1979 Ford Probe I Concept by Ghia

1979 Ghia Concept Car, Probe I represents the re-birth of the “American Dream Car” that Harley Earl’s Buick Y-Job started in 1939 and GM continued with the Motorama Extravaganza’s of the 1950s. By the beginning of the ’70s, the purpose-built Dream Car was all but extinct.

The Ford Probe I is a product of the collaborative efforts of the famous Turin-based design firm Corrozeria Ghia and Ford. Ghia, which traces its roots in coachbuilding back to 1915 and is the former home to design icons Giugiaro, Tjaarda, and De Tomaso, handcrafted this one-of-a-kind, fully functioning prototype. Ford had a “Better Idea.” As a facet of Ford’s Project Alpha, Kopka, head of Ford’s design department, reasoned that a design based upon serious Aerodynamic Science was an attainable solution to the fuel economy issue. There was a considerable bugaboo regarding Aerodynamics in Automobile design at that time. It was argued that cars would all look like jelly beans and all look alike. Kopka believed there was considerable room for implementing advanced aerodynamics without sacrificing style and individuality.

Don Kopka was made Ford’s vice president in charge of design in late 1980 upon the retirement of Gene Bordinat. Some years before, he had realized that the upright and flat-fronted design of Ford products of the Seventies was doing nothing to contribute to the ongoing and expensive battle to meet Federally-mandated Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements instituted in the wake of the ’73 energy crisis and oil embargo. Kopka championed design changes that by his estimate added 1.5 miles per gallon to Ford’s CAFE in the early Eighties, changes that cost under $20 million to implement but were the equivalent of nearly $3 billion in powertrain re-engineering. Kopka adopted a progressive and long-term approach to changing the outlook within Ford to be receptive to aerodynamically efficient design and began, with this concept in 1979, the Probe series of aerodynamically designed concepts and studies. His goal was nothing less than to change Ford’s thinking about design.

The Probe I was created at the Ford Dearborn Design Center, where Kopka was the executive director of the Advanced and International Design Studio. Its sleek and pointy aerodynamic shape, flat wheel covers, popup headlights, and skirted rear wheels achieved a drag coefficient in the wind tunnel of 0.25, some 37% less than the 0.40 then typical for a 2door 4-passenger coupe. It was introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1979. Probe I was extensively displayed at shows and events following its introduction and received widespread media attention, helping to spread the impression that Ford was on to something. Finished in red with black lower body sides that accentuate the deep rear wheel skirts, Probe I has a body constructed of metal with a fixed tinted glass roof panel. The windows also are tinted glass. The wheels have machined disc-type wheel covers to reduce turbulence. The interior is upholstered in red cloth with tan leather trim. Its gauges appear to be functional.

Features:

Experimental One-Off Designed by Ford Motor Company and Fabricated by Ford’s Ghia S.p.A. studios in Turin, Italy
Debuted at 48th Frankfurt International Motor Show 1979
Chassis No. 0GHA RD PRBI 001
1,140 miles from new
Fully running and functional
Original condition
Hand-Crafted Steel and Glass Body
Extended Mustang Cobra Fox Chassis
170HP Turbocharged 2.3 liter Mustang Cobra Engine
Automatic Transmission