Pick Of The Day: 2003 Ford Thunderbird

In the 2000s, retromodernism was a popular trend in the automotive industry. All of the “Big Three” had their own contemporary cars with designs inspired by classics: Chevrolet made the HHR and SSR, Chrysler produced the PT Cruiser, and Ford offered the S197 Mustang, GT supercar, and the vehicle that’s the subject of our Pick of the Day. This 2003 Ford Thunderbird is listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It comes with a body-color porthole hardtop with storage cart, tonneau cover, documentation, service records, and more. The video below shows exterior and interior tours, the power top being raised and lowered, and driving footage.

Making a modern car that looks like one from decades earlier is a big risk. There’s a good chance it can come across as a fake car in a movie, or just downright awkward and awful. Ford threaded a needle when it came to the 11th-generation (and final-generation) Thunderbird‘s styling. There’s no denying the visual influence of the ’55 T-bird on the later model’s grille, front lighting, hood scoop, fender vents, windshield frame, and even the “Thunderbird” script badging on the quarter panels. Somehow, Ford incorporated all those features into a car that gracefully balances the past and present.

It was also available with a removable hardtop with portholes, which was added to the original Thunderbird lineup after a few years.

All those visual cues are easy to see on this 2003 Thunderbird because it comes in the lighthearted and wonderfully retro color Desert Sky Blue. A set of 17-inch chrome wheels with newer tires brighten up the roads this bird flies down even more.

Even though the interior is two-tone black and white leather, it doesn’t compete with the bright exterior for intention or overwhelm the eyes with more color. However, there is metallic trim on the door panels and dashboard that draws your eye toward features that make the Thunderbird a pleasant cruiser: power windows and locks, power mirrors, and power tilt/telescope steering column. Bonuses include the heated and power-adjustable seats, stylish gauges, and updated Sony touchscreen head unit with Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, and SiriusXM radio.

Like its ’50s ancestor, this ’03 Thunderbird has a V-8, albeit a 3.9-liter unit with fuel injection, four-valve heads, and quad cams. Ford rated it for 280 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 286 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm. A five-speed automatic with a manual shift mode converted those numbers into forward flight.

Given its attractive design and focus on comfortable, top-down driving, you might expect this ’03 Thunderbird to have a lot of miles on it. Fortunately, the two families that owned this car restrained themselves and drove it a total of only 24,645 miles.

With fewer than 25,000 miles on its odometer, this 2003 Ford Thunderbird has lots of flying left to do. For $21,900, you can decide where it lands next.

Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com