Priceless Ford prototype destroyed in fire after Pebble Beach show
The Ford Ghia Probe concept car was destroyed in a fire just hours after being displayed at a concours event in California.
A priceless Ford Probe prototype was destroyed by fire this weekend just hours after it was on display at a prestigious concours event in California.
The Ford Probe Ghia prototype was damaged beyond repair in a trailer fire as it was towed away from the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance at Monterey Car Week on Sunday.
Nobody was hurt in the conflagration, the cause of which has yet to be confirmed. However, footage from TikTok showed firefighters tackling the burning trailer as it left Pebble Beach on Sunday.
Images published by the car’s owner, the California-based Scott Grundfor Company, later showed the ruined car in its burnt-out trailer and the road blocked by fire engines.
“It is with utter sadness and a heavy heart that we have lost our 1979 Ford Ghia Probe I Prototype in an accident on the highway late in the day on Sunday after showing the car at the Pebble Beach Concoursd’Elegance,” the company said. “We are a family oriented company, and it feels like we have lost a member of our family.
“We are incredibly grateful that our team member driving the trailer at the time was unharmed, and his immediate action prevented this tragic loss of our car from spreading to local foliage and of course to other people who were driving on the highway in Monterey at the time.”
The company had previously posted that the car would be displayed at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, which is one of the world’s most prestigious concours events. Other social media posts showed the car on display on the Sunday before it was destroyed.
The car in question was one of a number of Probe concepts made during Ford’s partnership with Ghia in the 1970s, and it was presented at the 1979 Frankfurt Motor Show. Although the car was based on the same ‘Fox’ underpinnings as the Mustang of the time, it featured a wedge-shaped aerodynamic design and a four-cylinder engine for greater efficiency.
Inside, the car had a computerised interior with digital gauges and an access card in place of a key.
Despite the advanced tech on show in the Probe I concept, it wasn’t until 1988 that Ford finally put the Probe into production as part of a joint venture with Mazda, which saw the car based on Mazda underpinnings. The first-generation Probe was built in Michigan until 1992, before being replaced by the second-generation model in 1993. However, the second-generation car only lasted four years, going out of production in 1997.
The Probe I prototype destroyed in the fire in Monterey was the genesis of the Probe story, and its owner has said its remains will return to the company’s headquarters to be alongside other Ghia Probe prototypes in the collection.
“[We] have been lucky stewards of this work of art and piece of automotive history for over 20 years,” said the owners. “[We are] grateful that nobody was hurt, especially grateful to our team member, Jackson, who reacted quickly and bravely to mitigate further damage, and eternally grateful to have had the two-plus decades of time with the Probe I. Many thank to the brave first responders, firefighters and police, who mitigated the damages from going beyond our tragic loss. We are forever lucky to be a part of this car’s history, however tragic this event was, and we will bring what remains of the car home to Arroyo Grande so the car can remain next to the Ghia/Ford prototypes in our collection.”
According to MotorTrend, the company has 15 concept cars in its collection, including the 1984 Probe IV and the 1985 Probe V, and there is a chance that the car may be rebuilt.
“It’s a steel body car,” Scott Grundfor told MotorTrend, “so the husk will be all there, the wheels are there, the body is there. We’ll bring it back home with the other cars, and maybe someday it can be put back to what it was. It’ll either stay the way it is as a reminder, or someone, maybe us, will revive it, and someday it will get unveiled again.”
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