The tenth generation of Ford's Thunderbird personal luxury coupe debuted as a 1989 model on the all-new MN12 platform, replacing the Fox platform that had underpinned the T-bird since 1980, through two whole previous generations of the car. Unlike the Fox platform, the MN12 had an independent rear suspension, making the new Thunderbird and Cougar the only rear-wheel-drive American cars on the market at the time to have an IRS other than the Corvette. (They'd soon be joined by the Viper.)
The 1994 model saw the Thunderbird get a mid-cycle styling refresh, just in time for the model's 40th anniversary the following year. The exterior became sleeker and the interior was completely revamped, featuring a modern wraparound cockpit for the driver. You could get it in LX or Super Coupe flavors, and the LX had a 3.8L OHV Essex V-6 with sequential electronic fuel injection making 140 SAE net horsepower as the base motor. An extra-cost option was the 4.6L SOHC Modular V-8 that was rated at 205 ponies. Both motors were backed by a four-speed automatic transmission.
The V-6 cars would knock out the dash to sixty in the low ten second range and the V-8 would shave a couple seconds off that time.
The Opal Frost Clearcoat Metallic LX coupe was photographed using a Nikon D3 and 85mm f/1.8D lens in September of 2023.
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