The 1989 Ford Probe Was More Than An Almost-Mustang
After the 1979 Ford Probe I concept car’s untimely demise this week, perhaps we should step back and re-examine the vehicle that took this forward-thinking nameplate into production. We all likely know the story by now: Upper management types at Ford benchmarked Japanese manufacturing to the point of obsessiveness. It was going great when they made the Taurus, but they officially jumped the shark when they nearly killed the V-8, rear-wheel-drive Ford Mustang.
But a popular uprising from employees and fans ensured the Mustang remained, and instead, the company christened the production-ready vehicle the Ford Probe. The Probe was never a pony car, but rather a sports coupe worthy of a global stage. The globalistic Probe was undoubtedly a worthy successor to the Ford EXP, itself based on Ford’s World Car from 1982-88.
The Ford EXP’s independently sprung suspension and 1970s wedge racer styling had merit at the tail end of the Malaise Era as a city car for two working professionals and their cargo. But the style rang up a tab that Ford’s crude CVH engine couldn’t pay. The EXP deserves a deeper dive article in the future, but the Ford Probe took this solid effort and turned it into a far greater success. Over two generations, the front-wheel-drive Probe capitalized on the burgeoning FWD sports coupe market while allowing the Mustang to continue as the pony car standard bearer.
Enter the 1989 Probe GT, an example of which is currently for sale on Hagerty Marketplace finished in black paint and paired with a tan interior, rather than the more common gray. It has all the stuff the Mustang wouldn’t get till years/decades later, from ABS brakes, tri-mode suspension dampers, variable assist steering, and even a trip computer on the dashboard. Aside from the lack of an in-dash CD player for maximum Radwood vibes, this Probe has everything a collector of this era would appreciate. The original owner even avoided the option of an automatic transmission, ensuring the turbocharged and intercooled engine stayed in-boost with a proper stick shift between the bucket seats.
The interior shows a vehicle that’s been meticulously cared for, even with 151,538 miles on the odometer. This Probe GT appears to be have been driven but not abused. The auction also shows a large number of spare parts will be delivered to its new owner via its spacious hatchback: replacement powertrain and brake components in new or NOS condition, an NOS power window regulator, and even a spare gauge cluster. The owner also has the factory service manuals, which is another sign of a properly loved classic.
The three-valve, turbocharged, and intercooled Mazda F2 engine appears all original aside from a K&N filter decal on the factory air box. Its condition isn’t presented as “radioactive Mop & Glo clean” like a stereotypical used car dealer, instead showing an honest life with no leaks or period incorrect modifications performed on this Probe. (I’d wager this engine bay could greatly benefit from a dry ice detail, but I have an inherent bias in that regard.)
And perhaps an honest life is one of the best ways to describe this Probe GT, and all the history that comes with it from the previous owner. There are cleaned-up stone chips in the paint, likely performed with the touch-up paint bottle included in this car’s cache of parts. The shift knob has worn leather, and the turbo boost gauge stopped working. These are telltale signs of a well-lived life, ready for a new owner and possibly a very light restoration.
A modern emerging classic with revolutionary design, steering, suspension, and braking technology, might seem complicated even when compared to its Ford contemporaries, but this particular Probe presents as well cared-for and a standout example of a fresh direction for Ford in the ’80s. As of writing, bidding for this slice of controversial FoMoCo history is $2000, with six days to go. We shall see how far the bidders will go to have an almost-Mustang coupe from Ford’s performance portfolio.
Ford dodged a major mistake in killing the Fox body Mustang. They also saved the Camaro and Trans Am from an equally flawed FWD car to replace the F body called the GM 80.
The Exp was just an Escort with a new body. It was never a serious sports car. The Probe benefitted being a Mazda under the skin that made it better than most Fords of the era. But it was far ftom a performance sports car. It was a better car but that was it.
As for the a GM 80 it was canceled for a number of reasons but the bottom line was the engineers wanted RWD and more V8 power. The one thing it would have had was a AWD option. That may have been interesting but still not enough to have wanted to skip the 4th Gen F body.
Ironic as it is this may have also help save the Corvette. The plant the GM 80 was set to be built in was the Fiero plant. It had capacity of 200k plus cars. The Fiero settled to an expected 36k units and the 80 was expected to fill out needed production.
But the 80 was canceled and nothing to go in the plant gave the Corvette team a reason to push the plant to be closed. There was full plans for a second Gen Fiero and the GT still exist.
The Corvette was needling a new C5 model it was on thin ice with GM. If the new Fiero GT was built with 225 hp at a lower price it may have finished the Corvette. Even with the Fiero canceled the C5 was killed and Chevy had to hide the program.
So the decision by Ford to keep the Mustang and not replace it with the Probe had a major influence in what went down at GM.
It is history like this that often escapes the public as most mfgs never talk about this. Just remember for every action there often is an equal and opposite reaction.
150K on a turbocharged vehicle is a bit of a gamble no matter how well loved… It’ll be interesting to see where the price goes
I have 248k on my 89′ GT, original owner. Runs like the day I bought it and very little oil usage. Body is rusting but I’ll continue to get 35 mpg as long as it will carry me.
My sister flew from New England down to New Smyrna Beach Fl in 1989 to buy a Probe from a family friend who owned Higgenbotham Ford. It was a great car back then. Way ahead of the sporty coupe competition, especially for the price. She had that car for six years with few issues. She moved up to a new Saab 900 turbo 3 door and got great money at trade in too
The Ford Probe was a good car. It drove well and was sporty. It was not a sports car but for the 80’s it’s performance was pretty good. I liked the 2nd generation with the V6 a little better but it’s a fun car regardless.
I had a friend who had one of these back then. It was a nice car but he got only about 18 mpg.
Just before we were married, my late wife purchased a 1993 Mazda MX-6 LS, which was essentially a Probe GT with a nicer interior (IMO).
That was a genuinely fun car, handled well, nice ride and relatively quick for that era.
We loved that car but ultimately had to trade it in when we were expecting our first child. She was crushed that a rear facing baby in the back rendered the front passenger seat unusable. She cried as she took it for one last ride before we traded it in for a 1995 Pathfinder.
Actually, the automatic would have better kept it on boost, albeit with less fun. I always these were cool cars. I especially dug their take on the Mustang TRX wheels. Probably a vestigial remain from when it was supposed to be the new Mustang.
My then girlfriend and I bought one in 89. Drove the wheels off of it. We took it on a fishing trip to no where Minnesota and got some jaws hanging. It really settled in at highway speeds (80+ mph), felt like it belonged there. Sadly we sent it to the boneyard a few years ago.
My girlfriend, now wife, had one of these new in 1989. Hers was an NA LX model and automatic, but was fairly sprightly amongst its peers at the time. Hers had a digital dash with a center dash opening full of buttons that controlled more things than I had ever seen at the time. It was funny to hit a button and switch to metric in the middle of a road-trip, and she thought she was doing 120 and freaked out a bit.
I drove one of these (non-turbo) way back when, and was not impressed. Of course, at the time, I daily-drove a 1984 Mustang GT convertible, so that may have had some influence. The second-gen Probe was much better-looking, anyway.
I always saw the Ford Probe as the blue oval Toyota Celica and worthy on its own merits. The idea that it could replace the Mustang was ridiculous I’ve driven some 2nd generation (93-94) models and they were sporty FWD coupes like the lesser Celicas. I’m guessing a Turbo or V6 would be more like a Celica GT than ST. Since it was basically a reskinned Mazda that made sense, and probably a better car than 80s Ford could do on its own.
Yep, more than a Mustang, it is a 1989 Mazda MX-6.
Bought a new ’88 Mazda MX-6 GT with the turbo/5sp manual. Same car-different skin; it was a better car than the Probe because it had been built in Japan rather than Flat Rock, MI. I had a choice! Car was bombproof for 160k miles over 16 years and we carried a toddler and an infant in the large back seat. Loved, loved that MX-6. Followed that with 5 more Mazdas.
I owned several 90s fox bodies, Gen 1 Lightnings, and a 93 Probe GT in the early 2000s. The Probe was my commuter and HPDE ride. With struts, springs, sway bars, and brake pad upgrades, it was an extremely competent dance partner. It ran high 14s in the quarter mile and got upper 20 mpg on the highway.
I “upgraded” to an SVT Contour, and everything about the driveline in that car was inferior to the V6 Probe GT. It was shocking to me that Ford replaced that amazingly torquey combo. So I bought the Probe back a couple of years later and ditched the Contour.
I eventually let it go for a MazdaSpeed 3.
I had a black 89 GT. This owner didn’t choose the stick. There was no automatic transmission option.
I owned a 89 LX. Didn’t win any drag races but with a set of Tokico blues it handled. Car also had some amazing tech features for its day. Most people here including the author miss the reason this car came to be. Petroleum market analysts were predicting $5 gallon gas. Had that happened it would been the death of the V8. The Probe could do over 30mpg @ 70mph all day. As it was gas stayed cheap, the Mustang survived and Ford had a refined FWD sports coupe for people who were not interested in drag racing. Unfortunately US Muricans went all Idiocracy for monster trucks and SUVs and the sports coupes are no more.