Technical highlights:

       Powering the Turbo Coupe is a born-again version of Ford's 2.3-liter overhead cam turbo motor. This new version is fully up-to-date, with port fuel injection, a knock sensor, and the EEC-IV engine control system replacing the 1979 motor's carburetor and rudimentary ignition system. This modern hardware provides the precise control of air-fuel ratio and ignition timing that is so critical to a turbo motor's performance and durability. Along with the fuel injection has come a tuned intake manifold (with 20.6 inch long runners), which Ford engineers have used to fatten the torque curve in the low RPM range, where turbo boost is minimal. The final major change is a reduction in compression ratio from 9.3 to 8.0:1, which allows an increase in peak boost from 6 to 10 PSI. The results are 145-hp @ 4600 RPM and 180 lb-ft of torque @ 3600 RPM, improvements of approximately 15 horsepower and 35 pounds-feet over the earlier effort.

       In Thunderbirds without the additional shocks, body roll during the entrance to a corner interacts with the geometry of the four trailing links to cause the rear tires to steer slightly toward the inside of the corner. This is called roll understeer. Unfortunately, as the cornering forces build, the various trailing link bushings deform, which causes the tires to shift the other way and point toward the outside of the corner. This is compliance oversteer. Neither of these conditions is inherently bad, but the shift from one to the other hurts the car's transient handling characteristics.

       The two horizontal shock absorbers (which are gas-filled and about three times stiffer than the regular rear shocks) restrict the axle's motion, minimizing roll understeer and allowing a smooth transition to the final state of compliance oversteer. They thus smooth out the Turbo Coupe's handling and help the Fox chassis live up to the promise of its swoopy new body.

-----Csaba Csere