Ford Capri

The Ford Capri was a car produced by Ford of Europe. Two different models named Capri were built.

Classic Capri

The first use of the name Capri was in a version of the Ford Classic saloon. The Ford Classic Capri was built from 1961 to 1963. It was a 2-door compact coupé, with a long tail and half-bubble roof. Initially available with an underpowered 1.3L engine, it was replaced in 1962 by a 1.5L, but sales were disappointing and the Capri vanished after three years.

Capri Mk1

The first real Ford Capri was introduced in January 1969 at the Brussels Motor Show, with sales starting the following month. The intention was to reproduce the success of the North American Ford Mustang in Europe, to produce a European pony car. It was mechanically based on the Cortina and built in Europe at the Dagenham and Halewood plants in the UK, the Genk plant in Belgium, and the Saarlouis and Cologne plants in Germany. The car was named Colt during development stage, but Ford were unable to use the name, as it was trademarked by Mitsubishi.

Although a fastback coupé, Ford wanted the Capri Mk.I to be affordable for a large spectrum of potential buyers. In order to that, it was available in a variety of engines. The British and German factories produced different line-ups. The continental model used the Ford Taunus V4 engine in 1.3, 1.5 and 1.7L displacement, while the British versions were powered by the Ford Kent straight-4 in 1.3 and 1.6L form. The Cologne V6 2.0L served as initial range-topper. Until the end of the year, new sports versions were added: the 2300 GT in Germany, using a double-barrel carburettor and 125PS (92kW), and the 3000 GT in the UK, with the Essex V6, capable of 138hp (103kW).

In April 1970, Ford began selling the Capri outside Europe, in the North-American, South African and Australian markets. These versions were powered solely by the underpowered Kent 1.6 engine, but a Pinto straight-4 2.0L replaced it in 1971. The American version featured new headlights and bumpers, and carried no brand badge.