Ford Thunderbird (ninth generation)

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Ford Thunderbird Ninth generation
1984 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe
Overview
Manufacturer	Ford Motor Company
Production	1982–1988
Model years	1983–1988
Assembly	United States: Lorain, Ohio Hapeville, Georgia
Designer	Dave Royer under Jack Telnack
Body and chassis
Class	Personal luxury car
Body style	2-door coupe
Layout	Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Platform	Ford Fox
Related	Mercury Cougar Lincoln Mark VII
Powertrain
Engine	2.3 L Lima turbo I4 3.8 L Essex V6 5.0 L Windsor V8
Transmission	3-speed Ford C3 automatic 4-speed A4LD automatic 3-speed Ford C5 automatic 4-speed Ford AOD automatic 5-speed Borg-Warner T-5 manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	104.2 in (2,647 mm) [1]
Length	1983–1986: 197.6 in (5,019 mm) [1] 1987–1988: 202.1 in (5,133 mm)
Width	71.1 in (1,806 mm)[1]
Height	1983–1986: 53.2 in (1,351 mm)[1] 1987–1988: 53.4 in (1,356 mm)
Chronology
Predecessor	Ford Thunderbird (eighth generation)
Successor	Ford Thunderbird (tenth generation)

The ninth generation of the Ford Thunderbird is a personal luxury coupe that was manufactured and marketed by Ford for the 1983 to 1988 model years. In response to the sales downturn of the 1980–1982 Thunderbird, the model line underwent one of its most substantial redesigns for the 1983 model year. While the Thunderbird remained as a personal luxury coupe (to minimize overlap with the Ford Mustang), Ford transitioned its role, emphasizing performance and handling over outright luxury and comfort content. As a design leader for Ford, the ninth-generation Thunderbird marked the introduction of highly aerodynamic body design for Ford vehicles in North America (reducing its drag coefficient from 0.50 to 0.35), followed by the 1984 Ford Mustang SVO and Ford Tempo and the 1986 Ford Aerostar and Ford Taurus.

Sharing the Ford Fox platform with the previous generation, the 1983 Thunderbird adopted a shortened 104.2-inch (2,647 mm) wheelbase. Sharing a chassis with the Mercury Cougar (replacing the previous Cougar XR7, offered solely as a coupe), the Thunderbird was also a counterpart of the Continental/Lincoln Mark VII (1984-1992). The 4.9L V8 (marketed as a 5.0L by Ford) made its return in 1983, alongside the debut of the first and only four-cylinder Thunderbird. Featuring a variant of the Mustang SVO drivetrain, the 2.3-liter Thunderbird Turbo Coupe was designed as the high-performance flagship of the model line for the entire generation.

As with its predecessor, the ninth-generation Ford Thunderbird was produced in Atlanta Assembly and Lorain Assembly (in Hapeville, Georgia, and Lorain, Ohio, respectively). For the 1989 model year, this generation was replaced by the tenth-generation Ford Thunderbird, as the model line shifted from the Fox platform to the MN12 platform.