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Thunderbirds are go: we select our favourite big-screen birds

19 January, 2016

Over the years, Thunderbirds have appeared in dozens of movies and TV series — and here are a few of our favourite big-screen Birds

American Graffiti

In American Graffiti (1973), although the white ‘baby’ Bird only makes a brief appearance, driven by Suzanne Somers, the car (and the girl) provide the impetus for all that happens to the movie’s main character, as portrayed by Richard Dreyfus.

Patrick Swayze may have wowed the girls with his Dirty Dancing (1987), but the boys were probably more interested in Jennifer Grey — and the bright-red ’56 T-bird that appeared in the first part of the film. 

T-Bird Gang

If the actors were the stars in the two films noted above, then the cars were most definitely the stars in the 1959 movie T-Bird Gang — a low-budget black-and-white thriller that involves murder and gang of juvenile delinquents. However, the only reason to watch this film would be to see the featured ’56 Thunderbird.

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark

Pneumatic horror host, Elvira, ended up driving a ’58 Thunderbird convertible in her movie, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (1988). Appropriately, her car was ‘tastefully’ customized by George Barris to include a spiderweb front grille plus skull-and-crossbone wheel inserts.
Disney got around to featuring a Thunderbird in its 1961 film The Parent Trap, with one of the main characters driving around in a light-blue 1960 model, while fans of Perry Mason will probably remember Paul Drake’s black 1960 convertible.

Thelma & Louise

Less seriously, there was the flying 1963 convertible in the Robin Williams comedy, Flubber, although the best ‘flying’ Thunderbird has to be the 1966 convertible that came to a sticky end in Thelma & Louise. Then there was the ’64 convertible that played a small role in the 1964 Bond blockbuster, Goldfinger. 

Die Another Day

Interestingly, Thunderbirds appeared a few more times in 007 films — next in 1965’s Thunderball, as driven by the villainous Spectre No. 2, Emilio Largo, and then again in 1971 for Diamonds Are Forever. Finally, the all-new Thunderbird, as resurrected in 2002, appeared in Die Another Day driven by Halle Berry.

We couldn’t find any motor sport–type films involving the Thunderbird, although if you check out the 1969 Paul Newman racing title, Winning, you’ll get to see a Thunderbird cutting a lap at the brickyard.

TV series which feature cameo appearances from a Thunderbird include The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, 77 Sunset Strip, The Rockford Files, Crime Story, The Twilight Zone, The Fugitive, Bewitched, CHiPS, Hawaii Five-O, and Charlie’s Angels, amongst many others.

This article was originally published in New Zealand Classic Car Issue No. 290. You can pick up a print copy or a digital copy of the magazine below:


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The Great River Road

4 July, 2025

A few years ago my family, knowing my fondness for driving, gave me the book Unforgettable Road Trips: Thirty-Six Drives of a Lifetime by Martin Derrick. Most of the road trips listed take less than a day in places like Scotland, Monaco, and Australia, plus one in New Zealand. Most of these places were too far to go just for a short drive but four of them would take several days. My interest was piqued, and those four drives were added to the bucket list. To date, I have done three of them: ‘Route 66’ (USA 21 days), ‘State Highway 6’ (NZ 10 days) and ‘The Great River Road’ (USA 22 days). You can drive all of them in less time, but you could also fly over them. We wanted a decent immersion in their charms.
The great river referred to is the Mississippi. While the name conjures the deep south, the river actually starts at the bottom of the great lakes, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico about 3800km later. The great road is more of a concept than a specific strip of tarmac, as you can drive down either side of the river on various routes. Regardless of which side you drive, time should be kept aside for detours to places such as Nashville, which is famous for something or other.

A diamond in the rough

24 June, 2025

Two years ago, Lew finished a thorough restoration and the impressive ute has taken on a new life and colour. Lew plays down the amount of effort required but, despite his protestations, I suspect he put a lot of time into the project. A few unwanted tenants were evicted along the way.
“It didn’t take me long. There had been mice living in the firewall, which had caused a bit of damage. It apparently broke down and was pushed into a shed. It was 20 years to the day when I pulled it out and it sat in my other shed for 3 years before I started on it. That’s why it’s in such good order — it’s been kept in a shed for so long and still is.”