The Ford Thunderbird Saturn was a design exercise and show car constructed in 1968. It began life as a 1968 Thunderbird Tudor hardtop that received numerous modifications before making its debut at the 45th Annual Southern California Automobile show held at the Pan Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Vehicle modification included lowering the roof by two inches, adding a sloped fastback roof line, and extending the hood by four inches. The overall stance of the car was long and low, and the bodyside was smooth and clean, with the door handles concealed near the beltline. Entry was accessed by pressing on one side of the door panel that concealed the handle, allowing the panel to open and reveal the handle. The front grille remained mostly original, but the headlights were now hidden behind clear covers. The front turn indicators wrapped around the outboard edges of the hood. In the back were concealed backup lights and when not in use, they were flush with the rear quarter panels. The light assembly, located just below the mid-body line, popped out of their housings when the transmission selector lever was moved to 'reverse.'

The body received an attractive iridescent Candy Apple Red finish and the interior featured contoured front bucket seats with built-in headrests. It used vinyl material and a custom center console located between the front seats and housed a Trip Programmer.

The Thunderbird Saturn foreshadowed several design elements that would be incorporated into future Thunderbirds, including the contoured front bucket seats with built-in headrests that would appear in 1970. The sloping fastback roofline would also appear on the 1970 Thunderbird two-door models. The vinyl material was used in some production Mustangs of the era.

Many show cars and concept cars of the era were destroyed, but it believed that the Thunderbird Saturn may have survived. The Ford Saturn I of 1968 was followed by the Thunderbird Saturn II for the 1969 season. The Saturn II had similar design elements to the Saturn I and made its debut at the 1969 Chicago Auto Show. Among the most visual changes of the Saturn II were a completely restyled front and rear end, and changes to the interior.

by Dan Vaughan