The only Ford Thunderbird 'Italien' Show Car is up for auction at RM Sotheby's.
The example dates back to the early 1960s, when Henry Ford II also decided to focus on Italian style and try to buy Ferrari.
Despite Henry Ford II's failed courtship of Maranello and the subsequent launch of the GT40 program to chase the Italians at Le Mans, the Ford Thunderbird Italian Show was created in Dearborn, Michigan.
The car was 100% designed and handcrafted in the United States as a 'study' of what would be possible in view of an eventual agreement between the manufacturers.
The car was based on a new 1962 Thunderbird convertible and was subsequently shown to the public during a tour of major Ford dealerships across the country.
At the end of its promotional journey, the initial idea was to destroy the show car.
After an initial sale to a private individual, however, the television actor Dale Robertson, star of many other TV westerns of the time, decided to take it into the garage.
From that moment the car would then pass through the hands of some private owners, who decided to completely restore it in 2008, bringing the 'Italian' Thunderbird back to its original condition.
The car is now up for auction at RM Sotheby's in Coral Gables, Florida with an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000.
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