You probably already know some of the lore surrounding the Ford Probe. Although the front-drive coupe was initially intended to be the fourth-generation Mustang, outcry from pony car fans led the Blue Oval to reconsider its decision, keeping the Fox body around for a few more years and rechristening the four-cylinder sport compact with a new name that was equal parts extraterrestrial and medical. But what you may not know is that Ford actually recycled the Probe name from a series of concept cars it built in the 1970s and 1980s with its design partner Ghia.If you find yourself particularly moved by that piece of trivia, you might want to check out the auction on Bring A Trailer right now for the 1983 Probe IV, an ultra-aerodynamic design study for a futuristic family sedan. Apart from its name, the concept didn't directly presage a production car, but squint and you can tell there's a lot going on here that would eventually hit Ford's production line. Putting Aerodynamics On Full Display The first Ford Probe Ghia concept came around in 1979, and its wedgy, hatchback coupe form factor was a more direct predecessor to the production Probe that would follow a decade later. The 1980 Probe II was far more conventional-looking, looking a bit like a regular four-door sedan with a pointier nose. In 1981, the Probe III concept is the first that really previewed a new Ford product, this time the European-market Sierra five-door hatch, as well as the three-door variant that came to the US as the Merkur XR4Ti. The 1983 Probe IV – the subject of the BaT auction – also carried a few of the company's future design elements. Meanwhile, the most outlandish of them all, the 1985 Probe V, lives up to its name by looking more like a flying saucer than a motor vehicle.1979 Ford Probe I ConceptEach design had a very particular goal. In the late 1970s, Ford wanted to improve vehicle efficiency through lighter cars, which in turn could be powered by smaller engines without sacrificing performance. Aerodynamic, wind-cheating designs would also reduce fuel consumption. That first Probe I had a 0.25 drag coefficient (Cd), a commendable number at the time that still would be among the sleekest production cars if it were built today, and Ford claimed it got 39 miles per gallon at 55 miles per hour, a huge achievement considering its most efficient model at the time could maybe achieve 25 or 26 mpg. By the time the Probe V came around, however, Ford and Ghia had learned a thing or two about aerodynamics, and the final design study had a shockingly low Cd of 0.14. Although the company never claimed a fuel efficiency figure, we bet it could've easily been in the 50s or 60s given the sleek design. Bring A Trailer A Concept That's Seen Better Days The 1983 Ford Probe IV by Ghia seen in the Bring A Trailer auction isn't actually a running or driving vehicle, riding instead on a rolling chassis made of wood with adjustable-height steel subframes for the wheels. Intended as a wind tunnel tester (with an impressive 0.152 Cd) and mobile display piece, the car doesn't have functional doors, and interior access is via removable plastic windows. The roller has a fully operational counterpart, which has a Ford 1.6-liter four-cylinder under the hood, displayed at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.That showpiece also looks quite a bit better than this car. Its years of service as a static display at Gullo Ford in Conroe, Texas, have taken their toll on the fiberglass bodywork and interior, with nicked, peeling paint and a broken passenger-side seatback. Still, the auction concept does have a few slick characteristics, like disk-shaped, multipiece wheels and removable fender spats. The interior also has some cool design details, including the translucent plastic steering wheel rim and the wraparound instrument cluster that clearly previewed the one we got in the 1986 Ford Taurus. Bring A TrailerYou can see a few other shades of series-built FoMoCo products. For example, the wraparound hatch glass may have evolved into the rear backlight of the Mercury Sable, and the louvered taillights (shared with the Probe III concept) look like the ones that eventually ended up in the 1987–1993 Mustang GT. 1983 Ford Probe IV Concept by Ghia Exterior Rear ViewThis isn't this vehicle's second time on public sale. Offered by presumably the same seller a few months ago on Facebook Marketplace, the Probe IV had an asking price of $11,111 at the time. Currently, bidding for Ford's futuristic family sedan concept sits at $1,500 with five days left in the auction, sold on bill of sale only in Spring, Texas. We wonder where the price will go by the time the gavel falls.