Ford Capri
The Ford Capri is a car which was built by Ford of Europe from 1968 to 1986. It is a fastback coupé and was designed by Philip T. Clark, who had been involved in the design of the Ford Mustang. It used the mechanical components from the Mk2 Ford Cortina and was intended as the European equivalent of the Ford Mustang. The Capri went on to be highly successful for Ford, selling nearly 1.9 million units in its lifetime. A wide variety of engines were used in the car throughout its production lifespan, which included V6 engines named Essex and Cologne at the top of the range, while the straight-four and V4 engines were used in lower-specification models. Although the Capri was not officially replaced, the second-generation Probe was effectively its replacement after the later car's introduction to the European market in 1994.
History
Ford Capri Mk I (1969–1974)
Production of the Capri began in November 1968. It was unveiled in January 1969 at the Brussels Motor Show, with sales starting the following month. The intention was to reproduce in Europe the success Ford had had with the North American Ford Mustang by producing a European pony car.It was mechanically based on the Cortina, built at the Halewood plant for the United Kingdom and at Genk, Saarlouis and Cologne for Europe. The car was named Colt during its development stage, but Ford was unable to use the name, which had already been trademarked by Mitsubishi.
The name Capri comes from the Italian island and this was the second time Ford had used the name, the previous model being the Ford Consul Capri, often just known as the Capri in the same way the Ford Consul Cortina and Ford Consul Classic rarely used the "Consul" in everyday use.
Ford wanted the flashy fastback coupé to be affordable for a broad spectrum of potential buyers, which it made possible in part by making it available in a variety of engines. The British and German factories produced different Capri Mk I line-ups, with the continental model using the Ford Taunus V4 engine in 1.3, 1.5 and 1.7 L engine displacements, and British the Ford Kent straight-four in 1.3 and 1.6 L form. The Ford Essex V4 engine 2.0 L and Cologne V6 2.0 L served as initial range-toppers. At the end of the year, new sports versions were added: the 2300 GT in Germany, using a double-barrel carburettor with, and in September 1969 the 3000 GT in the UK, with the Essex V6, capable of.
Under the new body, the running gear was very similar to the 1966 Cortina. The rear suspension employed a live axle supported on leaf springs with short radius rods. MacPherson struts were featured at the front in combination with rack and pinion steering which employed a steering column that would collapse in response to a collision.
The initial reception of the car was broadly favourable. The range continued to be broadened, with another 3.0 variant, the Capri 3000E introduced from the British plant in March 1970, offering "more luxurious interior trim".
Ford began selling the Capri in the Australian market in May 1969 and in April 1970 it was released in the North American and South African markets. The South African Models initially used the Kent 1.6 engine and the V4 2.0 version of the Essex, although a Pinto straight-four 2.0 L replaced it in some markets in 1971. An exception, though, was the Perana manufactured by Basil Green Motors near Johannesburg, which was powered first by a 3.0 Essex engine and then by a 302ci V8 Ford Windsor engine after Ford South Africa began offering 3.0 Essex-engined options. All North American versions featured the "power dome" hood and four round 5" U.S.-spec headlights. They carried no "Ford" badging, as the Capri was only sold by Lincoln-Mercury dealers and promoted to U.S. drivers as "the sexy European".
The Capri was sold in Japan with both the 1.6 L and 2.0 L engines in GT trim. Sales were handled in Japan by Kintetsu Motors, then an exclusive importer of Ford products to Japan. The 2.0-litre engine attracted a higher annual road tax, but both models qualified as compact cars under the Japanese vehicle class system.
A new 2637 cc version of the Cologne V6 engine assembled by Weslake and featuring their special all alloy cylinder heads appeared in September 1971, powering the Capri RS2600. This model used Kugelfischer fuel injection to raise power to and was the basis for the Group 2 RS2600 used in the European Touring Car Championship. The RS2600 also received modified suspension, a close ratio gearbox, lightened bodywork panels, ventilated disc brakes and aluminium wheels. It could hit 100 km/h from a standstill in 7.7 seconds. The 2.6 L engine was detuned in September for the deluxe version 2600 GT, with 2550 cc and a double-barrel Solex carburettor. Germany's Dieter Glemser won the drivers' title in the 1971 European Touring Car Championship at the wheel of a Ford Köln entered RS2600 and fellow German Jochen Mass did likewise in 1972.
The first Ford Special was the Capri Vista Orange Special. The Capri Special was launched in November 1971 and was based on the 1600 GT, and 2000 GT models. It was only available in vista orange and was optional dealer fitted with a Ford Rally Sport boot mounted spoiler and rear window slats – a direct link to the Mustang. The Special also had some additional standard extras such as a push-button radio, fabric seat upholstery, inertia reel seat belts, heated rear screen and black vinyl roof. There were only 1200 Vista Orange Capri Specials made.
One of the last limited editions of the original Mk I was the GTXLR Special, a version that came in either metallic green or black with red interior and featured some additional extras, such as cloth inserts in the seats, hazard lights, map reading light, opening rear windows, vinyl roof and for the first time a bonnet bulge was fitted to the sub-3.0-litre models. This special edition was only available with the 1.6 or 2.0 engines.
Mk I facelift
The Capri proved highly successful, with 400,000 cars sold in its first two years. Ford revised it in late 1971. It received new and more comfortable suspension, enlarged tail-lights and new seats. Larger headlamps with separate indicators were also fitted, with quad headlamps now featured on the 3000GXL model. The Kent engines were replaced by the Ford Pinto engine and the previously UK-only 3000 GT joined the German line-up. In the UK the 2.0 L V4 remained in use.In addition, North American versions received larger rubber-covered bumpers for 1973.
In 1973, the Capri saw the highest sales total it would ever attain, at 233,000 vehicles: the 1,000,000th Capri, an RS 2600, was completed on 29 August.
On 25 September 1973, Ford gave the green light to the long-awaited RHD RS Capri, replacing the Cologne V6 based RS 2600 with the Essex V6 based RS 3100, with the usual 3.0 L Essex V6's displacement increased to by boring the cylinders from the of the 3.0 L to. Unlike its predecessor, it used the same double-barrel 38-DGAS Weber carburetor as the standard 3.0 L, and reached the same at 5000 rpm as the RS 2600 and at 3000 rpm of torque. The RS 3100's ride height was one inch lower than other Capris, and also featured other unique modifications such as gold pinstriping, a ducktail rear spoiler, a re-drilled crossmember to move the suspension arms outward to provide negative camber which also made it necessary to have special wider flared front wings, heavy duty springs with Bilstein gas dampers at the front and rear, competition single rear leaf springs, special bump rubbers and spacer blocks, a small front air dam and larger 9.75 inch front ventilated disc brakes. These modifications made the RS 3100 very stable at high speeds but several reviews also complained about its rough ride. Only 250 RS3100s were built for homologation purposes between November 1973 and December 1973 so its racing version could be eligible for competition in the over three-litre Group 2 class for the 1974 season However, the car was still competitive in touring car racing, and Ford Motorsport produced a 100-model limited edition with this new engine. The Group 2 RS3100's engine was tuned by Cosworth into the GAA, with, fuel injection, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder and in racing trim. The car also featured improved aerodynamics. Besides the racing RS3100, the GAA engine was also used in the Formula 5000 racing category.
Ford Capri Mk II – 'Capri II' (1974–1978)
On 25 February 1974, the Capri II was introduced. After 1.2 million cars sold, and with the 1973 oil crisis, Ford chose to make the new car more suited to everyday driving with a shorter bonnet, larger cabin and the adoption of a hatchback rear door. This made it the first Ford to feature a hatchback, at a time when the hatchback was becoming increasingly popular in Europe after first being patented by Renault in the mid-1960s. By the standards of the mid-1970s, the Capri II was a very well evolved vehicle with very few reliability issues. For Germany the Capri now offered 1.3-litre, 1.6-litre, 1.6-litre GT, or 2.0-litre straight-four engines, complemented by a 2.3-litre V6 and the UK sourced 3.0-litre V6 with, available with either a four-speed Ford Type 5 manual transmission or one of Ford's new C3 three-speed automatic transmissions available on all models except the 1.3, the C3 automatic transmission proved to be a very popular option among Ghia buyers, therefore it became standard on all Ghia models after the 1976 model year and the four-speed manual transmission became optional.Although it was mechanically similar to the Mark I, the Capri II had a revised, larger body and a more modern dashboard and a smaller steering wheel. The 2.0 L version of the Pinto engine was introduced in the European model and was placed below the 2.3-litre V6 and the 3.0-litre V6. The Capri still maintained the large rectangular headlights, which became the easiest way to distinguish between a Mark II and a Mark III. Larger front disc brakes, a standard alternator and a front air-dam on all S models finished the list of modifications.
Ford introduced the John Player Special limited edition, in March 1975. Available only in black or white, the JPS featured yards of gold pinstriping to mimic the Formula 1 livery, gold-coloured wheels, and a bespoke upgraded interior of beige cloth and carpet trimmed with black. In May 1976, and with sales decreasing, the intermediate 3.0 GT models disappeared to give way for the upscale 3.0 S and Ghia designations. In October 1976, the only UK plant producing Capris, Ford's Halewood plant stopped production, and all production of the Capri was moved to the Cologne Body & Assembly factory in Germany.
The last year that Capris were made for the US market was 1977, with 513,500 cars sold in the year.