Ford filed to trademark a “Thunderbird” name several months ago, and now it is benchmarking a Chevrolet C8 Corvette Stingray. Is there any connection between these events?
Ford often uses vehicles of other brands for benchmarking purposes. Recent spy shots of the Ram TRX, Jeep Gladiator, Tesla Model 3, BMW X7, Audi e-tron near the company’s Dearborn premises point it out.
Ford Authority has lately spotted a C8 Corvette Stingray in Torch Red color and with the Z51 Package on Oakwood Blvd where many Ford Motor Company facilities reside. The vehicle was entering one of the facilities, meaning it belongs to the Blue Oval.
Naturally, the question arose, “Why does Ford need the Corvette?”
At present, the company has no direct rival to Chevy’s performance coupe. The closest models are the Mustang Shelby GT500 or the Mustang Mach 1.
Like it case with the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E, Ford assumedly plans an all-new model, most likely an EV, under the old moniker. And it needs a C8 Corvette to benchmark the performance of its new product.
Back in January, the Blue Oval filed a trademark application for the “Thunderbird” name: a good nameplate for the electric car, isn’t it?
We recall, that the carmaker built the Ford Thunderbird as a coupe, cabriolet, sedan for a long time – from the mid-50es to the 2005 model year, and this car has 11 generations.
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