Ford Capri: "The Car You Always Promised Yourself", was Ford's attempt to do in Europe what it had achieved sensationally in the US with its Mustang. At the Brussels Motor Show in January 1969 the unveiling of the car to the public caused an immediate sensation.
The styling had been extensively 'cliniced' and the trademark C-shaped side rear window had come about because of feedback that rear seat passengers in the four-place coupé felt claustrophobic.
For running gear Ford used power units from the Mk I Escort, the Cortina and the Corsair in 1.3, 1.6 and 2-litre sizes respectively.
The car was competitively priced but in performance terms it was pretty tame in its basic format, with a 23-second 0-60mph and 52bhp not at all reflecting the long bonnet's promise of power. Nor did the 84mph top speed. But the rakish shape and details like the dummy 'air vents' ahead of the back wheels sold it on 'fast looks'.
For those who wanted something better, but without moving up the engine size scale, the 1300 GT had 14bhp more and a smarter six-dial instrument setup - as well as two-speed wipers. And the 14.8-second 0-60mph was substantially better.
The 1600cc engine taken from the Cortina, with 64bhp available at launch and a 15.5-second 0-60 sprint capability, was a much more popular proposition. And the twin-carbed GT version could 'ton-up' to 104mph. The 2-litre V4, its engine from the Corsair, was only marginally faster. A 2.3-litre model produced in Germany, the 2300 GT, was the basis of the Capri's first company-sponsored racing programme.
In 1970, Ford released its most powerful British production car to date in the Capri 3000GT and 3000E, with 128bhp under the hood from its V6 engine breaking the sub-10 second sprint. At the same time, the standard engines were all tweaked in the power department.
The 3000 was further improved in 1971 and an RS 2600 model was produced in Germany as the basis for a successful race car.
A face-lift in 1972 gave it larger headlights and rear lamps, a 'power bulge' on the bonnet, more supportive seats and better knee-room for rear-seat passengers. In 1973, anxious to wrest its European Touring Car Championship crown back from a racing resurgent BMW, Ford produced the RS3100 homologated road version of its Capri racer, using a bored-out 3-litre V6 that gave it 125mph and 7.3 seconds to 60mph. It sold in very small numbers, not least because such large-engined beasts were not exactly suited to the oil crisis of that year. The race version had a 3.4-litre quad-cam engine with 450bhp.
The Capri was restyled in 1974 to the Mk II, losing its dummy vents and gaining a full-length crease along the side instead of the original, which had abruptly curved down after the rear wheel arch. The side windows were larger thanks to a curve in the door-top and the overall look was sleeker. And the car was now a hatchback.
At the larger engine level, the V4 2-litre was replaced by a straight-4 from the Ford of America Pinto (also the source of the 1600cc unit added two years earlier). It was also the era of the vinyl roof, and GT versions of the Capri came with the adornment.
Meantime on the race tracks, a successful Capri-style car in Group 5 was powered by a turbocharged 1.4-litre engine that punched out over 300bhp.
The next redesign, producing the Mk III in 1978, was rather more subtle than the previous effort, and the main visual changes included larger bumpers and side strips.
On the racing circuits, a Division 1 Capri was powered by a 600bhp 1.7-litre engine. A 5-speed gearbox option on the 1600s and 2-litres became standard during the life of the Mk III and in the middle of 1981, the 3-litre engine was replaced by a fuel-injected 2.8-litre unit. Poster advertising showed a Capri being struck in the rear by a lightning bolt and the slogan: 'Goes like ...'
In 1984, Ford stopped producing LHD Capris and for the next two years the car was only sold in Britain and Ireland. When production finally ceased in 1986, almost two million had been built.
Born: 1969 Died: 1986