The Aerovan was a concept vehicle built by Ford's Ghia studio in Turin, evaluated by Ford management in January 1981 as a forerunner to the Aerostar minivan. It was a three-door, one-volume estate-type vehicle designed around the Ford Escort platform, using the Escort's 1.6-liter CVH four-cylinder engine and front-wheel drive. In its European specification the engine produced 96 hp at 6000 rpm and 132 Nm of torque at 4000 rpm, though it has also been described with a power output of 95 hp. The Aerovan seated five, with a folding rear bench seat, though it was also shown publicly as a seven-passenger station wagon/van.
Its tall, aerodynamically shaped body featured small triangular side windows ahead of the doors, improving visibility while reinforcing a slender visual line. This front-end treatment, along with a similarly raked nose, later appeared on the Aerostar concept shown at the 1984 Detroit Auto Show and subsequently displayed at exhibitions across the United States to gauge public reaction, including a one-day appearance at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, where Ford Design Center staff member Al Weber answered visitors' questions.
The production Aerostar that followed was considerably larger than the Aerovan, adding a side door and two extra seats, and used a conventional front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. Ford launched the Aerostar in 1985 to compete with Chrysler's minivans, displaying both the Ghia Aerovan and the Aerostar concept together at the 1985 Geneva Motor Show for comparison.
