"The Capri was to Europe what the Mustang was to America. It meant that people who'd only hoped for a dreary saloon could now own an exotic 2-door, and for the same sort of money. Proper job."
- James May on the Capri
Ford Capri is a fastback coupé built by Ford Europe from 1968 to 1986. The Capri is the European equivalent of the Ford Mustang. Mechanical components shared from the Mk2 Ford Cortina, the said model both design by Philip T. Clark.
Like the other Ford models. The Capri became 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 the Essex and Cologne V6 at the top of the range, while the Kent straight-four and Taunus 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.
In North America, the Capri was sold under the Mercury brand, a subsidiary of Ford.
The Capri notably appeared in the first episode of the 1977 format of Top Gear. An archived 2-minute clip can be viewed on YouTube, provided by BBC News.
Appearances[]
- In the very first episode of the Original format of Top Gear from Midlands, Angela Rippon drives the Capri where she describes her driving habits, including a comparison between male and female drivers.
- In 1986 Old Top Gear episode, Sue Baker witnesses the final build with corresponding number of production unit on the UK plant, then gave final review.
- In a 1998 episode of Old Top Gear, the Ford Capri briefly appeared when Jeremy Clarkson talked about good coupe based satisfaction prior to eliminating the best coupes in favour of Alfa Romeo GTV6.
- In Clarkson's Top 100 Cars, the Mk3 Ford Capri 2.8 ranked in 68th place on Jeremy's list.
- In Series 1, Episode 2 of Top Gear, Jeremy steals a Mk1 Capri RS3100 from one of the RS enthusiats on the Top Gear test track, much to Richard and Jason's amusement.
- In Series 13, Episode 4, in his introduction to the Focus RS review, Jeremy described the Capri RS3100 as Harold Wilson.
- In Series 13, Episode 5, James chose a Mk3 Capri 2.8 Injection as the best RWD car against Jeremy in a Porsche 944 S2 and Richard in a Nissan 300ZX. As well as losing the two challenges the Capri proved to be highly unreliable, eventually failing so badly that James was forced to use the backup car, a Morris Marina.
- In Top Gear: The Worst Car in the History of the World, James tested a Mk2 Capri 300E, describing it as a fantastic car that gave the world hope, and a brilliant example of Ford's Ingenuity.
- In Series 1, Episode 3 of James May's Cars of the People, James pitted the Mk2 Capri 300E against its American sibling, the Mustang GT. The Capri ended up winning.
- In Top Gear: The Perfect Road Trip 2, Jeremy and Richard agreed that the trip would end in Capri in a selection of Ford Capris, the Mk1 3.0L and Mk3 2.8 Injection. Though neither could agree which one they wanted, both had preference for the Mk1, they agreed to race in a pair of speed boats and whoever won would get the Mk1. Jeremy ended up winning though the victory was premature as by the end of the special both were arrested by the Carabinieri.
- In One for the Road, Hammond chooses a Mk1 Capri GXL as the car he's always wanted to own, against Clarkson in a Lancia Montecarlo and May in a Triumph Stag as they venture across Zimbabwe for their last ever adventure. His Capri, however, suffers most issues comparably to Clarkson's Montecarlo.