Let’s face it, the 2.3 was a little thrashy. And with that lovely V8 burbling under the hood, you could cruise in comfort and style. With their soft cloth seats, wood grain and digital dash, they were much more like a Bill Blass Lincoln Mark VII than the BMW-inspired Turbo Coupe. While we’re on the subject of the LX, let’s look inside. Both offered more-traditionally T-Bird-style motivation, in the form of an optional 155-hp, 5.0-liter V8. Turbo Coupe amenities also included articulated sport seats with adjustable headrests, thigh supports and power-adjustable lumbar support, as well as full instrumentation with both a tachometer and (of course) boost gauge.įor 1988, the basic Thunderbird and the LX came equipped with a 3.8-liter V6. The 1987 Thunderbird managed to capture Motor Trend‘s Car of The Year Award. The attractive new look, interior refinements and increased power all added up to a nice, if not all-new, T-Bird.
The Turbo Coupe was also the fastest-stopping ‘Bird, thanks to its model-exclusive four-wheel disc brakes and aforementioned electronic ABS. Ouch! But in truth, an automatic wasn’t really in keeping with the car’s performance-minded intentions. Those who desired a boosted ‘Bird with an automatic had to settle for 150 hp. In the case of the Turbo Coupe, they included new anti-lock rear brakes and, for manual transmission-equipped cars, and a horsepower boost from 155 to 190. There were also a number of functional improvements to accompany the revised styling. The ’83-86 T-Bird was very successful for Ford, so it made sense to give it an extensive facelift, even with replacement models only two years away, to protect the franchise. Although their new look was not drastically different from that of the ’83-’86 models, their wheelbase grew a fraction of an inch, to 104.2″, and overall length increased a full 4.5 inches, to 202.1. Meantime, the Fox-based Bird and Cat needed updating, and in 1987 Ford saw that they got it. In 1986, Ford was hard at work on the MN-12 T-Bird and Cougar set to bow for 1989. I’ll wait while you check it out.Īll done? OK, then, back to the ’87s and ’88s. You CCers who just have to know can find Jason’s post on the ’86 Elan here. Well, Sean, your wish has been granted!Ī lot of words have been written about the 1983-86 Thunderbirds, so there’s not much need to rehash them now.
Commenter Sean Cornelis made the comment that he hoped one day one of these would appear on CC. While it elicited many positive comments, the one most repeated was that even though this version was nice, everyone would like to see a CC on the revised 1987-88 ‘Bird. Back in June, Jason Shafer shared with us a CC on the 1986 Thunderbird Elan.
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