With its retro-design look and modern features, the 2001 Thunderbird should have been a blast from the past and revive the brand name, but it was a flop.
Ford launched the eleventh generation of the Thunderbird in 1999 as a 2001 model-year. It was based on the same platform as the Jaguar XF or the Lincoln LS. When it unveiled it, the whole market was enthusiastic, but that enthusiasm didn’t last long, and the T-Bird sunk with slow sales. Its production ended in 2005.

The design was inspired by the first-generation of the T-Bird. The retro-design style could have been seen on the front fascia, with its big and round headlights and the flat, chromed grille with square-grid mesh. With a sloped silhouette, which started taller on the front fenders and descended toward the rear, the convertible inspired the old-style design theme, but in a modern interpretation. The hardtop featured an oval window on the C-pillar, resembling older Thunderbirds.

For the interior, Ford tried for several years to find the materials which would suit best for the car. In the end, it put just the same thing as in most of its other vehicles. A good thing was the new look for the instrument cluster, which featured four semi-circular dials, with red needles on white faces. But those didn’t look too good next to the green LCD lettering placed on the bottom. Since the T-Bird was built as a personal luxury coupe, it featured two seats at the front and a bench in the back, all leather-wrapped.

Ford chose to fit one engine under the Thunderbird’s hood: a 3.9-liter V8 taken from Jaguar. It was paired to a standard 5-speed automatic transmission. Later on, in 2003, T-Bird received an updated version, which provided 284 hp.