Ford Thunderbird (eleventh generation) Ford Thunderbird (eleventh generation) The eleventh generation of the Ford Thunderbird is a personal luxury car that was produced by Ford for the 2002 to 2005 model years. It was based on the Ford DEW platform. Although it was initially well received by the automotive press, garnering accolades such as the "Motor Trend" Car of the Year and a nomination for the North American Car of the Year in its first year of existence, many publications regarded the Thunderbird's revival rather more frostily after a few years; it garnered a place on "Car and Driver" magazine's 2009 list of "The
Ford Thunderbird previous Thunderbird, the new Thunderbird featured a radically sleeker, more aerodynamic body and a slightly shorter wheelbase of . To power the new Thunderbird, the 3.8 L Essex V6 and 5.0L (302 cid) V8 were carried over from the previous generation with the V8 engine gaining CFI electronic fuel injection in 1983, and the V6 in 1984 for US models, 1985 for Canadian models (which was in turn replaced by multipoint fuel injection on the V8 in 1986 and the V6 in 1988). All-new, and a Thunderbird first, was a turbocharged 2.3 L OHC 4-cylinder engine featured in the 1983