Classic car ownership is something that often gets passed on through generations within a family, since a love of automobiles can be infectious.

Now the Big Muscle series of YouTube videos has featured a heavily modified Ford Thunderbird, which has been owned by the same family for over five decades.

The Ford Thunderbird was launched in 1955 and although its two seater layout and drop top design, in combination with its long body, made it look sporty, it was not marketed as such at the time.

The Thunderbird was a competitor to Chevrolet's Corvette, although it was targeted at a more mature audience of executives looking to make a statement.

Over the years there have been eleven different generations of the Thunderbird, so there are plenty of classic examples available, although few with quite so consistent a heritage as this particular model.

The family that has looked after the Thunderbird has also equipped it with performance-enhancing features, while also dropping its weight to make it quite a competent racer when it comes to straight line speed.

It has also been lowered, so that it really hugs the tarmac, with an all-black paint job giving it quite the debonair style.