Base price: Deluxe, $36,895; Premium, $37,940
Vehicle type: front-engine, rear-drive; 2-door 2-passenger roadster
Interior volume, F/cargo (cu ft) 54/7
Wheelbase 107.2 in
Length/width/height 186.3/72.0/52.1 in
Turning circle 35.9 ft
Curb weight 3900 lb
EPA city/hwy mpg 17/23
Fuel-tank capacity/range 18.0/306 mi
Passive restraints driver and passenger front and side airbags
POWERTRAIN
3.9-liter DOHC 32-valve V-8, 280 hp; 5-sp auto
SUSPENSION
F ind, unequal-length control arms, coil springs, anti-roll bar
R ind, unequal-length control arms, coil springs, anti-roll bar
BRAKES
F/R vented disc/vented disc
ABS standard
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FORD THUNDERBIRD
Riding a wave of auto nostalgia and retro styling, Ford revived the Thunderbird in 2002 in a form reminiscent of the classic two-seater 1955—57 T-Birds. Although Ford’s design boss, J Mays, bristles at the notion that the new Bird is a retro car, it does highlight such back-looking touches as porthole quarter-windows, a spread-winged turquoise badge, a wide-mouth chrome grille, and front fender vents. But there’s nothing retro under the sheetmetal. This Thunderbird is a thoroughly modern luxury roadster that is based on the Lincoln LS and its excellent front-engine, rear-drive platform. Though the T-Bird’s wheelbase is some seven inches shorter than that of the LS, it uses the same basic all-independent suspension and 280-hp, 3.9-liter DOHC V-8. For 2003, there’s a James Bond edition T-Bird tricked up like the one which appears in Die Another Day.
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