Ford’s UK operations were generally quite successful, and eventually became the #1 brand there. But there were a few missteps along the way, none more so than the Consul Capri and its sedan stablemate, the Consul Classic. They sprung from the the same basic assumption as did the Edsel in the US: that the market was ripe for a boldly-styled new upmarket car. We know how that unfolded here; within two and half years, the Edsel was (ugly) history.
Although it all happened three years later in the UK, the Consul Capri (and Consul Classic) followed a remarkably similar trajectory—thanks also to styling dictated from Dearborn—with the Capri exiting also after some two and a half years. Turns out the market wasn’t hot for a British Starliner. Ford UK learned its lesson, and its highly successful Cortina would be strictly a home-brew job.
Ford UK was strong in the low-cost sector, with its Prefect and Anglia, but had nothing in the next class up, where cars like the Hillman Minx and the BMC “Farina” cars dominated. In 1956, styling work for what would become the Consul Classic (also known as the 109E). The goal was for it to be “suitable for the golf club car park”, clearly more ambitious than previous Fords.
The styling direction (and cues) were straight from Dearborn, starting with its 1958 Thunderbird front end.
If the Consul Capri was to be Britain’s Starliner, then the car it was derived from, the Consul Classic would have been Britain’s Edsel. It was intended to be a stylish up-market car, but it came two years late to market, looked utterly out of date when it finally arrived well into 1961, was way too expensive to build, and turned out to be a major flop. And just like the Edsel, it was withdrawn from the market after only two and a half years, replaced by the much more pragmatic Cortina-based Corsair.
Then there was the ’58 Continental reverse-rake rear window and its 1960 Ford “side-fins” that curved back down into the rear end. None of it was organic or harmonious, and reflected late ’50s American styling, and not at its best.
That wasn’t the extent of its woes: for various reasons, the Consul Classic appeared two years later than it did; it might have been better received in 1969 than in mid-1961. There were numerous issues in getting into production, and then it turned out to be a much more expensive car to actually build than had been anticipated. Ford UK knew it had a problem before it even arrived.
Meanwhile, the Anglia was a huge hit, so production capacity was bestowed on it, and less for the Consul Classic, which looked like it would never be able to be built profitably.
None of that stopped the plans for a hardtop coupe, a Starliner version, with a semi-fastback coupe “bubble-top” hardtop roof, to use up a few more American stylistic leftovers.
It wasn’t just stylistic cliches; the Consul Capri was the first to use the term “Personal Car” in the UK, a term essentially invented for the original Thunderbird.
This page from the brochure makes its intended buyers and marketing positioning quite obvious. Unfortunately, they mostly failed to materialize, undoubtedly in good part because the Capri already looked dated and their eyes were looking elsewhere. A Ford just didn’t convey the kind of prestige that so many other marques did. How about a nice Alfa coupe?
Looks racy, no? Under its hood beat a 1340 cc three-bearing “Kent” ohv four that churned out all of 56.5 hp. Due to fairly common issues with its crankshaft, a five bearing unit with 1498 cc was available a year later. That upped output to 64 hp, but was still a bit lackluster in terms of any genuine sporting ambitions.
So in February 1963, a GT version arrived, with its engine tuned by Cosworth, featuring a higher compression, a twin-throat Weber carb, larger exhaust valves, an aluminum intake manifold and a four branch exhaust header which bumped output to 78 hp. It’s the same engine that powered the Cortina GT, where it found a much more successful life.
The Capri came with either a column shift or floor shift for its four speed transmission; this one appears to have the latter.
I should point out that technically the Consul Capri was sold in the US, but I’ve never seen one, ever; even back in the day. There were plenty of Anglias and then Cortinas, but nary a single Consul Classic or Capri. Now that would be quite a find; anything’s possible. Maybe there’s one rusting away in some overgrown lot or out in the desert somewhere. Keep your eyes peeled!
The little bat wings make it pretty easy to spot. Ironically, that rear lower bright panel looks a lot like…
an Anglia grille.
And from the side, its profile is unmistakable. And not in a good way.
The Capri’s body was mostly made by the Pressed Steel Company, which added to its cost and production inefficiencies. A total of 19,421 Capris were made in its two and a half year run. Time to move on…
But the Capri name came galloping back in 1969, this time for much longer. The new Capri was of course a massive hit in Europe, where it took the Mustang Formula and applied it properly (and locally), not just a jumble of American leftover styling cues. Of course things had changed too, in terms of the market, as incomes rose strongly during the sixties in Western Europe, making the Capri, even if it was just a 1.3 L four, very affordable. It was now a Mustang instead of a Thunderbird. And of course it came to the US too, where it was also a hit, the #2 selling import car for a few years.
Related reading:
Carshow Classic: 1969 Ford Capri – The European Mustang Ford Always Promised Itself
Curbside Classic: 1971 – 1978 Capri – Ponycar Reborn
Ah, the forgotten Capri; which it largely was by 1969 when ‘the’ Capri came out. Ford’s project name for the Capri was ‘Sunbird’, maybe referencing the Sunliner and Thunderbird. The only other ‘mass market’ coupe in the UK at that time would have been Rootes’ Sunbeam Rapier, but that outsold the Ford over that same period (27,054* against 19,421), despite being about 5 years older in origin.
The whole Consul Classic line was quickly made obsolete by the Cortina, almost the same size but more than 300 pounds lighter in 4-door form to the benefit of performance and economy.
In relative terms the Consul Capri probably has the longest boot on any British car. Side-on with that long back though I can’t help thinking there’s a degree of resemblance to Vauxhall’s Firenza. And that wasn’t a roaring sales sucess either.
* series 3a & 4 only, 1961-64.
Yes, Ford was a fairly ordinary purveyor of family cars, despite rally successes with the Zephyr, and a sporty looking coupe just wouldn’t fit with Ford’s image. I wouldn’t have thought of comparing it with the Rapier. It looks more modern than the Rapier (albeit in an alternative-universe kind of way), but the Sunbeam had a long-established sporting cachet; Ford was more of a Johnny-come-lately.
The greenhouse of the red car from the side gives me strong Volvo P1800 vibes.
Ugh, I was trying to figure what that resembled–good eye.
The greenhouse and front clip look like they’re from the same car, but the rest of it look like it’s from another car. Two decent halves don’t cohere to a whole.
I’ve long been curious about this car. Its side view, especially the greenhouse with the distinctively shaped rear side window, does bear some resemble to the later Capri that was such a hit. The other styling details don’t bother me, but the trunk/boot looks way too long for the rest of the car – chop off about 15 inches, then move the rear wheels forward about half a foot, and you’ll have a nicely proportioned car.
I’m a bit confused about the Consul prefix, which was also used on Cortinas in the early ’60s. Was that intended to become a Ford sub-brand of sorts? Ford seems to have dropped it on both cars after a few years, based on the 1963 advert for the Capri GT shown above. Anyway, Ford does seem to have tried to all but erase this car from its history, as the follow-up to the hit early-’70s Capri was called the Capri II when it really was the Capri III. Rather like the Continental Mark III, IV, and V from 1958-60 in the US, which Ford likewise wrote out of their history by calling the new “personal” 1969 Lincoln Continental the Mark III, and its popular successors Mark IV and V, as if the ungainly 1958-60 models never happened.
Consul was used on a lot of ‘middle-sized’ British Fords in the early 1960s. The original Consul was the 4-cylinder version of the ‘large’ Ford (Zephyr and Zodiac for the 6-cylinder versions). In 1961 the Mk.2 Consul was renamed Consul 375 at the time the Consul Classic 315 was introduced. In 1962 the new ‘large’ Mk.3 Ford dropped the Consul name, instead having a Zephyr 4 for the base 4-cylinder model. The Consul Capri and then the Consul Cortina arrived in 1962*. The last new Consul model was the Consul Corsair in 1963, replacing the Consul Classic.
The Consul Capri went in 1964, the facelifted Cortina dropped the Consul name in the same year, the Corsair dropping it when the new V4 engines arrived in 1965. The name was then dormant until 1972 when it was reintroduced for the base versions of the new Granada, up to 1975.
* In the UK; the Capri was export only in 1961.
Thanks, Bernard. Not unlike Oldsmobile with ‘Cutlass’. Thanks for listing all those uses of the Consul name; I remember seeing the badge on the early Cortinas as a kid and being confused. That only leaves the question of ‘Why?’ 🙂
I seem to remember seeing a blue with white top example of this car, but it may have been here on Curbside.
Looking at some of the ” features ” that were advertised for this car should remind folks how basic cars were even 60 years ago. Fitted carpets? 4 on the floor? Weber carburetor (just 1)? A 4 branch exhaust manifold? And then, something nearly every new car has had for about 25 years whether they needed it or not…..a tachometer.
This is one of those cars that I could almost like were it not for that puffy/overwrought front end styling.
You mentioned that the car would have been better received in 1969. I believe you meant to write 1959.
The result looks more AMC than Ford. It’s a ’61 Ambassador, and the sporty version has a Marlin roof.
The only definite Ford touch to my eyes is the grille stars taken from the Meteor parts bin.
Yes, the way the roof side trim thickens toward the rear is very Marlinesque.
I thought the same thing, enough that I wonder if it influenced Rambler’s Dick Teague not only on the Marlin, but the earlier American-based Tarpon concept car.
I remember seeing both the sedan and the coupe here in California, but never in any numbers. These are cars which my childhood memory says we’re sold, along with Vauxhall Victors, by the small independent “import” shop in Berkeley which had also sold Hillman, Citroën and Peugeot However, most records indicate that the Fords and Vauxhalls were only sold at Ford and GM dealerships here so it could have been an anomaly … or my memories are wrong. I know I had an American Consul Classic brochure as a kid. As for the slant-back window Anglia, years later I took a spin around the block in an Anglia powered by a 1600 cross flow Kent. Quite peppy.
You havent lived untill youve been sideways on gravel roads at over 100mph in a Anglia van with 1600 twin weber kent and all the fruit they could be made into a real road weapon, lots of us survived that but the cars didnt.
I saw a few, too, both in California and New Mexico. Thanks to Matchbox I recognized both Consul and Anglia easily.
I’m showing my bad taste in cars again but I think these are fabulous, so glorious in their excess and mishmash of shape and details. Don’t think I’ve ever seen one in person but I’m glad to see these preserved examples.
Of course given the choice I’d rather have a 1969 Capri. So beautiful, and in a completely opposite way to the Consul Capri.
That’s not bad taste, just different.
But if you saw one in person you may change your opinion
These cars were designed after a night of eating awful food aa drinking cheap liquor.
So ugly they’re actually cute cars. I like both the two door sedan and hardtop. Would be nice to have one now to drive.
Random fact of the day: The Consul Capri windshield is used both by the early Reliant Scimitar and Lotus Elan +2. Possibly Ford thought they were going to sell a lot more of these and they or a supplier had a stock pile to sell off?
I often like oddball/unloved cars, but I cannot work up any enthusiasm over this one at all.
Must a been a contender round 1962! Those “waay out front” mirrors seem odd.
What Frankenwagen! It’s like they put glue on all the body parts and tossed them on the car, in no particular order.
So cool we got a new Classic today. I didn’t know this existed but my knowledge of British Fords is not wide.
“Maybe there’s one rusting away in some overgrown lot or out in the desert somewhere. Keep your eyes peeled!”
Well the red one you have many photos on in this post will be one very familiar to someone living in Bristol (UK) and who drives down Coronation Road regularly! It is not just street furniture as it’s a regular-ish driver and one that has been living along there for many decades.
That’s the one, parked riverside by Southville.
Had my consul Capri for 18yrs still driving it daily
The rear end reminds me of the 58 Chevy and the vent windows remind me of forward look Chryslers, what an odd amalgamation of styles, not much Ford really ironically, I kind of sort of see 58 Tbird in a few front end details but 59 Oldsmobile is what I’m more reminded of. I also agree with what others observed that roofline has Marlin vibes too, namely that thick trim, Rambler should’ve looked at this car as a warning before committing to that design.
I don’t hate it though, it largely just of reminds me of a lot of 70s Japanese car designs where many were essentially a “best of” of American car features combined into a small package. Considering the weirdness of something like the Datsun 200sx of that nature the Consul Capri isn’t bad.
Quite a popular classic these days over here if you can find one as are the basic four door sedans we didnt get the 2 door sedan, survivors of the Consul classic are rare rust got most of them and nobody saved them for later the 1340 engines and disc brake struts went into Ford Anglias and 100E prefects as performance up grades they were a good parts car, the flimsy Cortinny was a much more popular car from Ford Anglias sold by the truckload and are also quite rare they were a boyracer favourite in my teen years and most met their fate that way.
Growing up, these always looked, when we actually saw one, as the odd one out in the Ford family. The Anglia and Zephyr may have had US styling cues but not to the same overwhelming extent of the Consul Classic, which also seemed oddly named. The Capri was always a rare sight.
And the styling dominates everything on these, so it’s no surprise that it didn’t succeed and that the Cortina ended up being calmer, more modern and much less polarising. The Cortina formula was good enough to be used for 20 years, and was extended into Europe under the Taunus nameplate.
Never thought of them being an Edsel for the UK, but your analogy works when linked to the golf club aspiration, something obviously linked to this horror by someone who hadn’t been to a 1950s/60s British golf club.
My parents bought their first new car in ’64, an Anglia deluxe in pale green with cream roof, but as a car mad 7 year old I hankered after the American style of the Classic and Capri, or the Lotus Cortina as raced so successfully by my hero Jim Clark.
Compared to many of it’s contemparies the Classic and Capri were much more exciting visually….to me!
I don’t think its that bad for its era, some suitable alloy wheels would improve it a lot.
The worst aspect is the front, maybe trying too hard with its quad headlights and big stars on the grille.
But I give it points for just being a sporty coupe, which is a sore point with me given the choices we have today.
Although not officially sold in Australia I saw one on my way home from school once; must have been a newish car then.
I’ve always been fascinated by these forgotten Fords. To my eyes the styling is rather pleasant. But then I like ’60 Fords too, so what can you say? 🙂 I’d always have liked to have a Classic sedan, but alas there are not any (here).
The one thing that amazes me about these Classics is the weight. For these things to weigh so much more than a Cortina they must have been massively overbuilt. Okay, the Cortina shell was ultralight bordering on fragile, but 300lbs difference in a car weighing less that a ton – that’s a huge amount! And it’s not as though Ford had no experience with unitary construction; they’d started with the Consul (there’s that name again!) and Zephyr in 1950. With two generations of Consul/Zephyr, the 100E Prefect Anglia and the 105E Anglia under their belt, how come the weight blew out?
They weren’t particularly heavy, but not particularly light either. I tabulated some comparative weights and other measures for some common 4 door saloons of the period (1962). The real heavyweight was the BMC Farina and, for its size, the Audax Minx. Price and economy also weighed heavily in the Cortina’s favour, even if the top speed wasn’t too hot on the basic 1200 model.
Not directly on topic, but interesting to note that the car with the longest wheelbase is the second shortest in length.
Road and Track did a road test of a Consul Capri in June of 1962. 0-60 in 20.8 sec. Topped out at 82, so not a hotrod.
A friend of mine had one of these, and I quite like the styling. He ended up transplanting some other sort of ford engine with a hot cam in it, and it went quite well, I guess they weighed very little. Riding in the back seat was interesting, it was little more than an uncushioned parcel shelf.
That’s what I remember them for, the back ‘seat’ which consisted of a horizontal carpeted shelf in front of a vertical carpeted wall. They looked as horrendously uncomfortable as the exterior looked awkward…
Well we love ours and so do the many admirers that ask about her.Its different I tell them.
Back when dad had the Chevy dealership, the NADA used car books would have thumbnail line drawings of each foreign car listed, no doubt to help the salesman/appraiser figure out exactly what the customer was trading in. I remember seeing the picture of the Consul Capri two door and immediately being fascinated with it due to its looks.
To this day, I’ve never seen one in the metal. This article will go do as the closest I’ve yet come.
BTW, did the reverse-angle backlight on the Consul Classic have a retractable glass for ‘breezeway’ function as did the Lincolns and Mercurys?
Have read the Ford Consul Classic was originally intended to appear in 1959 where it would have had a bit more success instead of 1961, personally not a fan of the rear rear-fins.