The Ford Probe GTP, also sometimes called the Ford Mustang Probe GTP, was an IMSA GTP sports racing car, designed, developed and built by German constructor Zakspeed, and used by the Zakspeed Racing team in the 1985 IMSA GT Championship. It was based on the standard road-going Ford Probe, and was the successor to the Ford Mustang GTP race car. Unlike the road car, using a conventional front-engined designed, the prototype race car used a mid-engined design (also known as a rear mid-engine design; behind the driver, but in front of the rear axle). It was powered by a 2.1 L (130 cu in) engine that was based on the Zakspeed 1500, as used in Zakspeed's Formula 1 cars.[1] The 2.1 litre engine that was used in the Ford Probe GTP is often confused with the Ford Lima based engine that was used in the Ford Mustang GTP and the 2.1 litre variants of the Cosworth BDA engine. In Endurance racing trim it produced 600 hp (450 kW), which was plenty powerful enough for the lightweight 1,770 lb (800 kg) vehicle. This drove the rear wheels through a five-speed Hewland VG5 manual transmission. Klaus Ludwig, Doc Bundy, Lyn St. James, Scott Pruett, Pete Halsmer, Arie Luyendyk, Tom Gloy, and Chip Robinson all drove the car. Highlights for the car included two second-place podium finishes at Watkins Glen and Sears Point in 1985, and an outright win for Klaus Ludwig at Laguna Seca in 1986.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
- ^ The 84-86 Ford Zakspeed Mustang GTP Turbo. The cars the whole world thinks have the wrong engine..., retrieved 2023-11-01
- ^ "1985 Ford Mustang Probe GTP". conceptcarz.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-14. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
- ^ "Ford Mustang Maxum GTP | Grand Prix Modelers Association". 17 December 2010. Archived from the original on 2016-06-07. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
- ^ "Zakspeed Ford Probe GTP | DoubleDeClutch.com". Archived from the original on 2021-05-15. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
- ^ "Ford had limited success competing in IMSA's GTP category with cars prepped by Zakspeed USA. David Hobbs, Gianpiero Moretti and Whitney Ganz drove this Ford Mustang Probe at Daytona in 1987, starting 11th, but losing the engine on lap 328 and finishing 40th". Archived from the original on 2022-06-18. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
- ^ Fuller, J. A. Martin, Michael J. Inside IMSA's Legendary GTP Race Cars. MotorBooks International. ISBN 9781610590495. Archived from the original on 2022-06-18. Retrieved 2022-06-17 – via Google Books.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- ^ Radu, Vlad (May 15, 2022). "Meet the Fox-Body Mustang's Long-Forgotten, Race-Bred Sibling, the Wild GTP". autoevolution. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
