Photo: Scott Grunfor Company
Ford's futuristic concept was completely destroyed by a fire in Monterey, California, shortly after leaving the 2024 event, where it was on display in the Wedge Shaped Concept Cars & Prototypes category.
Now, the concept owned by the Scott Grundfor Company, a California-based restoration shop, appears to have no chance of returning to its original form. The entire vehicle has burned to a crisp, taking its trailer with it.
The 45-year-old concept car had been completely restored by the Scott Grundfor Company. They uploaded several photos to Instagram to show the extent of the fire damage.It seems like we lost a member of our family today,” they wrote in the caption of the post.
The Probe I Ghia was being towed on a highway when a passing motorist reported smoke coming from the trailer he was towing. The driver, an employee of Scott Grundfor Company, stopped and saw that the trailer and the concept car inside were already engulfed in flames.
He called 911, but when firefighters arrived on the scene, everything was in ashes. No one was injured in the accident. Representatives from the Monterey Fire Department explained that the way the driver positioned the trailer prevented the fire from spreading to surrounding foliage. He also detached the truck from the burning trailer. The cause of the fire remains unknown, but an investigation is ongoing.
Photo: Ford
Designed by Don F. Kopka and Carrozzeria Ghia, it was created to preview a new range of family cars, but also to test a new type of aerodynamic design. Its shape was the result of hours and hours spent in the wind tunnel, emerging with a drag coefficient 37 percent lower than sports coupes of the time.
The Ford Probe I concept car saw the light of day in 1979. It was presented that year at the Frankfurt Motor Show and stunned the crowd. Its rear wheel covers and special glass cabin have become iconic over the years.
Based on the Fox-body Mustang platform and slightly longer than the then-new 1979 Ford Mustang, the concept featured a rounded silhouette at a time when GM was churning out cars full of creases and sharp edges. Meanwhile, the cabin was a demonstration of digital when analog was still the name of the game.
The Ford Probe Ghia was powered by a 2.3-liter four-cylinder Mustang Cobra engine that produced 170 horsepower. It was the first of five of its kind that FoMoCo built between 1979 and 1985. After this fire, it is one less. The production version of the Probe came to market in 1988.
The Scott Grunfor Company plans to bring the remains of the car back home to Arroyo Grande and keep them alongside the Ghia/Ford-bodied prototypes in their collection. The company also owns the Probe IV and V concept cars.