The 1987 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe

Ford Motor Company, like the Chrysler Corporation was hit hard by the recession in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Yet Ford, without the government assistance that Chrysler had, turned itself around by reinventing many of the products that it made. The 9th generation Ford Thunderbird, introduced in 1983, symbolized this renaissance. Download high resolution version (816x616, 119 KB)Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe 1987 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (816x616, 119 KB)Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe 1987 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... saweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet The Ford Motor Company (often referred to simply as Ford; sometimes nicknamed Fords or FoMoCo, (NYSE: F) is an automobile maker founded by Henry Ford in Detroit, Michigan, and incorporated on June 16, 1903. ... The Chrysler Corporation is a United States-based automobile manufacturer, which merged in 1998 with Daimler-Benz to become DaimlerChrysler. ... This article provides extensive lists of events and significant personalities of the 1970s. ... Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... Wikimedia Commons has more media related to: Ford Thunderbird The Ford Thunderbird is a car manufactured in the USA by the Ford Motor Company. ... 1983 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The 1983 Ford Thunderbird was built on the same "Fox platform" as many other Ford products including the 1980-82 Thunderbird and the Ford Mustang. Unlike the previous generation T-Bird, the new-for-1983 model was redesigned with a more aerodynamic look. The drag coefficient of this body style was a mere 0.35 (the lower the number the less the wind resistance). The 1983 T-Bird came in base, Heritage, and Turbo Coupe models. Both the base and the Heritage came with either a 3.8 L (232 in³) Essex V6 that produced 110 horsepower (82 kW) mated to a 3 speed automatic. A new 5.0 L (302 in³) Windsor V8 with 140 horsepower (104 kW) was available with the former two models as well. The Turbo Coupe, the top-of-the-line model was special for several reasons. Not only was it the first Thunderbird with a 4-cylinder engine, it was also the first Thunderbird with a turbocharged engine. It used a 2.3 L (140 in³) turbocharged 4-cylinder engine with Ford's EEC-IV or Electronic Engine Control - Fourth Generation. Unlike the other models, the Turbo Coupe came with a standard 5-speed manual transmission (yet another first!). Other improvements included a limited-slip differential (called "Traction-Lok") larger tires and wheels, and a sportier interior complete with analog gauges. 1983 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Ford Fox platform was a rear wheel drive, unibody automobile architecture that Ford used for over 25 years in the North American market. ... Wikimedia Commons has more media related to: Ford Thunderbird The Ford Thunderbird is a car manufactured in the USA by the Ford Motor Company. ... The Ford Mustang is a popular sports car. ... Wikimedia Commons has more media related to: Ford Thunderbird The Ford Thunderbird is a car manufactured in the USA by the Ford Motor Company. ... Aerodynamics is a branch of fluid dynamics concerned with the study of gas flows, first analysed by George Cayley in the 1800s. ... The drag coefficient (Cd or Cx) is a number that describes a characteristic amount of aerodynamic drag caused by fluid flow, used in the drag equation. ... See also Ford Essex V6 engine (UK) The Canadian Essex (90 Degree V) engine was a V6 engine family built by Ford Motor Company in Windsor, Ontario. ... The Ford Essex V6 engine A V6 is an internal combustion piston engine with six cylinders in a V configuration. ... The horsepower (hp) is the name of several non-metric units of power. ... An automatic transmission is an automobile gearbox that can change gear ratios automatically as the car or truck moves, thus freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually. ... The Windsor engine is a 90-degree small-block V8 from Ford Motor Company. ... The Liberty V8 aircraft engine clearly shows the configuration :See also V8 (beverage) A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders. ... The Ford Pinto engine is the unofficial but ubiquitous nickname for a 4 cylinder internal combustion engine built by the Ford Motor Company in Europe. ... Cover of Speed Mechanics magazine, showing cutaway of typical automobile manual transmission. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... An analog or analogue signal is any continuously variable signal. ...

For 1984, the Thunderbird few changes were made. The Turbo Coupe gained a 3-speed automatic transmission as an option. 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

By 1985, the Turbo Coupe gained power to 155 horsepower (116 kW), but not much else changed for the Thunderbird. A 30th Anniversary Edition model was offered, but was based on the Elan model and most models came with the V8. 1985 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

By 1986, Ford was already hard at work on the so-called "MN12" project. Supposed to compete against the BMW 6-series, Ford believed that the new Thunderbird would be too big a change for the public and still wanted to capitalize on the success that the "AeroBird" brought. So for 1987, Ford redesigned the Thunderbird and made a good car even better. Larger glass areas and flush headlights furthur reduced aerodynamic drag. Replacing the Elan were new LX and Sport models. The latter came with the V8 while the LX came with the V6. The much-improved Turbo Coupe earned the honor of being the Motor Trend Car of the Year for 1987. For starters, the 2.3 L turbo-4 now included the air-to-air intercooler that was found in the Ford Mustang SVO and boosted power up to 190 horsepower (142 kW) for the 5-speed manual transmission. New for the Turbo Coupe was a 4-speed automatic rated at 150 horsepower (112 kW). The automatic had detuned turbo boost of 9.5 lbf/in² (65.5 kPa or 0.655 bar) instead of 10 to 15 lbf/in² (70 to 100 kPa or 0.69 to 1.03 bar). Ford's rationale for that was "transmission durability". Otherwise, the Turbo Coupe also came with anti-lock 4-wheel disc brakes, Automatic Ride Control, and 16-inch 225/60VR performance tires. Automatic climate control was also an available option. 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The MN12 was a Mid-size North America Project #12, a car platform formerly used by the Ford Motor Company from 1989 to 1997 for the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar. ... The BMW logo is a circle (known as a roundel) divided into quadrants of alternating white and light blue color. ... 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Motor Trend is one of the oldest automotive magazines still publishing. ... Car of the Year is a phrase usually considered to have been invented by Motor Trend magazine in the 1950s for their annual award for best automobile. ... 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In 1981, Ford formed the Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) to design and develop performance parts and accesories closely related to Fords racing programs. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

1988, the final year for the Turbo Coupe, saw only a minor change. The 5-speed manual transmission now allowed the full 15 lbf/in² of boost in all forward gears (as opposed to the first two gears). Alas, the Turbo Coupe was replaced in 1989 by the Super Coupe which had a 3.8 L supercharged V6 engine—a radical departure from the old turbo-4. Though the Turbo Coupe only lasted 6 years, it remains a good buy with its high-tech electronic features and high-performance turbocharged engine. 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...