The 1959 Ford Thunderbird was the second of the "Square Birds." It was very similar to the award-winning 1958 Thunderbird, with one exception: more power! The Thunderbird continued its four-seater era, but added an engine worthy of pulling much more weight than that comprised of four people. The base engine remained at an impressive 5.8-liter, 352-ci V8 rated at 300 horsepower. New for the 1959 T-bird was a MEL series 7.0-liter 430 V8 rated at 350 horsepower. Sales went up drastically as a result, with 67,456 units sold, 10,261 of which were convertibles.