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Ford benchmarking a Corvette?


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The Thunderbird return will occur with an electric vehicle. An electric super coupe to compete with the Corvette?  I think the cars quote in the Ford line up are covered with the Mustang coupe and convertible and the special version of them.  The Thunderbird name could return as an EV crossover, maybe a coupe crossover. 

Edited by falconlover 1
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8 hours ago, falconlover 1 said:

The Thunderbird return will occur with an electric vehicle. An electric super coupe to compete with the Corvette?  I think the cars quote in the Ford line up are covered with the Mustang coupe and convertible and the special version of them.  The Thunderbird name could return as an EV crossover, maybe a coupe crossover. 

 

With super car geek Farley at the helm, I wouldn't be surprised. This is last year for Ford GT and Farley will probably push for something spectacular. Hard to find any C8 Corvette for under $100,000 and good knows what a ZR 1 will go for irrespective of sticker. 

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Random thought,
Now that Chevrolet has gone mid engine Corvette, maybe that opens up a slot for a new front engine Thunderbird,

I’m thinking maybe T’bird as a second top hat on Mustang’s soon to be upgraded S550 platform, lots of money and relatively  “easy” to do. Lots of potential for international sales too.

 

Edited by jpd80
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Not sure what is going on here or if Ford has interest in directly taking on the current Corvette, besides (loosely) the Shelbies and GT, but could the Mustang brand be expanded to something like the old Mustang Mach 2 concept?

 

I doubt it though.

Edited by Broncofan7
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On 6/27/2021 at 9:00 AM, Broncofan7 said:

Not sure what is going on here or if Ford has interest in directly taking on the current Corvette, besides (loosely) the Shelbies and GT, but could the Mustang brand be expanded to something like the old Mustang Mach 2 concept?

 

I doubt it though.

When you say Mach 2, as in Mustang II?     I'd be a sucker for a small sporty electric commuter.

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8 minutes ago, Brianstrange said:

When you say Mach 2, as in Mustang II?     I'd be a sucker for a small sporty electric commuter.

 

I actually mean a rejected Mustang (concept iirc) called Mach 2 from decades ago. Pretty interesting story around that one!

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When GM brags about a starting price of about $60,000, and you can't find a used C8 Corvette for under $100,000, that should get Ford's attention. There is a Mustang Roadster by Shelby. And Ford could do another Ford GT without expensive carbon fiber and more pedestrian so that it's not an all out track car. Maybe turbo hybrid for better fuel mileage, but plenty fast.

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33 minutes ago, FordBuyer said:

When GM brags about a starting price of about $60,000, and you can't find a used C8 Corvette for under $100,000, that should get Ford's attention. There is a Mustang Roadster by Shelby. And Ford could do another Ford GT without expensive carbon fiber and more pedestrian so that it's not an all out track car. Maybe turbo hybrid for better fuel mileage, but plenty fast.

 

Eh, at this point, they'd probably want to keep the GT name as that higher end more exclusive top halo model rather than something more "accessible" like Corvette.........I think they'd be better served using a different name if they wanted to more directly target Corvette.

 

1 hour ago, Brianstrange said:

When you say Mach 2, as in Mustang II?     I'd be a sucker for a small sporty electric commuter.

 

Mustang Rare: the 1967 Ford Mach 2 | Mac's Motor City Garage

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How about going back to the 1980s:

You had the Ford Cobra 230 ME concept car and the GN34 project, which at the time where related it seems

https://www.carstyling.ru/en/car/1986_ford_cobra_230_me/

 

Ford Cobra 230 ME Concept, 1986

https://www.topspeed.com/cars/everything-we-learned-about-the-mid-engined-ford-roush-gn34-this-week-ar190384.html

 

https://bangshift.com/general-news/car-features/stalled-experiment-ford-gn34-program/

A Stalled Experiment: The Ford GN34 Program

 

The odd thing at the time is the GN34 never seemed to pop up in car magazines of the time and the Cobra 230 ME was in Popular Mechanics all the time (I was in love with it as a teenager), saying it was getting the Yamaha 3.0L V6 aka 1st gen Taurus SHO motor, but other websites say it would have gotten a I4 rated for 230HP.

 

What was the end result of this? Nothing

What did we get instead? Something called a 4 door Bronco...the Explorer, which of course was a far better bet for Ford. 

 

 

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22 hours ago, NLPRacing said:

An all-electric Thunderbird that beats a Corvette on every measurable performance stat would be pretty cool. 

 

Or how about a hybrid/turbo sports car that will accelerate up to 60mph on electric power only and still sound wonderous under hard acceleration unlike full electric. Sports cars sales are so low, hybrid/turbo is better option. A 911 or Ferrari full electric is a huge turnoff to me. It's all about the Flat 6 and V8 sound and sales volume is too low to affect environment.

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GM has a propensity for over compensating with performance and handling and missing other features that would make those vehicles more livable in day to day driving. I know that’s sacrilege to the ears of performance oriented buyers but for many buyers, they want the whole package. The C8 had a few development issues and I’m sure that Ford will be looking at those and whether the package delivers the right balance I spoke of…….maybe there is an opportunity to do better and deliver a sports car that better suits the 2020s.

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On 6/27/2021 at 7:00 AM, jpd80 said:

...... maybe that opens up a slot for a new front engine Thunderbird,

I’m thinking maybe T’bird as a second top hat on Mustang’s soon to be upgraded S550 platform, lots of money and relatively  “easy” to do. Lots of potential for international sales too.

 

 

I've been asking for this for the past 10 years!   LOL  ?

 

-Ovaltine

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7 hours ago, Ovaltine said:

 

I've been asking for this for the past 10 years!   LOL  ?

 

-Ovaltine

Farley is different to the others, he might find a way to do something really neat that doesn’t break the bank.

Makes me wonder if he has a few options that we don’t know about.

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1 hour ago, The Handler said:

The Thunderbird was never a sports car. The first generation appears that way to some people, but it was more of a two-seat boulevard cruiser.

 

I mostly agree with you.  But the 2-seat, 1957 312 "E" code engine (two four barrel carbs) and 312 "F" code engine (supercharger) were much more than boulevard cruisers.

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