A very special Ford Thunderbird “Italien” customized in the house for the 1963 Custom Car Caravan show will be sold at an auction on March 1. Ford had intended to destroy the car after several public showings, but an indifferent fan managed to persuade the company to sell it. It has since been fully restored and may sell for $400–600 grand.
The U.S. automaker commissioned this one-off prototype from Dearborn Steel Tubing, its long-standing partner at the time. The company took an old 1962 Thunderbird convertible and redesigned it using both components from later Thunderbird generations and custom-made parts.
The car ended up with more than 80 unique details, including a special, more smoothly flowing roof, a Ferrari-style radiator grille, and new wheel arches and fenders. The interior received a mild makeover and was draped in natural leather floor to ceiling.
Ford did not consider the Italien a concept car, arguing that it was never meant for mass production to begin with. The company’s official stance was that it simply wanted to demonstrate its respect for the customization and tuning scene of the era. After a number of shows and expos, Ford sent the car to the scrap press, but Dearborn Steel Tubing managed to stop it from being scrapped.
Having bought it out, the company conducted a full restoration in the early 2000s, and followed up with another refresh several years later. The seller claims it is one of a precious few well-preserved Ford’s ’60s-era show cars around.