Wanna turn your Probe into a PROBE?
Rod Millen of Rod Millen Motor Sports in Huntington Beach, Calif., will convert your Probe GT into a PROBE GEEEEE TEEEE for about $7,240.What Millen's shop will do is turbocharge the 2.2-liter, 145-horsepower, 4-cylinder engine to bring it up to 220 h.p. at 14 pounds of boost. Make that BOOST, because when you press the pedal to the floor, the front end seems to rise skyward, so takeoff becomes liftoff.
Millen also adds sport springs with a 15 percent rate increase and 1-inch lower ride height, larger diameter anti-roll bars front and rear, B.F. Goodrich TA performance VR-rated 16-inch tires, and a high-flow exhaust system.
What it all means is that a Probe never stuck to the pavement as solidly as this one. Even if the 2.2-liter 4-cylinder were left unaltered, the suspension system would make this a special car.
The ride and handling of the Millen conversion makes the regular Probe feel like an old Pinto by comparison.
To complement the package, you get Momo Quasar road wheels ($1,400), a Momo Corse leather-wrapped steering wheel ($225) that offers unusually sturdy grip, a Pioneer compact stereo disc player ($600) and a custom metallic plum paint job ($3,000).
Yes, that's plum, as in a pinkish purple or offbeat mauve, which onlookers either love or hate, but certainly stop to look at.
You can opt for any color, but for showcase purposes to make people realize this is not your ordinary Probe, the offbeat purple was chosen. It works as a traffic stopper.
The Millen GT was produced in cooperation with Ford. About a year ago Millen tinkered with a subcompact Escort to produce a 220-h.p. version, and the folks from Dearborn decided to have him doctor up a Probe this time around.
Ford was looking for a special one-off model to promote the Probe's performance image.
For details on how you can convert your Probe into a PROBE, contact Millen Motor Sports, 7575 Reynolds Circle, Huntington Beach, CA 92647; telephone (714) 847-2111.