The Ford Capri Story

You want a car with street cred, right? Something that makes you popular with women? Well, you don't want to be driving around in an SUV or crossover. If you want to stand out, you need some STYLE. To prove that you've got it right you need a powerful car, and what better than the Ford Capri, or “My Little Pony” as I like to call it. It has the power you need with a beautiful 3.0L V6 engine. It is not, and I repeat, it is NOT a 1.3L engine with a 3.0L badge plastered on the back. That? Do you want to know more before buying one?

Alright. Here is the hi

story

of the Ford Capri! (music) The Capri name had been used on many Fords since the early 1950s, starting with the Lincoln Cosmopolitan Capri in 1950 and the Lincoln Capri in 1952, but was first used on a European car with the Ford Consul of 1961. The Consul was a 4-door saloon and, appropriately, the Consul Capri was a 2-door coupe that looked so American that it looked like it had just been bought at a hamburger joint. In 1964, the launch of the Ford Mustang in North America came as a shock to the automobile industry, with a staggering 1 million units sold in the first 18 months.

Ford's European division took note and wanted something to replicate its success. It is not clear who first wrote Capri. Sources differ as to whether this is Phil Clark or Gordon Mackray in 1964 or 1965; However, both reported to Ford in Detroit, so the Capri began its life in the United States. The concept and Phil Clark were sent to Europe, where Ford's UK and German branches would collaborate to build their own "pony car", aptly named "Colt". Ford's German designer Uwe Bahnsen, Phil Clark and Neil Birtley worked together to produce the final design, which was given the green light in 1966.

Early designs did not include the classic D-shaped rear window, but when potential customers they complained, the back felt dark. and narrow, the iconic windows were added. The car would be a two-door, four-seater, and would be styled after its Mustang sibling to have a long front nose, with a dominant stance on the road. With movies like Goldfinger and Bullitt showcasing the Mustang's sleek lines and drivability, Ford was sure European customers would enjoy its new European pony car. To save costs, the car would be built using the underpinnings of the upcoming 1968 Ford Cortina. To meet its £20 million budget, the designers borrowed several parts from the Corsair, such as the taillights and steering from the Escort.

Until then, Ford had had a somewhat boring image in Europe. The new Colt would change this, but the change would begin with Ford's popular Cortina models, beginning in 1963. Before the Colt could be released, it hit a roadblock. Mitsubishi owned the Colt name and although Ford took them to court in 1968 to make the name public, they ultimately failed, leaving Ford looking for an alternative. Since the Capri name had been used on the two-door Ford Consul Capri coupe, it seemed like a good name to choose. Like "Cortina," "Capri" evoked thoughts of exotic Mediterranean cities, a far cry from the rainy northern European cities to which they would be driven, so was "Ford Capri." Ford also leveraged the name “Capri” as aspirational.

By purchasing it, you would join the stylish London jet-set without having to spend a lot of money and you could still take the kids to the supermarket and carry all your shopping in the boot. Production began in December 1968, so every dealer could have at least one in stock before its launch at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1969. Throughout the exhibition, on the Ford stand there was a large box wooden, and it was not until the last day of the show that the box was opened to reveal the Capri. And the smart marketing didn't end there. Dealers left them parked in public places like train stations to make sure you didn't miss out on this new car!

It was launched with the slogan “The car you always promised yourself” and demand was rapid. Ford wanted to make its new coupe as af

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able as possible, so it had engines from a small 1.3L all the way up to a 3.0L V6. They weren't afraid to dilute the car's performance credentials, they were just looking to sell, sell, sell. With prices starting at just £890, it was certainly af

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able. That's around £15,000 in 2019, which will buy you an entry-level Ford Fiesta. But that affordability came at a cost. The base 1.3L engine would take 23 seconds to reach 60, with a top speed of just 84 mph.

If you opted for the 3.0L 3000GT, that 0-60 time dropped to 9.2 seconds, with a top speed of 114 mph. The Capri may look fast, but only the badge on the back will tell you if it really was fast. But the car had light, precise handling and excellent, if limited-travel, suspension. Despite their fast coupe image, the faster 3.0L Capris were mainly sold with newfangled automatic gearboxes that sapped some of that speed. As with the Mustang, Ford had a hit on its hands with the Capri. More than 400,000 were sold in the first two years. Production expanded from Germany and the United Kingdom to Australia in 1969 and South Africa in 1970.

It was exported to New Zealand and Japan, where the 2.0L in particular was a success. And Capris produced in Germany were exported back to Ford's base to be sold not in Ford showrooms (so as not to overshadow its "Pinto"), but in its Mercury division. Since Americans were accustomed to larger cars, it was sold as an economical compact coupe. It is curious that in Europe the Capri was sold as a little American, while in the United States it was sold as an exotic car from Europe. Looks like you can have your cake and eat it! Ford even tested a Capri convertible through Crayford Motors as the Crayford Capri and Abbot Convertible.

These were only made in limited quantities and Ford did not bring them into mass production. With such a sporty image, it was only natural that Ford would produce a racing version. The RS2600 was launched in 1971 using the 2.6L engine and fuel injection to get the car from 0-100 in 7.7 seconds. Ford won the touring car championships in 1971 and 1972, before BMW's 3.0 CSL swept the field in 1973. To respond, Ford created the RS Capri using the bored 3.0L Essex engine. This time there was no fuel injection, which led to it having the same 148 hp as the RS2600, but with a lower stance and a rear wing, this car had better handling at high speeds and improved aerodynamics.

Ford in South Africa had more fun. Deeming the current engine range too weak, they placed a 5.0-litre Windsor V8 engine under the bonnet and called it the "Perana". With a monster engine under the hood, it was likely to bite your leg off! He had a 0-60 time of just 6.6 seconds and participated in sports car races in South Africa, where he swept in 1970 and 1971 before being banned due to his dominance. The Capri received a slight facelift in 1972. The suspension was improved, the dashboard was modified, new seats were fitted, and the small “Kent” engine was swapped for the “Pinto.” By 1973, the North American versions would have those big, ugly bumpers that grew like warts on automobiles during the 1970s.

That same year, Ford had already sold more than 1 million Capri, selling them faster than Ed's discount dolls. Sheeran at an Ed Sheeran concert. The competition came out to confront this new rival of the cheap coupe. Opel was the first to come out with the Manta in 1970. It was joined by Vauxhall's Firenza that same year and the Lancia Beta in 1972. European pony cars were all the rage, but the Capri continued to rule the roost. Even British Leyland took notice and designed, but ultimately eliminated, its Capri competitor that would have replaced the Triumph Stag. By 1973, sales had begun to decline, so Ford worked on a redesign codenamed "Diana." The big change was giving the Capri a hatchback, something that was becoming increasingly popular in the '70s and was actually Ford's first hatchback, but the car also gained a larger cabin by shortening the bonnet.

The dashboard and steering wheel have been updated to give them a more modern look. Although it helped sales in the short term, it did not stop Capri sales from falling and Ford stopped manufacturing them in the UK in 1976, moving all Capri production to Belgium and Germany. And America's brief love affair with the European Capri ended in 1977 when the US dollar proved unfavorable to European imports. Ford of North America revived the name in 1979 by rebadging the Ford Mustang as the Mercury Capri, and it lived until 1986. In the late '70s, Ford's European marketing team hit the ground running again, bringing its Capri sports car to movies and shows. television as Brannigan. starring John Wayne in 1975, Minder in 1979 and the vehicle of choice for Bodie and Doyle in "The Professionals" from 1978 to 1981.

However, it is unlikely that Ford's marketing team had anything to do with "Capri Ghia" by Del in "Only Fools and Horses”! Sales began to decline as the modern Capri fell out of fashion, but it wasn't done yet. Ford released an update to the Capri in 1978. The car was slipperier, reducing the drag of the mk2 at 0.43.0.4 Being slipperier meant it was quicker and lasted longer between visits to the petrol station. On the outside, the changes were small, with a revised front end, some trim changes and new round lights, the car gained. an improved suspension, anti-roll bars production was now limited to two German plants, showing that sales continued to decline.

Although it was now manufactured in Germany, the majority of Capri sales ended up in the UK, as it had developed there. a cult of sorts, something that continues to this day. But if sales were failing in the late '70s, the popularity of hot hatches in the early '80s was the Capri's death knell. Cars like Ford's XR2, XR3i and XR4i were the latest fast fashion, and the Capri seemed like a relic from another era. Left-hand drive production ended in 1984 and it was sold as a right-hand drive model in the UK until 1986, when the last Capri rolled off the production line after selling almost 2 million cars.

Just three years after Capri production ended, in 1989 Ford of Australia used the name for its new open roof, taking many of its parts from the Mazda 323. Ford of Australia always had an eye on the North American market with this new car, and was sold there again as the Mercury Capri in 1991. It used many Mazda parts, and Ford and Mazda were associated at the time, so it's curious that its main competition was Mazda's own MX-5, released almost at Same time. But due to the Capri's poor reliability, the MX-5 won out and production ended in 1994. Ever since production of the original Capri ended, European customers have been yearning for an affordable coupe.

They got their wish in the 1990s, first with the Ford Probe imported from North America in 1994, then with the Ford Puma in 1997 and the Ford Cougar in 1998. But neither of these cars were successful when production of the Probe ended in 1997. and the Puma and Cougar in 2002. Every few years rumors circulate about the launch of a new Ford Capri. First in 2003, then in 2009, and things heated up with the Evos concept in 2011. But with Ford's shift to making only SUVs and trucks in North America, and likely a reduction in coupes and hatchbacks in Europe, it's a real shame It's unlikely we'll see a new Capri anytime soon.

But this was not the end of Ford's powerful cars in Europe. In 2018, their car of them all, the Ford Mustang, finally arrived on European shores as a left- and right-hand drive car, although with prices starting at almost £38,000, it's not the affordable car it had been. Capri when it was launched, but the Capri did not have the option of a 5.0-liter V8 capable of reaching 60 mph in just 4.6 seconds. To keep my videos ad-free, get early access to new videos, or appear in the credits, consider supporting me using the Patreon link below from just $1 or 80p a month and hit the subscribe button to get notified of new videos .

Thanks for watching and see you in the next video!