IN THIS FEATURE Early days Popular personal luxury The Squarebird Projectile styling Growing again Ugly duckling Aerodynamic phase Temporary retirement New Thunderbird

The restyle for 1961 brought the space-age 'projectile' look - only the roofline design was retained. Huge round taillights were added into the giant tailfins, and the exterior gained ever more chrome accent lines and side strips. The engine was enlarged to 390 cubic inches (6390cc) and offered in 300bhp, 375bhp and 400bhp states of tune; Cruise-o-matic became standard, along with power steering and power-assisted brakes. A swing-away steering wheel to aid entry was optional - and purchased by nearly 77 percent of customers. As with the first Squarebird, the coupe outsold the convertible, by around six to one.

1963 Cougar concept with gullwing doors never made production

A two-seater T-bird made its return for 1962, though fewer than 1,900 were made, costing from $5,439. Described by Ford in retrospect as "a grand experiment", the roadster was really just a standard convertible with a glassfibre tonneau cover where the rear seats had been. The Landau coupe with vinyl-covered hard top made even less impact. However, improvements for 1964 included the option of more powerful V8s - up to 410bhp with the 427 cubic inch (7.0-litre) - and some sleeker styling touches, which led to a bumper year for sales in '64, with 92,000 T-birds finding homes despite the launch of both Ford's own Mustang and General Motors' new Thunderbird rival, the Buick Riviera. 1965 was less successful, though, with only 15,650 sold, despite a 425bhp engine; the convertible was dropped in '66.