Its sleek, low-slung appearance looks good to this day.
The 10th generation T-Bird really dragged the model out of the '80s and into the '90s. Ford weren't afraid to spend a few dollars making the Thunderbird Super Coupe as good as it could be. Unlike many similar cars at the time, particularly stateside, it came with adjustable shock absorbers, fully independent rear suspension and anti-lock disc brakes on all four corners. That's some pretty stiff competition! But, Ford were confident in the new Thunderbird SC. In its sights were the latest batch of European luxury cars. Shifting yourself was allowed only on the Super Coupe from 1989 to 1995.Ford built the Thunderbird Super Coupe on their newly-developed MN12 platform. Transmissions were mostly automatic and included two versions of the four-speed AOD and a five-speed manual from Mazda. Later, the 4.9-liter Windsor V8 was available (’91-’93), as well as the 4.6-liter Modular V8 (’94-’97). Less overhang, more performance.įour different engines were on offer depending on the year, and at base was a 3.8-liter Essex V6 in naturally aspirated and supercharged variants (for the Super Coupe). The new MN12 cars were sleeker and more rounded than the Aero Bird, and though they were shorter overall, had a nine-inch growth in wheelbase over the outgoing model. He’d designed the ninth generation T-bird and Cougar as well. Ford aimed high and wanted the edge in handling and performance over the front-drive offerings from GM.įor the new cars’ design, Ford relied once more on the VP of design at Ford from 1980 to 1997, Jack Telnack.
They were the only domestic rear-drive cars with that feature outside the Corvette. To that end, the MN12 coupes (and later the FN Lincoln Mark VIII) were given an independent rear suspension amongst their other technical upgrades. Ford started development of the new platform in 1984, when it made an internal declaration that the next Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar be sophisticated enough to compete with European marques like BMW. An all-new 10th-generation debuted for the model year 1989, on the exciting new MN12 platform. But by the late Eighties, the ninth-gen was looking a little aged, and Ford saw it was time to step away from the Fox platform with regards to personal luxury.
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