Did you know that the big guys down in Ford's SVT division had big plans in store for the "98" model thunderbird. John Vermeersch and his crew at Total Performance built four of these T-birds powered by Eaton-supercharged versions of Mustang Cobra's 4.6L DOHC, 32 valve V-8 in anticipation of the vehicle being accepted for production as an SVT offering. But the head-honcho powers that are at Ford not only put the kibosh on the SVT plan for the big coupe, they killed the Thurderbird itself altogether at the end of the '97 model year. Damn shame.

Beyond the obvious insertion of the blown Cobra Drivetrain(including the T45 5-speed transmission), the car also had Cobra brakes, Cobra R wheels, and a suspension tuned to work with the 17" tires. Of the four protypes constructed, three have already been crushed. This fourth car traveled along with Hot Rod magazines, mega-hyped power tour in May of '97 but will also soon find it's way into some lucky junk yards smelter.

All, however, is not lost. That blown DOHC 4.6 headed for production in upcoming the revival of SVT Lightening pick-upand a revised Cobra. Something to dream about.