SVE Thunderbird

[Little Ice-Cable]

I have been on a SVE Thunderbird kick recently, specifically this one:
I love this car, but there isn't much information on it so I was wondering if anyone knew anything on any of the SVE/SVT Thunderbirds.

 

[White Lincoln]

Hmmmm.... interesting.

That car reminds me of the T-Bird that was modifed with a Xenon body kit:

 

[theterminator93]

 

[Little Ice-Cable]

Hmmmm.... interesting.

That car reminds me of the T-Bird that was modifed with a Xenon body kit

I am pretty positive the sve is a 95 with 96/97 cladding, to me that does not make much since but to each there own.

 

[Ericv8thunderbird]

 

[XR7-4.6]

I am pretty positive the sve is a 95 with 96/97 cladding, to me that does not make much since but to each there own.

That car was in essence an engineering test mule(which is why it’s referred to as SVE rather than SVT), it never got any farther to a pre-production stage where aesthetics were finalized except maybe the bumper treatment which is fairly consistent, so it’s a little hodgepodge and not to be taken with much seriousness as to how the actual SVT might have looked

 

[Little Ice-Cable]

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That one has a supercharger hence the cowl hood, but the one in that article was meant for NASCAR so it is naturally aspirated.

That car was in essence an engineering test mule(which is why it’s referred to as SVE rather than SVT), it never got any farther to a pre-production stage where aesthetics were finalized except maybe the bumper treatment which is fairly consistent, so it’s a little hodgepodge and not to be taken with much seriousness as to how the actual SVT might have looked

That makes sense because there are so many holes in the idea of this car.

 

[XR7-4.6]

That one has a supercharger hence the cowl hood, but the one in that article was meant for NASCAR so it is naturally aspirated.

That makes sense because there are so many holes in the idea of this car.

I don’t think the hood was there when it was in its engineering phases, John Coletti added the supercharger AFTER the program was cancelled and I presume the cowl hood arrived with the blower.

What I always wondered about this stage of car is if it was repurposed as a mule for what would become the 03 Cobra powertrain, or the Roush Mustangs - there are lots of similarities.

 

[dDUBb]

That M90 equipped DOHC engine was a Roush prototype assembly. It wasn't really added to the engine - the entire engine was swapped in.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

 

[Little Ice-Cable]

I've seen that video, but from what I can tell it doesn't have the white faced gauge clusters which from what I have heard was a prominent part of the car.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I've seen that video, but from what I can tell it doesn't have the white faced gauge clusters which from what I have heard was a prominent part of the car.

Other than what we’ve posted I haven’t seen anything else on the SVE Thunderbird.

Now, this MN12 based car OTOH, lives just up the road from me at the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame in Mooresville, NC. I’d love to copy over to my car much of what has been done to this car. There’s a video on it somewhere but I haven’t found it yet.

 

[Little Ice-Cable]

Other than what we’ve posted I haven’t seen anything else on the SVE Thunderbird.

There isn't much else on it, there is some stuff if you really deep dive you can find people who have "seen it" in various different places, but there isn't anyway to know for sure.

 

[dDUBb]

There isn't much else on it, there is some stuff if you really deep dive you can find people who have "seen it" in various different places, but there isn't anyway to know for sure.

I talked to somebody who serviced the SVE test vehicles - quite simply, they were ordinary 95s with the NA DOHC engine / 5 speed and Eibach springs .. nothing more.

 

[Little Ice-Cable]

I talked to somebody who serviced the SVE test vehicles - quite simply, they were ordinary 95s with the NA DOHC engine / 5 speed and Eibach springs .. nothing more.

I have never seen one with a 95 front end, unless the other 3 prototypes were all normal 95s

 

[dDUBb]

I have never seen one with a 95 front end, unless the other 3 prototypes were all normal 95s

I can't recall the specifics .. that was what John Vermeersh of Total Performance told me in 2006.

 

[supergordo]

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I actually worked for a guy in Michigan who was friends with John Vermeersch. I had dinner with him a few times over the years. I went to his shop many times. I stopped working for my old boss before he built this car. I've often thought about calling him every time I see this article.

 

[XR7-4.6]

I have never seen one with a 95 front end, unless the other 3 prototypes were all normal 95s

I don’t believe any photographic record exists of these Tbirds beyond the red one, definitely none that have been distributed among us over the years. The red one is clearly a 95 however(headlights, rear bumper and door handles), the only 96-97 on it is the custom front bumper cover and side cladding. I don’t know if that stuff too got swapped on later but it’s possible

In terms of the specs pre-blower that’s what I’ve heard through many sources as well, it was basically a 96 Cobra powertrain in a Tbird.

 

[dDUBb]

anything on any of the SVE/SVT Thunderbirds.

Related to the lore ..

In 1995, a prototype 1996 Super Coupe was developed in house; this featured a 4.6 SOHC with a M90 supercharger. The project was declined in favor of the SVE / DOHC variant and the supercharger kit became the FRPP kit for Mustangs.