1955 Ford Thunderbird

1955 Ford Thunderbird â?" 292 Y-Block V8, Dual Exhaust, Both Tops Included Why This Car Is Special The 1955 Ford Thunderbird was Ford's answer to the Chevrolet Corvette, but it took a different approach entirely. Where the Corvette was positioned as a pure sports car with a six-cylinder engine at launch, Ford built the Thunderbird around the idea of a 'personal luxury' two-seater â?" a car with real V8 power, genuine comfort, and enough style to compete with anything on the road in 1955. Ford called it a 'personal car' rather than a sports car, a distinction that turned out to be a smart one. The Thunderbird outsold the Corvette by a wide margin in its first year, with Ford producing 16,155 units for the 1955 model year compared to Chevrolet's 700 Corvettes. That first-year production number matters to collectors for a specific reason.