When Chevrolet launched its two-seater Corvette in 1953, it caught Ford slightly flat-footed. Dearborn was rocked back on its heels briefly before counterpunching with the Thunderbird for 1955.
At the time, neither car was a blood-in-the-eye sportster. The original 'Vette was powered by a moderately sportified version of Chevy's Stovebolt inline six, and Ford's riposte was a body-on-frame grand tourer riding on a chopped 102" wheelbase platform that owed much to the regular FoMoCo sedans of the era.
Of the original first generation T-birds, the '57 was the most numerous. The launch of the second generation 1958 models was delayed and so the 1957 models remained in production for an extra three months, until December '57, with a total of 21,380 units sold.
First was the Thunderbird 312 Special V-8, with a four-barrel carb and a 9.7:1 compression ratio, making 245 horsepower, and at the top of the pyramid was the Thunderbird 312 Super V-8, which added a second four-barrel and bumped the output to 270 ponies.
Weight distribution was aided by the engine being largely set back abaft the front axle.
The 292 cube motor could only be had with the 3-speed manual, while the bigger V-8s could also be equipped with the Fordmatic slushbox.
The Torch Red car in the photos has the 3-speed manual with optional overdrive.
Motor Trend tested a '57 with the 245-horse Thunderbird Special V-8 and the Fordmatic gearbox and recorded a zero-to-sixty time of 11.1 seconds. The quarter mile took 18.2 seconds with a trap speed of 77 miles per hour. Braking from sixty took 160 feet with the 11" drum brakes at each corner.
The top photo in this post was taken in August of 2021 using a Nikon D2X and 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 VR zoom lens. The second one was snapped with an Olympus OM-D E-M1X and an M. Zuiko Digital 12-200mm f/3.5-6.3 zoom lens in October of 2024, while the bottom two were taken in May of 2023 using a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV and an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS zoom lens.
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