How do you tarnish the launch of a great car? There are plenty of ways to unintentionally accomplish this task, and Ford utilized a couple of them with the introduction of a new sports coupe in 1988.
As it turned out, this was one of the best cars you could buy from Ford at the time, but it unfortunately became the center of a crowd-displeasing plan of action that never came to pass. Oh, it was also given a name that became the butt of jokes, if you can excuse the terrible pun.
Let’s push that all away once and for all and give the belated respect that the Ford Probe GT Turbo deserves.
The Boss Had Become A Hogg
Over the years, Ford has made some decisions that initially befuddled the public but, in retrospect, were absolutely the right choices. Building a mainstream sedan that looked like a jellybean for 1986 was seen as an insane move by many, yet it turned out to be a game-changer. Dropping all of their sedans a few years ago to make only crossovers and SUVs? I wasn’t happy about it, but ultimately the rest of the industry followed their lead.
One of their most controversial yet successful choices Ford made was to replace the oversized 1970-73 Mustang with a Pinto-based compact akin to a Japanese or European sports coupe. The 1974 Mustang II still gets the ire of enthusiasts, but it was released just as the energy crisis hit and became one of the best-selling Mustangs of all time.
For 1979, they addressed much of the criticism of the so-called “Puny Car” with a somewhat larger but still relatively efficient version based on the new “Fox” platform. Much better received by Mustang faithful, you could still get a Pinto-powered model to address the economy-minded crowd.
It’s hard to understate how quickly things were changing around 1980. Fuel prices were seen to be on an upward trend that wouldn’t stop, and those pesky imported coupes were gaining ground on the old Pony Car market quickly. Behind the scenes, big changes were happening, and Ford chose to fight the Japanese onslaught with a brilliant solution.
Why Beat Mazda When You Can Buy Mazda?
Henry Ford II always despised Asian automotive competitors, but in 1971, his company began a partnership with Mazda that culminated in the American company purchasing a 20 percent stake of the Japanese firm in 1979. This would form a great basis for the if-you-can’t-beat-them-just-join-them approach to hitting the likes of a Toyota Celica, Honda Prelude, or Datsun 200SX that were rapidly replacing pony cars as go-to affordable coupe choices for buyers.
What would be dubbed the “ST-16 Mustang” was to share not just components but an entire platform with the upcoming Mazda 626 and its coupe sibling, the MX-6. However, despite being developed in Japan, the new FWD Mustang and Mazdas would be built in America at the newly acquired Flat Rock, Michigan plant just south of Detroit. Internally, the idea was to keep the old Fox Body car alive for a time, side-by-side with the new car as the “Mustang Classic” before dropping it in favor of the Mazda-based version.
The exterior design of this new Mustang was done in the U.S. and locked in by 1984, after which the project transferred to Mazda in Hiroshima.
Now, nothing can be kept secret forever. This new Mustang broke cover on April 13, 1987 when Autoweek ran a cover story revealing the existence of the ST-16 that included a rendering which was quite close to what the Probe GT would end up looking like. You can imagine the uproar from the public; a letter-writing campaign in these pre-internet days demanded the heads of the Ford executives responsible.
Reportedly, people outside of Ford were not the only ones unhappy. According to Neil Ressler, small car engineering chief for Ford at the time:
There were a lot of people who thought that was a great idea—a modern car. There were also a lot of us who were appalled by that. It was like the champagne sipping crowd replaced the beer drinking crowd. The idea that we would replace the Mustang with a Japanese car—a different car from a different culture aimed at a different audience—this is not going to work.
John Coletti, a Ford engineering manager who would eventually become head of SVT, put it more succinctly:
I would rather have seen the Mustang name die than put the Mustang name on the Probe.
At this point, of course, it was too late for Ford to stop the launch of this small coupe. Also, as it turned out, it was way too good to cancel anyway.
145 Horsepower Ford? Really?
After the shock and awe of the debut of the Taurus, it would be hard to impress the American public with a new Ford product. However, the ST-16 certainly created a stir when it debuted in 1988 as the Probe. Named after the series of Ghia-built Ford show cars designed with maximum aerodynamics in mind, the new hatchback cut a sleek profile with retractable headlights and a wraparound glass back somewhat reminiscent of the 1986 Celica but sleeker and longer than that Japanese competitor.
This was no pale impersonator; Ford now had a real imported-style sports coupe that just happened to be made right here in America.
Inside, the styling also looked less like a Detroit product than it did the Mazda that it was in many ways.
The 2.2-liter four up front produced 110 horsepower and offered reasonable enough performance for the class; a far better fit for the entry-level sports coupe market than the Pinto-powered Fox Mustang LX (“Mustang Sally’s Daughter’s Car,” as one magazine described it). As a legitimate competitor for the current crop of coupes, the design and specifications were rather expected. What was not expected was the lengths that Ford would go to with the enthusiast’s version of the Probe: the GT.
Typically, “GT” versions of sport coupes give you stripes, thicker roll bars, and maybe a few more horsepower. With the Probe GT, this wasn’t the case. You got four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes and a Mazda-developed three-way adjustable suspension dampening; features that were still heady stuff for affordable cars of the time. Still, neither of those advancements was the biggest change: adding a turbocharger to the Probe’s normally aspirated four bumped up power to a claimed 140 horsepower, or 40 more than the stock engine. However, like with the similar-year Buick Grand National, that figure was considered by most to be highly underrated.
Based on the acceleration figures and unofficial dyno runs, the blown Mazda four was believed to be cranking out nearly 200 horsepower. That’s only 25 less than the 5.0 V8 in the Mustang, and in a lighter car. Car and Driver pulled off a stunning 6.4-second zero-to-sixty run, which was only 0.2 seconds behind the vaunted Fox Pony car.
Quick aside: If you liked this hidden powerhouse of a motor but needed a more family-sized car, you were in luck. Mazda sold a statelier two-door notchback version of the turbo Probe called the MX-6 GT, but the real version to have would have been the five-door 626 GT Touring with this very engine and even an available five-speed gearbox. This anti-Camry was a reliable and practical sleeper that could embarrass any number of far more costly European sedans. Naturally, it was larger and heavier than the Probe GT but still capable of zero to sixty in around seven seconds, making this proto-Saab 900 hatch a rare Holy Grail today.
Of course, the Probe really wasn’t a direct competitor to the car it was reportedly going to replace before the public outcry; it was meant to hit the import onslaught of more advanced small coupes. Could it really handle these formidable opponents? In a word, yes. Handily, in fact. A 1989 Car and Driver test pitted the Probe GT against the Toyota Celica, Nissan 240SX, Subaru XT6, Mitsubishi Eclipse, and even in-house rivals: a Mustang LX with the 5.0 V8 and the Probe’s Mazda MX-6 twin. The Probe came in second place behind the Eclipse with glowing praise from the often-prickly Car and Driver editorial staff. As the old stalwart Csabe Csere wrote:
The Probe GT is the best of the new generation of sport coupes. It’s blindingly quick, thanks to a turbocharged 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine that clearly produces considerably more than its rated 145 horses. The Probe GT also offers a slick-shifting five-speed gearbox, front drive for good all-weather traction, and—thanks to its modest weight and small engine—decent fuel economy.
The fully independent suspension uses tautly damped struts, firm springs, and beefy anti-roll bars front and rear. Four-wheel disc brakes provide ample stopping power, and the optional anti-lock system keeps the binders at their best under any conditions.
Combine these mechanical delights with a sleek, wind-swept shape and you can understand the Probe GT’s appeal. At less than $17,500 fully optioned, the Probe GT is a tremendous value. Let the Neanderthals keep their Mustangs.
A bit harsh at the end there, Csaba, but we got your point, and the fourth-place finish of the old Fox in the comparison test proved him right. If you weren’t a dyed-in-the-wool Mustang person and cared about sharp handling and fuel economy, the Probe likely made far more sense for you.
We have to let John Davis tell us a bit about the Probe, too, don’t we?
The original Mustang soldiered on until 1994, since the budget needed to redo it was mainly spent on the Probe. Oddly enough, the sagging sales of the now-eight-year-old Fox Body Mustang increased due to people’s fear of the “real” Mustang’s demise. Amazing how some things that look like PR blunders turn out to be windfalls for sales, isn’t it?
You Need Not Probe Your 401K For One
As with most Autopians, I’ll waste 45 percent of my waking life scouring used car ads. I tend to look at vehicle purchases as two separate categories: “Toys” and “Actual Cars”. A used 1988 Probe GT could really be either one or both together, and I’m shocked at the values online. This red one offered on Cars & Bids was in outstanding condition with barely over 100,000 miles on the clock
Full instrumentation sits in a rather tasteful Mazda-style dashboard. I like how the dampers for the side vents are on the dash, while the vents themselves open with the doors.
The rear seat isn’t great, but it’s better than a GM F-body and far better than the Escort EXP that the Probe essentially replaced, which had no back seat at all.
The interior is obviously that of a Japanese-developed car, and I’m impressed by how well it’s held up for a car this age.
What did this car go for in 2021? Somebody stole it for a mere $5100! To get any as-new, dependable, and dull Japanese sedan for that kind of money today is a win, much less a cool sub-seven-to-sixty coupe with a manual transmission.
I love how Mazda literally bolted on a FORD placard onto the valve cover.
A current ad lists a somewhat similar car (but with the scary red seats) at a dealer for an asking price of just under $9000, but even if it sells for anything close to that, it’s still a bargain in anyone’s book. Is the stank of the whole New Mustang controversy still tainting the Probe? If so, thank your lucky stars that it’s keeping one Radwood icon affordable. I bet you’re putting “Ford Probe For Sale” into Google right now; be sure to add the “Ford” in front of “Probe,” or you’ll get very strange search results.
This Alien Probe Was A Good Thing
Replacing an icon is never an easy task. Still, despite the opinions of people who were the automotive equivalent of “if it ain’t Sean Connery it ain’t Bond”, the Probe really could have been a modern equivalent of the Mustang. Had gas prices continued to rise as they had been expected to in the eighties, it almost certainly would have worn the pony logo. The Probe did find a lot of admirers, with production of over 77,000 units in 1988 and rather strong sales up until this version ended in 1991. In retrospect, despite the uproar, Ford’s product planners were spot on: for about 90 percent of buyers around 90 percent of the time, a Probe made for a far better choice than the old FoxStang. A mid-cycle facelift seen below added a different nose with a prominent grill that I don’t think was an improvement, but the rest of the car was relatively unchanged.
The new-for-1992 Probe with the BMW 850-style front end had stunning looks and a turbo-lag-free V6 engine that in many ways eclipsed (sorry for the Mitsu pun) the earlier car. However, based on some road tests, it wasn’t necessarily any faster; it certainly didn’t have to suffer the slings and arrows of Mustang faithful that the first car did.
I love the sound of a 302-powered Mustang revving and burning up its rear tires, but when it comes to less-than-eight-cylinder coupes with an eye towards handling and economy, the Probe had it all over the base-level Pinto-powered Stangs; it wasn’t even a contest.
Ford might have backed off from their radical plans of changing the Mustang to truly meet the challenges of the time, but ultimately, we ended up with not one but two great sporting coupes for sale at the same time. An old-school Mustang and a high-tech proto-Mustang? That’s a rare win for enthusiasts anytime.
Go ahead, now. Make your damn jokes about the name in the comments.
topshot: Cars&Bids
That 2nd gen is still a damn good-looking car. I was a teenager when those came out, I was into V8, rear drive stuff at the time but I loved the look of these.
So thirty-five years later everybody’s mad about Fox-bodies and you can’t give Probes away…
Yeah, I hate the car mags. For twenty years they hectored everybody into “modern front wheel drive platforms” and ragged rear wheel drive every chance they got. Then as soon as they got everything front wheel drive, suddenly it was crap and everything had to be rear wheel drive.
They hounded Cadillac to build BMWs for decades, too, and now that they build a better BMW than BMW does, that “younger audience” they promised buys Escalades.
I still have my 89 probe GT, going on 20+ years. Fun little car especially with a few mods.
My father had a 94 Probe GT. He bought it new and my 12ish year-old self thought it was a spaceship. It also had CD player and a factory subwoofer in the trunk. Fucking spaceship. A few years later when I had learned how to drive but was not allowed to for various good reasons, I took it out on a joy ride. Got it up to 125 mph on a very potholed twisty road alongside a river in Ann Arbor. Parked it back in the garage. My dad woke me up the next day with a slap as three of the low pro tires were flat. They were not cheap to replace on the $4.25/hour wage I was earning at a local movie theater. Good times.
Buck twenty five on Huron River Drive is…ballsy. Good thing you just lost 3 tires.
The 94s were like space ships. Still some of the best looking performance cars from the 90s; better than the 850, if I’m honest.
The V6 was a good engine but I always preferred the OG turbo (or the unrelated V6 in the Contour). The Probe’s was almost too smooth.
It’s a shame coupes died, though. The Probe/Cougar deserved a successor.
Lol you got it. Such a fun road to carve except for the cyclists and trees and the river and the police. Pretty stupid but I did get a little smarter eventually and had a lot of fun along the way.
There is a 2nd gen street parked near me in decent shape. I haven’t seen a 1st gen in years. A friend had one and yeah the turbo was fantastic for the time.
I had a 99ish V6 Contour that I bought in 2008 for $800. That thing was such a sleeper. I beat the hell out of it for years and it wouldn’t die. Sold it for $800. GF at the time had a ’99 Cougar. It was fun but that Contour was hands down the better car.
My first car was a ’79 Cutlass Supreme. The first of many coupes in my life. R.I.P. to them all..
I had a 90 and 91 Mustang GT and while I appreciated the Probe, I never once considered buying one.
My lone drive of a gen 2 Probe GT had me convinced: just a great car to drive. I should’ve bought one while the getting was good.
I think what everyone tries to forget in their veneration of the Mustang is that it was originally a car designed to be fun to drive for everyone. It didn’t have a big engine, it was sport-y, not a sports car.
The probe was an awesome continuation of that idea. Far better than any modern Mustang. My mom had a Probe and she loved the sporty look and feel but also didn’t feel weird giving it to my brother when he went to college- sporty but not dangerous.
A white ’91 Probe (base model, slushbox transmission) was my car in high school, through college, and a few years beyond. It was a solid little car that really didn’t give me much trouble at all. Minnesota’s salted roads and the ensuing rust is what eventually did it in. Also, that hatchback was a huge space. Admittedly, I didn’t own much at that time, but I could basically complete a move in about 2 trips with the Probe.
A few years back, I saw a Probe GT for sale with the manual and a very similar style to my old car–white with red pinstripes. Only $6k! I wasn’t in the market for a fun car at the time though.
My 1994 Probe GT in Portofino blue was one of the best cars I have ever owned, period.
The Probe was always interesting to me because the two generations sort of diverged from other Ford models at the time. The first Probe launched when Ford had winners like the Taurus and Escort, which sort of overshadowed the Probe a bit. Then the second gen Probe launched hugely improved at a time when the Taurus and Escort were on a downward trajectory, unfortunately dragging the Probe down with them. The second gen Probe was great, but it never felt like it got much appreciation until well after it had gone out of production.
The Probes were great, under-appreciated cars at the time. Just ecipsed by the supercharged Tbird and V8 Mustang. The MN-12 was a moonshot, The Fox a capable holdover.
The old fox soldiered on until 1993, not 1994. 1994 was the first year for the often forgotten 5.0 powered SN95 cars. In fact, it was MT’s COTY in ’94. Clean it up boys.
Yep, and kindly replace “Csabe” with “Csaba”.
Oi, ya gotta double-check yer homework before turnin’ it in!
Or just put in Chaba Cheddar.
Also the year the 5.0 was neutered with the restrictive T-Bird intake plenum design to fit under the new hood. Paper said one thing, but reality on the street killed the desire for the 94 SN95 GT. And the then new LTI GM motors were a major step up, at least until the proclivities of the Optispark turned people against those as well.
Had a ’95 and ’96 Probe SE and a ’95 MX-6 LS (GT). Loved those cars. The MX-6 was too small inside for me, but what a performer!
My dream was a ’97 Probe GTS. Nearly bought one in 2k, but then the ’01 Celica came calling! Still my most favorite vehicle. Damn you nostalgia…
Honest question.
Why would you buy one of these 1990 probes or something like a mercury xr2 today in 2025 instead of a na Miata?
I look at these older fwd coupes every couple of years for a fun car but never pull the trigger. I don’t fit in Miata’s or celicas. I’ve never really considered a probe.
Why would you not? We get blinded by – rwd, convertible, light, small, (hopefully) stick. Many other mid-late ’90s cars meet these most of these criterion. Rock a Probe, Prelude or Integra.
I get the prelude and integra because there’s a steady parts business.
Who’s working or supplying parts for these 2.2 12 valves?
I guess the xr2s have 1.6 b6s so you can use Miata parts suppliers.
I’m getting old…. Prelude, Intergra, Celica, 300ZX (non turbo), Subaru SX, were still obtainable cars in my college years.
Had friend that bought a new Ford ZX2.
I would not because as you said they are not RWD, they do not have enough of a cult following to have an aftermarket available to upgrade or really even keep stockers going. the last gen looks so much better than the 1st, but they are small, and so many better options exist with the same basic issues with overall layout and parts availability.
Variety!
It is nice to go to a car show and see something unusual. Something that you haven’t seen in a while. Don’t get me wrong, I love a Miata, but variety is good too.
We mock the boomer stereotype of being just into tri-five Chevys, Mustangs, and Corvettes. The problem isn’t those cars, the problem is the lack of variety.
As millenials and Gen-xers get to an age where we can indulge some nostalgia, I’m pro variety.
Also, it looks like you can get a Probe in better condition for less money than an NA Miata.
I remember looking at these back when I was buying my first car in ’07 or ’08, along with its MX-6 twin. I don’t really remember why I decided against them, they were well-priced at the time. Honestly, the name was probably a factor for the Ford. Looking back the second-gen probe is really handsome, would have probably been a better car than the (admittedly newer) Commodore I ended up with.
Raced a 90s version. A sho auto turned out was faster at speed. Yay! Luxobarge w a big engine.
Had a ’94 SHO 5 speed. Even in the early ’00s it was fast. In it’s time you needed a Corvette or M5 to outrun it.
I had one of these! A 1990 Probe GT in red with the 5 speed. It was my first car. Bought it in 1998 with 90000 on the clock for like 4k. It ran like a top but the AC took a shit after I owned it 6 months. The adjustable struts also wore out so I put some non adjustable KYB struts in and called it good.
That thing was quick, very quick. It would keep up with whatever basically. I drove it everywhere, and took it with me when I moved to Tahoe for a few seasons to be a board tech at Kirkwood. That thing handled great in the snow. I never once needed to chain up, even with snow and ice on the road.
And it’s back seat wasn’t too bad! Just ask the girls who became “familiar” with it. The front seats bent all the way back did the job as well…but I digress.
I had it till 2002 when I traded it in for a 2000XJ sport. Still miss it to this day.
When I think of a probe, other than the ones that go in orifices, I think of a thing that gathers data. “Ford Sensor” or “Ford Transducer” wouldn’t have necessarily been the butt of jokes, but would have sounded a little strange.
That 626 Touring was my first car, even in that color. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
The Probe was also far better looking than the butt-ugly Fox body. The worst generation Mustang in terms of styling. And electric systems.
You’re telling me the fox body looks worse than a Mustang II?
I’ll take a Fox body anyday.
I’d take a late fox body over a lot of other stuff, including its immediate successor
100%. Mustang II was kinda lousy in other ways, but stylish imo. Fox body looks like a Lego car, something a kid would draw for a generic car.
I’ve always loved these, and I know it’s just my lack of a juvenile sense of humor but I never understood the jokes about the name until far too late in life when my little neither pointed them out. I had a facelift 1st gen base model probe for a bit and yes it was slow but it was fun, and frankly comparable to the zx3 focus I had at the time too. Granted the probe was a 5 speed, and the focus was the granola consuming pzev with an auto but still not that different of a driving dynamic honestly. While I had the probe a friend of mind had a 1st gen SHO and I just kept dreaming about dropping that powertrain into the probe, but never got the chance as I had to get the probe gone when my second son was born and we needed a car that could handle two car seats. I still want to try that swap one day.
My first car was a 1994 MX6 v6. It was an awesome first car. I’ve spent the time since then chasing a car that feels as small and light as that car.
I owned a 95 for awhile. I have the same sentiments. Traded it in for a 2000 Civic Si after the (auto) trans started going.
I do feel somewhat reminded of the MX6 in my Saab convertible. Might have something to do with the seats if I’m being honest.
Yes, the transmission is the Achilles heel of the Probe/MX-6, particularly in the V6 version. Also, they are quite literally the hottest cars imaginable when they sit in sunlight. Friend had one at my house (bad transmission) and I went to move it one summer day and the when I opened the door and sat down it pulled the breath out of me from being so hot inside. Too much horizontal glass.
My dad had a 1993 Probe GT ordered new, he was running errands and left his brand new bottle of Drakkar Noir in the car. It exploded and the 6 month old car smelled like that until the day we sold it. If it is still around, it probably still smells like it. That was a manual, so it probably stayed around longer.
If you’re thinking of a Probe, just buy one before 2015 nostalgia drives the prices up.
https://imcdb.org/vehicle_11621-Ford-Probe-SN16-1989.html
Your model years are off by one, the Probe launched as a 1989 model and the refresh was for 1993.
Also, not enough has been written about the one year styling of the 1989 Probe, especially the GT. The fascias and other details changed dramatically for 1990. I’ve always theorizedthe 1989 was what the Mustang would’ve look like and they restyled it for 1990 to make it more contemporary.
I think it was named after space probes, not the other kind. Space probes were very newsworthy in the 80s. And Voyager is still out there. (Voyager, the space probe, not the van.)
That’s what I always figured as well. They should have realized the cache of their Mustang nameplate though when they saw the uproar of potentially calling this a Mustang and named it something Mustang-related to better position it as a little brother to the Mustang. It may have been a more successful vehicle if they had done that.