That changed in 1961, with the arrival of Ford’s hi-po 390 FE, which despite being smaller was better suited to the demands of high speed racing. The significantly smaller but better-breathing 348 Chevy won the manufacturer’s title in 19, with Ford #2 both years.

With 350 rated hp and a big displacement advantage in a low (aerodynamically superior) body, they created some genuine thunder, despite the MEL engine’s less-than optimal cylinder head architecture. That including on the banked turns of NASCAR’s tracks. That was a lot of engine to stuff into its none-too big engine room, but with the biggest production engine in the land and its resulting torque, these would fly, back in the day. I’d like to think that these twin exhaust tubes are connected to an (optional) 430 MEL V8, and not the standard 352. Having gotten y childhood fears of these off my chest, I will admit a certain attraction to them, precisely because they are so…bizarre. It was much more angler fish than a bird of some kind. But this it looked like a deep sea monster that had somehow found itself on dry land, and looked even worse for it.

The ’61 Thunderbird and all those divine new ’61 GM cars they all looked like they were so airy, and looked like they could take flight any moment. I wouldn’t have used that word then, but I could tell it was already from a totally different era. But the exterior styling…what a disaster. I got that it was exclusive, and its interior was seductive. But there was one of these parked at the curb on my walk to school, and I struggled to understand it. The gorgeous new ’61 Bullet Bird had just come out, and it blew me away. These ’58-’60 T-Birds really did a number on seven or eight year-old me after we arrived in the states in the fall of 1960. The front end isn’t a whole lot more grounded in reality either, despite being mighty close to the ground. It looks like the front end of an AI creation, with six red headlights, just like some of the earlier ones we saw. Stare at this picture (click it for max size) and admit it: this just can’t be a real car. I’m quite impressed that the latest version of Midjourney AI can render a Mustang almost correctly, but what’s the point? I want to see…bizarre and other-worldly, like this 1960 Thunderbird.

Thunder birds real