That's from an old article. I found it on archive.org with little effort.
Storm Warning
A brand new Ford Thunderbird with even more thunder!
By Harvey Schwartz
In the US, the 2002 Ford Thunderbird has been one of the most anticipated cars of the new millennium. Taken out of production after the 1996 model year, the all-new version of one of America's most fabled automotive icons is back and better than ever. The factory production model has stylish retro/modern looks, is powered by a potent 3.9 litre, all-aluminium, DOHC V8 engine making 252hp and 261 ft-lb of torque. The power is transferred to the rear wheels through a 5-speed automatic transmission that features an auto/manual mode. Just push up or down to change gears.
The new T-Bird is also pretty fast - just 7.0 seconds to 60 mph, the ¼ mile in 15.2 sec at 92.3 mph and a top speed of 155 mph.
In fact the fun-to-drive and fun-to-be-seen-in T-Bird is so well designed and engineered that it has been named winner of
Motor Trend magazine's '2002 Car of the Year'. Only 25,000 2002 Ford Thunderbirds will be manufactured this year.
Three months ago Special Vehicle Concepts of Newport Beach, California received delivery of an all-new 2002 Ford Thunderbird and set out to build the first SSE Ford Thunderbird. These very special Thunderbirds are for sale at a limited number of Ford dealerships in Southern California.
The styling was enhanced to a higher level when SVC decided to work with the designers at C-TEK to fabricate a new body kit. C-TEK Corporation is one of the premier concept car fabricators and works with all the major auto manufacturers.
The retro 5-piece aerodynamic body-kit includes a hard
tonneau cover with headrest nacelles and aluminium accents. The deeper lower rocker panels feature polished aluminum inserts. This bolder look gives the SVC T-Bird better management of the air passing over the 64-degree rake of the windshield. The exterior looks are further refined by SVC with the addition of smoked tail lamps, a billet aluminum grille, and dual 3-inch round
chrome exhaust tips.
The already comfortable, supportive and ergonomic interior has been upgraded by SVC with the addition of carbon fiber trim on the center stack and gear-shifter gate. A pair of thick custom carpeted
floor mats with the SVC logo relaxes your feet. Titanium tint on the side windows adds to your privacy with the soft-top or factory optional
hardtop in place. The C-TEK designed hard
tonneau cover uses a simple clip-on-off system so you can easily store it during winter or when the weather is wet.
The next task for SVC was to tweak the 3.9-litre DOHC V8 engine to make it more powerful for quicker acceleration times, and to rework the independent suspension to make the T-Bird handle better and be even more responsive on the road.
SVC engineers chose to go with the proven Eaton M90 GEN IV
compressor pumping up to 9 psi of boost. For better air intake, a
K&N; Super
Air Filter system was installed. Next a
Borla Hi-Flow stainless steel dual exhaust system was fitted to more efficiently exit the hot gases from the more powerful V8. Power is increased to a whopping 350hp and 340 ft-lb of torque. The engine management program is upgraded and matched to the increase in power/torque by a SVC-designed computer chip. The additional 100hp is no problem for the factory-installed, 5-speed automatic that can handle up to 450hp.
The T-Bird's fabulous handling and ride comfort was upgraded by adding Eibach
lowering springs that are custom made for SVC. With a 1-inch lower centre of gravity, better handling is exhibited on twisting and curving roads. The factory-installed, aluminum unequal-length
control arms, big gas-charged
shocks, and
stabilizer bars front and rear are left as is and only enhance the incredible ride.
The brakes get an upgrade to safely and quickly slow you down from speed. All four of the 12-inch rotors are drilled for better heat dissipation. SVC-designed High-Performance brake pads replace factory pads, and each wheel features a red epoxy-coated, twin-piston caliper.
This purpose-built roadster comes with one of the stiffest platform/chassis in the industry. When you have no roof to add stiffness, and a lot of power and performance, a new geometry of cross braces must be designed into the platform and chassis. Ford does an admiral job of stiffening up the same chassis as the Jaguar S-Type sedan (but shortened 7 inches).
When you add the drop-dead gorgeous 19 x 8.5 Moda R6 aluminum alloy wheels wrapped around by big and tacky P255/40.
Toyo Proxes, the sky is the limit for this Thunderbird. These very special, limited edition Thunderbirds by SVC will get noticed wherever you are seen and when on the straightaway you can now blast to 60 mph in only 5.5 sec.
The turnaround time to transform the factory Thunderbird into a Cameron SSE T-Bird takes just two weeks and SVC tells me that they are already taking orders from dealers. The price for the upgrade that I tested was US$20,750. Add to that the sticker price from the factory of around US$35,000 for a fully loaded T-Bird, and we are looking at US$55,750 total. That is steep - but no problem for the many well-heeled rich...
I guess that is why Southern California leads the world in registrations of premium luxury/performance sedans, coupes and sports cars. The SVC T-Bird only adds to the mix of outstanding sheet metal seen on the roads here every day.
