Ford Ghia Trio

Italian coachbuilder Ghia has a long-standing reputation for creating some of the most elegant and desirable cars in automotive history, many of which now trade for eye-watering sums. 1983 Ford Ghia Trio is one of them.

The Trio is a true one-off concept, its name reflecting its unusual three-seat layout: a centrally mounted driver’s seat up front, with two passenger seats positioned directly behind. That configuration makes it a rare case where a Ford microcar shares a conceptual idea with the McLaren F1.

Its technical makeup adds further intrigue. The car was built around a tubular spaceframe chassis, clothed in an all-aluminum body. The floor uses a Kevlar-fiberglass honeycomb structure, while the seat frames combine aluminum and fiberglass. These materials may sound commonplace today, but for an early-1980s economy-focused concept, they were remarkably advanced.

Conceived as a vision of future urban mobility, the Trio was displayed at the 1983 Geneva Motor Show. Efficiency clearly guided its development: tipping the scales at just 743 lb (337 kg), the car was reportedly capable of achieving around 70 miles per gallon without any form of electrification.

Originally, the Trio drove its rear wheels via a rear-mounted 250 cc two-stroke engine.

In 2022, the surviving Ford Ghia Trio was listed on eBay for $500,000. The prototype did not retain its original engine.