Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt
In 1963, Pontiac, Chevrolet, and all of GM were out of factory-supported racing. The Mopar dominated the strip with Max Wedge engines, and Ford didn’t have enough firepower to compete with Dodge or Plymouth. But that was about to change when Ford introduced a factory-built drag racer called the Fairlane Thunderbolt for the 1964 season (via Hemmings).

Built using a plain Fairlane two-door sedan body and removing all but the essentials, the Thunderbolt was all about lightweight and big power. Under the hood was the new 427 V8 FE with a factory output of 425 HP. However, experts think that the actual output was closer to 600 HP. Since the engine had all kinds of go-fast goodies like a special intake manifold, high-performance heads, special pistons, and so on. Ford made exactly 100 Thunderbolts in 1964 and they were all sold to professional racers for $1 each.