Ford built the Capri as Europe's own answer to the Mustang
Ford wanted to repeat its Mustang triumph in Europe, so it hired the Mustang designer Philip T. Clark to shape a sleek fastback on humble Cortina parts. It was meant to be called Colt, but Mitsubishi owned that name. As the Capri it sold nearly 1.9 million cars between 1968 and 1986.
Production began in November 1968, and the car was unveiled at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1969, with sales following a month later. Britain built it at Halewood, while plants at Genk in Belgium and at Saarlouis and Cologne in Germany supplied the continent. The name came from the Italian island and had already appeared on the earlier Ford Consul Capri. To keep this flashy pony car affordable, Ford offered a wide spread of engines, from small four-cylinder units to V6s, with different line-ups from the British and German factories. Underneath sat a live rear axle on leaf springs, front MacPherson struts and a collapsible steering column.
Buyers loved it: 400,000 sold in its first two years. The Weslake-headed, fuel-injected RS2600 of September 1971 produced 150 PS, reached 100 km/h in 7.7 seconds and formed the basis of a European Touring Car Championship racer. Ford also sold limited runs such as the Vista Orange Special, of which only 1,200 were made, complete with Mustang-style rear window slats. Sales peaked in 1973 at 233,000, and on 29 August that year the millionth Capri, an RS 2600, rolled out. North American versions gained big rubber bumpers to meet American safety rules.
The car travelled widely. It reached Australia in May 1969 and North America and South Africa in April 1970, where Basil Green Motors built the Perana, eventually fitted with a Ford Windsor V8. In Japan, Kintetsu Motors imported it.
After 1.2 million sales and the 1973 oil crisis, the Capri II of 25 February 1974 grew more practical, with a shorter bonnet, a roomier cabin and a hatchback opening onto a 630-litre boot, making it the first Ford with a hatchback. A black or white John Player Special edition of March 1975 wore gold pinstripes imitating the Formula One team's livery.
Source: Ford Capri
