1957 Ford Thunderbird Convertible

The Ford Thunderbird was manufactured in the United States from 1955 through 2005 - through thirteen generations and various body types.

Equipped with a V8 engine, the Thunderbird could hit 110-120 mph. It was a smaller two-seat 'personal luxury car.' Very different from the wallowing barges that roamed America's highways in the 1950's. It was designed to be a brisk luxury tourer, and not a sports car.

For 1957, major styling changes were introduced. The front bumper was reshaped, the grille and tailfins were made larger, and larger tail-lights were fitted. The spare wheel moved inside the trunk again, which had been redesigned to allow it to be mounted vertically.

The side 'Thunderbird' script moved from the fins to the front fenders. In addition to the standard 292 and 312 engines, versions of the 312 were produced in higher states of tune, including even a few McCulloch supercharged versions, rated at 300 and 340 hp (254 kW) respectively.

1957 sales were 21,380, bolstered by three extra months of production because the 1958 models were late. The 1957 Thunderbird would be the last two-seater Ford ever built and sold to the public until 982.