...BUT THE DADDY OF THEM ALL WAS SOUTH AFRICAN

+ Click to Enlarge YELLOW PERIL: A Ford Capri Capri GXL - such subtle colours were an optional extra back in the 1970's.

May 5, 2009

The Ford Capri that we know in South Africa, "designed for the young at heart", is refusing to grow old gracefully as it celebrates it 40th birthday among fans in Europe.

Production ended in 1986 but the Capri lives on in many owners' clubs which will be celebrating the anniversary by getting together at various venues across Britain from early June to the end of September to show off their cars and swop stories.

The long-nosed Capri was launched in January 1969 and marketed as "the car you always promised yourself". Ford says it was unashamedly aimed at a style-conscious generation and in its 18 years was Europe's answer to the Ford Mustang sold nearly two million units and achieved iconic status with its target audience.

It wasn't a new name - there was a monster Ford in the US with the same name and Ford Britain had perhaps one of the ugliest cars yet made, the Consul Capri, earlier in the 1960's.

Though Ford Britain (from whence most of this information came) doesn't tell us so, the Ford Capri was a name used by the Ford Motor Company for three separate automobile models:

The Ford Consul Capri coupé (see picture) produced by Ford Britain from 1961-64
The Ford Capri coupe (the one we know in SA) produced by Ford Europe from 1969-1986 and in South Africa from 1970-72.
The Ford Capri convertible, produced by Ford Australia from 1989-1994.

For the serious drivers there was the Cologne-built RS2600 and the short-lived Halewood (Britain)-built, 200km/h RS3100 (the SA-built Perana was capable of close to 250km/h with a 0-100km/h time of seven seconds).

The Capri name was also used by Ford's Lincoln-Mercury Division on a number of models which did not bear the Ford name:
Lincoln Cosmopolitan Capri 1950/51
Lincoln Capri, 1952-59
Mercury Comet Capri 1966
Mercury Capri 1967
Capri, 1970 -77
Mercury Capri 1979-1986
Mercury Capri 1991-94

…and then there was the beast of them all, the rip-snortin' V8 Capri Perana built by Basil Green Motors right here in South Africa from 1970-73 as a conversion of the Capri 3000XL. Only 500 were built but many of those were exported to terrorise traffic in a number of European countries.

But back to the wimpish item produced in the UK… From the outset the Capri was about choice - 26 derivatives! There were 1.3, 1.6 and two-litre four-cylinder units and a three-litre V6 and custom packs allowed a degree of personal customising that broke new ground in the industry.

OPTION PACKS

A global oil crisis failed to slow the Capri's progress and in 1974 the Mk.II was launched. Smoother design lines and simplified option packs ensured the Capri appealed to a wider market.

Star status, Ford says, was assured with regular Capri appearances in Britain in TV shows such as 'Minder' and 'The Professionals'.

From 1978 the Mk III saw a tidying up of the Capri body and several special editions such as the Calypso and Laser (another name that lived on in SA). In 1981 Dunton's then new Special Vehicle Engineering department unveiled its first project, the 120kW Capri 2.8 injection (the Perana made 210kW)

NOT BIGGEST, BUT...

The limited edition Capri 280, also known as the Brooklands Capri, signalled the end of the Capri era and the last car left the line in December 1986.

While the Capri was not the biggest seller in Ford history it is evident from the devoted fan base that it is certainly one of the most fondly remembered.

Do you have any great memories or comments about the Capri? Tell us about them in the Comment section below...