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The 1961 Ford Thunderbird’s Jet-Age design redefined the personal luxury car and pushed forward new automotive aesthetics in the process.Jet Setting in the Thunderbird
Along with architecture, automotive design has long been at the forefront of popular design movements, from Art Deco to Postmodernism. Midcentury modern designs, with their stark, simple lines and Jet-Age inspirations came into vogue in the 1950s and by the early 1960s helped turn the page from the chrome and fins era to sleeker, less cluttered designs. One of the best examples of this trend toward simplicity is the third generation Ford Thunderbird.
The Ford Thunderbird was a unique car. Originally, intended to compete with the then new Chevy Corvette, the Thunderbird forged its own identity by staking out a space in the market squarely between performance and luxury. In doing so, the Thunderbird birthed the “personal luxury car” segment. The second generation added a backseat and busied up the design, netting it a Motor Trend Car of the Year award in 1958. At the same time the second-generation Thunderbird was earning plaudits, Ford’s designers and engineers were already hard at work on a new Thunderbird with a vastly different aesthetic in mind.
To best illustrate what makes the third-generation Ford Thunderbird so spectacular, we scoured the listings on Carsforsale.com to find the very best, most representative example. We were not to be disappointed. Among the many well-kept Thunderbirds, we found an exceptionally clean 1961 example that’s one of the finest classic Ford’s you’re likely to run across. But first, here’s what makes the third-generation Ford Thunderbird special.
The “Bullet Bird” is Born
For 1961, Ford’s personal luxury car got a thorough restyling that did a whole lot more than just cut back on chrome. The Thunderbird’s redesign is a marvel of Jet-Age styling. The prior generation Thunderbird had been nicknamed the “Square Bird” thanks to its boxy right angles. The third-gen Thunderbird earned the nickname the “Bullet Bird” owing to its streamlined body which began at its bullet-like pointed nose and followed, uninterrupted, along the beltline terminating in smaller, more subtle fins and the exhaust-tip-like chrome housing for the taillights. Long, clean straight lines predominate the swept-back design.
The car’s interior was no less impressive. It featured a sculpted, padded dashboard, plush leather seats, and a large center console. The instrument panel too reflected the Jet-Age sensibilities of the car, all done in dazzling chrome. An innovation was the optional “Swing Away” steering wheel which could be moved rightward to allow for easier ingress/egress for the driver.
An interesting note about the third-gen Thunderbird’s design process. Assigned with designing the new Thunderbird were two teams, one headed up by George Walker, Ford’s Chief of Design, and Joe Oros and another headed by Elwood Engel. Engle’s team focused on giving the Thunderbird a kind of “Continental Mk II but better” design adding peaked fenders squared off at the front and exhaust-like taillights. Ford executives, including Henry Ford II, said Engel’s design was “too nice for a Thunderbird” and leaned toward Oros’s design. Some of the Engle design elements did indeed make it to the Thunderbird, like the exhaust-tip taillights and peaked fender lines. The squared-off front fenders and other ideas made their way mostly intact to the next-generation 1961 Lincoln Continental.
Under the Hood of the Thunderbird
Unlike the Corvette it competed against, the Thunderbird was not expressly a performance car. That did not, however, mean Ford skimped on horsepower. The Thunderbird was given a 390 cu.-in. V8 making a healthy 300 horsepower and paired with a three-speed Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission. For 1962, an “M-code” version was offered with three two-barrel Holley carburetors upping output to 340 horsepower. These “M-code” versions are vanishingly rare today with just 145 built for 1962 and a scant 55 built for 1963.
Other year-over-year changes for the third-gen Thunderbird include the introduction of a landau top in 1962. That same year saw a Sports Roadster version added that featured a removeable tonneau cover fitting over the rear seats to simulate a roadster body style on the four-seat Thunderbird.
While the Thunderbird’s exterior changed extraordinarily little in its third generation, there are subtle differences in trim. The 1961 cars have a set of four bars stacked vertically on the very back of the rear fender. This trim was changed for 1962 into a set of three horizontally arranged trim pieces on the rear fender. The final year, 1963, added a large hockey stick-like crease that ran from the front fender to the door, accompanied by new chrome trim pieces.
’61 Inaugural Thunderbirds
The debuting 1961 Ford Thunderbird got two major promotional boosts. First, 50 specially designed Thunderbirds were created for President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural parade. These cars were painted in white with blue convertible tops and a red, white, and blue interior and given special inauguration badging. This was not coincidental considering Ford executive Robert McNamara was to be Kennedy’s Secretary of Defense.
This ’61 Thunderbird
As we noted at the outset, we wanted to find the absolute best, most representative example we could of the third-generation Ford Thunderbird. This 1961 Thunderbird, in Raven Black with red interior, does the nameplate proud. Restored and upgraded, this Thunderbird is among the slickest, cleanest classic Fords you’ll see anywhere. It carries the factory-matching 390 V8 paired with the original three-speed automatic. It comes with power steering, power front disc brakes, upgraded A/C, and a replica Sports Roadster tonneau cover. The car rides on white wall tires wrapping a set of wire spoked wheels.
Priced at $59,900, this 1961 Ford Thunderbird is the epitome of personal luxury and a masterpiece of Mid-Century Modern design.
