Special edition vehicles don’t seem to be such a big thing anymore, but vehicles in the 1960s and 70s had a ton of them. Even into the 1980s and 90s, there were special editions with special badges, colors, graphics, and other special features to draw in buyers. This 1984 Ford Thunderbird Fila Edition can be found here on eBay in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and the seller has a buy-it-now price of $9,995 listed, and the current bid price is $1,111,11, but the reserve hasn’t been met.
Fila (“Fee-la”) is one reason this Thunderbird is mostly white, as the company was known for its tennis clothing. Fila is now a South Korean company, but it started in Italy in the first part of the 20th Century, and evolved into sportswear in the 1970s and beyond. Bjorn Borg (remember that name?) was its first big-name player to endorse the company’s tennis garb. I never would have thought of sponsoring a personal luxury car based on that, but the 1970s were filled with designer-name special edition vehicles. Believe it or not, this paint isn’t “white,” it’s called Pastel Charcoal, and it’s reportedly a bit darker than white.
The ninth-generation Thunderbird was made from 1982 for the 1983 model year until the end of 1988, and we’ve seen three examples of the Fila, or FILA, Thunderbird here over the last few years. The seller says this one is somewhat famous, having been bought at one time by a famous YouTube channel guy, EuroAsian Bob, and was shown in two YouTube videos back in 2021, here and here. Hmmm… that last video seems to show this car in the same location as the current photos. I’m confused about the timeline, but the seller can help with that, I’m sure. The blue and red pinstripes are said to relate to Fila’s colors.
There is at least one rust spot on the car that the seller shows, and we don’t see any underside photos. For a car from Iowa that went to Kansas and is now in Wisconsin, I’d sure want to see underneath. The seller says it was never driven in the winter, so that’s a good thing. It sure looks great overall, though. The white leather seats have an embossed F on them, for Fila, of course, and there are a few wrinkles, but they look nice. The back seat looks like new, as does the trunk compartment. Page 8 of this 1984 Ford Thunderbird brochure shows the Fila edition. Hagerty is at $10,100 for a #2 excellent example of a non-Fila T-Bird.
The engine shows a bit of surface rust on some of the fasteners and other metal parts, but it could be detailed to look like new, I’m sure. This is Ford’s 302-cu.in. OHV V8 with 140 horsepower and 250 lb-ft of torque when new. Backed by a four-speed overdrive automatic, sending power to the rear wheels, the seller says “it drives very smoothly and comfortably, accelerates briskly and brakes with confidence. All mechanicals are current with maintenance and are in confident operating condition.” Have any of you seen a Fila edition Thunderbird?
You could park this next to your Mercury Villager Nautica. And/or your Bill Blass Edition Lincoln Mark V.
Relatively inexpensive (for FoMoCo) upholstery and exterior trim packages that I doubt moved the sales needle much.
Can’t be forgotten, the amazing late Bob Glidden had outstanding success with one of these. You were a heck of a wrench, Bob, RIP.
I like this generation of T-Birds. I didn’t particularly care for this special edition at the time, but now I kind of like it. Eye-catching with the white paint and white wheels, with the lower body offset color. This one doesn’t look bad.
Thanks SG.
I’d forgotten all about these. I’m like Bob, I didn’t care a whole lot for them when new, but now I like the white rims. The 302 was a great way to go too. It looks like a very well preserved T Bird. Probably garage kept from new. I would like to thank Scotty for the proper pronunciation of Fila. I always pronounced it F”i” la (long I). So now, thanks to him I won’t look like a total fool if I ever say “Feela” in front of anyone. (Thinking about it…… Odds are…… I probably won’t). Thanks Scotty!!
Obvious to see why there was never a “Fila” Edition Probe.
We always called white cars w white wheels the “Miami” look 🌴 Personally.. usually like the body colored wheels on most applications.