The Thunderbolt was built with the aim of dominating acceleration races: to achieve this, Ford's engineers used a lightweight body and a very powerful engine, the Galaxie's 427ci. In total, about a hundred cars were built, often white. It was the Fairlane that served as the basis, but the engineers had to modify it enough to accommodate the V8 engine. The power officially announced by Ford for the Thunderbird was 425 horsepower but in reality it far exceeded 500.