![]() Displacement of the Ford/Lincoln version, meanwhile, is unchanged at 3950cc, but the addition of variable valve timing (intake side only), extensive cylinder-head revisions, and a slight increase in compression (10.8:1 versus 10.6:1) add up to useful power gains: 280 horsepower and 286 pound-feet of torque. The displacement increase, along with other enhancements (an improved variable-valve-timing system and better breathing), bumped output to 294 horsepower and 303 pound-feet of torque. Introduced with the updated S-type last year, the Jag V-8 went from 4.0 (3996cc) to 4.2 liters (4206cc), thanks to a lengthened (by 4.3mm) stroke. The two engines have diverged further in recent revisions. It was rated at 252 horsepower and 267 pound-feet of torque compared with 281 horsepower and 287 pound-feet for the Jag mill-all of this to eliminate any possibility of Jag buyers thinking their elegant new cats were propelled by something as plebeian as a mere Ford engine. The new Thunderbird arrived with the same 4.0-liter aluminum V-8 employed to propel the Lincoln LS, a destroked and slightly dumbed down (no variable valve timing, for example) version of Jaguar's 4.0-liter DOHC AJ-V8. We were discussing horsepower, as in more of it. In this sense, the revival Bird is faithful to the 1955-57 original, which the company characterized as a "personal car." Our own assessment, expressed in a T-Bird test in the June 1956 issue of C/D predecessor Sports Cars Illustrated, described the car as "best suited to turnpikes and drag strips."īut we digress. Ford prefers "relaxed sportiness" as a dynamic descriptor. You might have observed that whatever the resurrected Bird lacked in sports-car-ness it made up in style, and you'd get no argument from us. Revived after three years of suspended animation, this Lazarus of T-Birds came to the market in 2001 with an oversupply of hype, an undersupply of chassis, and a power supply that was only adequate. Ford's approach, in addition to boosting engine output, is to make the car more collectible by limiting production to "four or five" years. ![]() With sales lagging some 24 percent behind original forecasts-19,085 in 2002 versus a hoped-for total of 25,000-the Thunderbird does seem to be in need of some sort of showroom stimulant. Convertibles for $5000: Window Shop with C/D.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |