The Thunderbird was 1961’s Indianapolis 500 pace car, and featured prominently in US President John F.
A new, larger 390 cu in (6.4 L) FE-series V8 was the only engine available (in 1961). Sales were strong, if not quite up to record-breaking 1960, at 73,051 including 10,516 convertibles. It featured new and much sleeker styling than the second generation models.
The third generation of the Ford Thunderbird is a large personal luxury car that was produced by Ford for the 1961 to 1963 model years.
