Ford Taunus P1 for any Ford vehicle, having been patent-protected by a German bicycle manufacturer. Therefore by the time Ford’s radical new car came to market it arrived under the name “Ford Taunus 12M”. The “12” in the name referred to the engine size of 1.2 litres and the “M” was the only part of the “Meisterstück” name available to Ford. During development it was intended that the car would be powered by a 1,498 cc engine. This was in many respects the engine that had originally been intended for the previous Ford Taunus first produced in 1939, but now it was to
Ford Thunderbird Sunset Strip. A vinyl-roofed Landau option with simulated S-bars was added to the Thunderbird for 1962 as was a "Sports Roadster" package for convertible models. The Sports Roadster included 48-spoke Kelsey-Hayes designed wire wheels and a special fiberglass tonneau cover for the rear seats which gave the car the appearance of a two-seat roadster like the original Thunderbird. The Sports Roadster package was slow-selling due the high price of the package and complexity of the tonneau cover, resulting in few Thunderbirds being equipped with it. Newly optional for 1962 was an upgraded version of the V8 called the "M-Code" (a