Thunderbird is a nameplate that Ford just can't seem to let go. Rumors have it that we haven't heard the last of the Thunderbird, so it would not drop as a surprise if the automaker would return it as an electrified or full electric crossover. But before that happens, if ever, here is the final (so far) generation, rocking Torch Red and only 22,000 miles on the clock.
This 2002 Ford Thunderbird is one of the approximately 68,000 examples that the automaker rolled out before it decided to discontinue the model. Developed under the supervision of the former global Vice President of Design of the Ford Motor Company, Jack Telnack, from 1980 to 1997, the Thunderbird made a comeback after a five-year hiatus.
It was Telnack who initiated a competition between design studios in Italy, England, Germany, Los Angeles, and Dearborn, with the latter winning. In his 60s, Telnack retired, and J Mays took over. He was the one who managed the trims, fabrics, and colors of the lineup.
The eleventh generation was nothing like its tenth-gen predecessor, just like a possible twelfth might be, but came with styling cues that reminded nostalgics of the very first generation from the mid-1950s.
Ford officially unveiled it at the 1999 North American International Auto Show in Detroit and sent it into production in June 2001 at the firm's plant in Wixom, Michigan.
Ford thought it hit the jackpot with the Thunderbird revival
It was a two-seat convertible that Ford sold with a soft top or the optional removable hard top. It sat on the DEW platform that it shared with the Jaguar S-Type and the Lincoln LS but sported a shorter wheelbase. It was compact and light and came with fluted doors, wing-shaped door panels, and a two-tone interior that appealed to the youngest customers.
Photo: Cars & Bids
A front-mounted 3.9-liter L AJ35 V8 engine operated under the hood in a rear-wheel-drive setup. It was a retuned version of Jaguar's 3.9, rated at 252 horsepower (256 metric horsepower) and 267 pound-feet (362 Newton meters) of torque for the first two model years.
In 2003, Ford credited the V8 with more power and torque, taking it to 280 horsepower (284 metric horsepower) and 286 pound-feet (388 Newton meters). A five-speed automatic transmission puts the power down through the rear wheels.
Sales figures proved that Ford had done the right thing by returning the Thunderbird. Over 31,350 people ordered it during its first year in production, 2002. But the hype was gone soon, and numbers started to decline. Ford sold only fewer than half of the units moved during the first year of the eleventh generation.
In 2005, only 9,295 customers took a Thunderbird home, which convinced the Ford executives to make a radical decision: the model would be discontinued with no successor in sight. However, the Thunderbird made it to Hollywood: it showed up in the James Bond movie Die Another Day in 2003, driven by Giacinta "Jinx" Johnson, played by Halle Berry.
A soft top, a hard top, and a red and black interior
What we have here is a unit of the most popular model year, a 2002 Ford Thunderbird. The model rocks the head-turning Torch Red over a black and red leather interior. The V8-powered model has traveled 22,781 miles (36,662 kilometers) in 22 years, which means less than a mile per year.
Photo: Cars & Bids
The Thunderbird rides on 17-inch chrome wheels but shows up with two types of tires in the photos in the listing, so it is unclear which are the ones it is sold with or if it goes with both. One thing is for sure: the dealership selling it says they also have a hard top of the roadster along with the power black soft top in the images.
The only mods the car underwent were the tinted windows. Aluminum chrome trim, cruise control, power-adjustable seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, and an Audiophile sound system with a six-disc CD changer are on board.
The car is now going under the hammer with Cars & Bids. With four days left to go and after eight offers, bidding reached $5,300. There is still a long way to go to the average price such cars usually sell on the used car market, which is around $20,000, as reported by classic.com.
The examples in mint condition with very low mileage can even go over the $50,000 mark. A 2002 model with 20,000 miles on the clock was sold for $68,200 back in January 2022, which makes it the most expensive eleventh-generation Thunderbird ever auctioned off.
Reminding us all that retro styling will always be cool, It goes with a clean Carfax report, which shows it resided in Texas and California for most of its accident-free life.
However, the listing mentions some stone chips on the front end and normal wear on the seats. Whoever takes the 22-year-old Ford home will get one key and the owner’s manual, and will have to pay an $85 document fee.
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