Ford Capri

Ford Capri at a glance: maker, production years (1968-1986), purpose

The Capri was designed for Ford of Europe by Philip T. Clark, who had previously worked on the Ford Mustang. The brief was a European "pony car": a long bonnet, a short tail and four seats, built from the mechanical parts of a family saloon. The Mk2 Cortina supplied the running gear.

Production ran in several European plants. For the Mk I, Ford built the car at Halewood in England, at Saarlouis and Cologne in West Germany and at Genk in Belgium, with further assembly in Australia (Homebush), South Africa (Port Elizabeth), Singapore and Thailand. From October 1976 all production was concentrated in Cologne. In the United States the German-built Capri was sold from 1970 to 1978 through Lincoln-Mercury dealers as the Mercury Capri.

Development and production history

Production began in November 1968, and the public saw the car at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1969; sales started the following month. The Capri sold quickly: 400,000 in the first two years, and 233,000 in 1973 alone, the highest annual figure in its life. By the time the Mk II arrived in February 1974, 1.2 million Mk I cars had been sold.

The Mk II made the Capri more practical, with a shorter bonnet, a larger cabin and, for the first time on a Ford, a hatchback rear door. The Mk III of March 1978, developed under the internal name "Project Carla", kept the body but brought quad headlamps, a grille that Ford called "Aeroflow" and new rear lamps. Sales in mainland Europe ended in 1984, and from then on Ford built the Capri only with right-hand drive for the British market.

Ford did not replace the Capri directly. The Ford Probe, sold in Europe from 1994, was effectively its successor. In July 2024 Ford revived the name for an electric coupé-SUV, which has nothing in common with the original apart from the badge.

Design and engineering

The Capri used a steel monocoque body with a front engine and rear-wheel drive, and running gear from the Cortina. The Mk I was a fastback coupé with a separate boot lid; the Mk II and Mk III added a hatchback. For the Mk II Ford quoted 8.1 cu ft (about 230 litres) of luggage space with the rear seat up and 22.6 cu ft (about 640 litres) with it folded. A typical Mk I weighed around 931 kg, rising to 1,144 kg for the six-cylinder 3000 GXL. By the time of the Mk III, the weight ranged from 1,010 kg for the 1.3 to 1,219 kg for the 3.0 S.

Ford sold the Capri in a large number of trim and engine combinations, designed to let a buyer choose anything from an economical 1.3 to a fast V6 in the same body. Limited editions were a constant: the 1971 Capri Special came in Vista Orange (1,200 cars), the Mk II JPS of March 1975 echoed the black and gold of the John Player Special Formula 1 livery, and the 1984 Injection Special added half-leather seats and a limited-slip differential.

Engine and drivetrain

Britain and Germany used different engine families. British cars had Kent four-cylinder engines (1.3 and 1.6 litres), the Essex V4 2.0 and the Essex V6 3.0. German cars used Taunus V4 units (1.3, 1.5 and 1.7 litres) and the Cologne V6 in 2.0, 2.3 and later 2.6 and 2.8-litre form. The Mk III also had the 2.0-litre Pinto four-cylinder.

The 2.8 Injection was the defining late Capri: 118 kW (160 PS) and a top speed of 211 km/h (131 mph). The Essex 3.0 was dropped for the 1982 model year.

Ford Capri specifications

Variants and derivatives

The racing versions were just as important for the Capri's image. The RS 2600 carried Dieter Glemser (1971) and Jochen Mass (1972) to the European Touring Car Championship drivers' title. The RS 3100's Cosworth-developed GAA engine was taken to 3.4 litres and 324 kW (435 hp) for Group 2. In the 1981 Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft, Klaus Ludwig won the title in a Zakspeed Group 5 Capri turbo. The Mercury Capri name was used again from 1979 to 1986 for a Mustang-based car that had no connection to the European model.

In service: operation, reliability and legacy

The Capri's appeal lay in its simple, familiar engineering. Running gear and engines came from Ford's family cars of the time, so the mechanical parts were shared with high-volume models. Its main enemy over the decades has been the one shared by most steel-bodied cars of the period: corrosion.

The car's legacy is mainly cultural. It brought the pony-car idea to Europe and made a V6 coupé attainable for ordinary buyers. Its success in touring-car racing, from the RS 2600 to the Zakspeed turbo, gave it a reputation that outlasted the model, and the last edition, the 280 "Brooklands" with 1,038 cars, was still being registered as new in November 1989.

Preservation and collecting today

The most sought-after Capris are the low-production performance models: the RS 2600 and RS 3100 of the Mk I era, the Tickford and 2.8 Turbo of the Mk III era, and the final 280 Brooklands. A plain Mk II or Mk III 1.6 or 2.0 is the most affordable way into the model.

When inspecting any Capri, a buyer should check the bodywork for corrosion and repairs, confirm that the engine matches the model designation and, for the RS and limited-edition models, ask for documentation proving their identity. Other classic Fords and coupés of the period can be found in our classic cars section and in the Ford catalogue.