunderbird they ever made. The Sports Roadster was introduced in 1962 and was a limited-production version of the standard Thunderbird convertible.

Changes included 48-spoke Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels and a fiberglass tonneau cover over the rear seats that made the car look like a two-seater. Just 1,427 were produced for 1962, and another 455 would be made in 1963

Power here is from a 6.4-liter (390ci) V8 that made 300 horsepower when new. Bullet Birds are among the best-looking of all Thunderbirds, and the Sports Roadster package just takes it up a notch. Black is a classy color for this car, especially over a red interior. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $44,000.

Thunderbird Sports Roadster Concept

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2001 Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster Concept

Offered by RM Auctions | Farmer’s Branch, Texas | November 15, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions
Photo – RM Auctions

Ah, the retro styling craze of the early 2000s. Ford decided to bring back the Thunderbird for the 2002 model year. The car’s introduction was preceded by a slew of concept cars, including this Sports Roadster.

These Thunderbirds had soft tops or removable hard tops. This car is topless and has a fiberglass tonneau cover that fits nicely against the back of the head rests. You could’ve gotten a similar look on a 1960s T-Bird.

The engine is a standard 280 horsepower 3.9-liter V-8. This car was acquired from Ford by Sam Pack in 2010. It’s the only one like it and should sell for between $60,000-$80,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $55,000.

Thunderbird Supercharged Concept

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2003 Ford Thunderbird Supercharged Concept

Offered by RM Auctions | Farmer’s Branch, Texas | November 15, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions
Photo – RM Auctions

The Ford Thunderbird F-Code from 1957 was a mean, powerful machine. This car was meant to be the spiritual successor to that car. Ford never put it into production. But they should have. The last Thunderbird was a dud and perhaps a hot rod version would have helped.

The engine is a supercharged 3.9-liter V-8 making 390 horsepower. That’s sports car territory. It has a vented hood and other minor details to set it apart. This car was also acquired by Sam Pack from Ford in 2010. It should sell for between $50,000-$80,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of the sale of the Sam Pack Collection.

Update: Sold $57,750.

A Pair of T-Bird Concepts

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Ford Thunderbird Concepts

Offered by RM Auctions | Farmer’s Branch, Texas | November 15, 2014

 2001 Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster Concept

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Ah, the retro styling craze of the early 2000s. Ford decided to bring back the Thunderbird for the 2002 model year. The car’s introduction was preceded by a slew of concept cars, including this Sports Roadster.

These Thunderbirds had soft tops or removable hard tops. This car is topless and has a fiberglass tonneau cover that fits nicely against the back of the head rests. You could’ve gotten a similar look on a 1960s T-Bird.

The engine is a standard 280 horsepower 3.9-liter V-8. This car was acquired from Ford by Sam Pack in 2010. It’s the only one like it and should sell for between $60,000-$80,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $55,000.

2003 Ford Thunderbird Supercharged Concept

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

The Ford Thunderbird F-Code from 1957 was a mean, powerful machine. This car was meant to be the spiritual successor to that car. Ford never put it into production. But they should have. The last Thunderbird was a dud and perhaps a hot rod version would have helped.

The engine is a supercharged 3.9-liter V-8 making 390 horsepower. That’s sports car territory. It has a vented hood and other minor details to set it apart. This car was also acquired by Sam Pack from Ford in 2010. It should sell for between $50,000-$80,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of the sale of the Sam Pack Collection.

Update: Sold $57,750.

Ford Thunderbird Concept

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1999 Ford Thunderbird Concept Car

For Sale at Vintage Motors of Sarasota | Sarasota, Florida

1999 Ford Thunderbird Concept Car

The Ford Thunderbird is one of America’s legendary sports cars. It started as a Corvette challenger that quickly grew soft while the Corvette stayed sporty. Ford tried to keep it relevant but by 1997 the model was killed off.

But only two years later Ford introduced a luxury roadster concept called the Thunderbird and it looked way better than the model it was going to replace. The car sported retro looks and would go on sale for the 2002 model year.

This is one of three concept Thunderbirds built by Ford. One of those was later re-bodied as a “Sports Roadster” (a sporty, topless version). One of the concepts is still owned by Ford. And this is the third – the only one in the wild. It was built around the chassis of a Lincoln LS and uses that donor car’s 3.9-liter V-8 (which is actually a Jaguar motor) making 252 horsepower. This car isn’t street legal – it doesn’t have windows or gauges and has a governor on the engine to keep speeds very low.

The return of the Thunderbird was short-lived. Between 2002 and 2005, only 67,518 were built. It was expensive and not sporty. It was a flop all around. But this is actually a really cool opportunity to obtain a piece of history related to one of America’s great cars. The price is $195,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold, Worldwide Auctioneers Auburn 2018, $25,300.

2014 Scottsdale Auction Highlights Pt I

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Well I’ll start by saying I missed one auction in December. It was Osenat’s sale that closed out the 2013 auction calendar. The top sale there was this 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II by Hooper. It went for $68,500.

1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II by HooperThe coolest car from this sale was this cheap 1932 Peugeot 201C that sold for a paltry $8,905. You can check out full results here.

1932 Peugeot 201C

Because they’re already done and posted, I’ll go ahead and cover the first few days (Tuesday-Friday) of Barrett-Jackson. Also – a big thank you to Barrett-Jackson for posting your results as you go. It’s awesome. The top sale over these first few days was actually a charity car – this 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Copo Coupe for $700,000. It is serial #1 of 69.

2014 Chevrolet Camaro COPO

Of non-charity cars, the top sale was this 1957 Ford Thunderbird “E” Convertible for $330,000.

1957 Ford Thunderbird E Convertible

As far as interesting cars, I’m always a fan of Plum Crazy Mopars and this 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Convertible fits the bill. It brought $104,500.

1970 Dodge Challenger RT Convertible

Also cool, this 1975 Autobianchi A112 Abarth sold for $16,500. The rest of the good stuff all crosses the block tonight. You can check up-to-the-minute results here.

1975 Autobianchi A112 Abarth

And the other part of our Part I coverage will be Bonhams Scottsdale sale. The #1 seller there was this 1951 Ferrari 212 Export Berlinetta for $3,190,000.

1951 Ferrari 212 Export Berlinetta

Our featured Simplex failed to sell. The Figoni et Falaschi Bentley brought $605,000. Cool cars included this amazing all-original 1915 Packard 1-35 Twin Six Seven-Passenger Touring for $144,100.

1915 Packard 1-35 Twin Six Seven-Passenger Touring

I like the low, mean look of this 1929 Stutz Model M Monte Carlo by Weymann. It sold for $264,000. Our featured Thomas Flyer sold for $275,000.

1929 Stutz Model M Monte Carlo by Weymann

Our featured Intermeccanica Omega brought $73,700. And finally, the how-could-you-not-show-it, a 1936 Mercedes-Benz 500K Sport Phaeton that sold for a seemingly reasonable $1,430,000. You can check out full results here.

1936 Mercedes-Benz 500K Sport Phaeton

F-Code T-Bird

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1957 Ford Thunderbird F-Code Convertible

Offered by RM Auctions | Fort Worth, Texas | April 27, 2013

1957 Ford Thunderbird F-Code Convertible

The Ford Thunderbird was the supposed answer to the Chevrolet Corvette (I say “supposed” because the Thunderbird diluted its image every possible chance it got after 1957 while the Corvette got more and more intense). The first two years of Corvette production saw the car saddled with a straight-six. Chevy upped the ante for 1955 with a V-8. Ford introduced the Thunderbird as an all-new model for 1955 and a V-8 as the only power choice.

Both cars were absolute stunners in the looks department. Thunderbirds were offered in a sea of colors – pastels and the like. If you wanted to collect the entire rainbow, you probably could. This one is black with black wheels – and it looks rather menacing.

And it should. This is an “F-Code” car – which means it has the 5.1-liter V-8 that has been supercharged to make 300 horsepower. The most powerful Corvette you could buy in 1957 only made 283 ponies. And this wasn’t even the king of the Thunderbirds. There was one more step up – but only 12 of those were made.

As I’ve been writing these posts for cars from this sale prior to the release of the lot description from RM, I had to do a little research to find out how many F-Code Thunderbirds were actually built. On Barrett-Jackson’s website, I did a search for them and every result had a different total for the number built. An older RM post has the number at 205, which is what I’ll go with.

Thunderbirds are thought as cruisers today but this one will get your attention off the line. It’s a really awesome car and the fact that it looks the part is even better. It should bring a massive $150,000-$200,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold for $198,000.