It’s easy to forget what an impact the Capri made in the US, never mind the huge one in Europe. It filled a perfect hole, an affordable European sporty coupe that both the general public and genuine enthusiasts embraced. The Capri quickly jumped to the #2 selling import in 1969, ousting the Opel Kadett. It offered lively performance (with the 2.0 L four), crisp handling and a quality feel. But Ford was ready to up the ante in 1972, with a 2.6 L Cologne 60 degree V6. The result was more of the same.
shown without stock air cleaner
It’s interesting to note that R&T had very limited experience with V6 engines, given how utterly ubiquitous they would become. But other than the rough-running 90 degree Buick used for a couple of years in the Special in the early ’60s, and a few exotics, there were no popular V6s, so the Capri’s was essentially America’s introduction to the genre. A development of the Cologne V4, it was remarkably compact, and R&T called it “a jewel”, with “a delightful exhaust note.”
It wasn’t all that much faster than the 2.0 L four, but its refinement and other pleasures made it well worth it. “Our enthusiasm for this engine is almost unbounded”.
The fact that the Capri, which was really just an amalgamation of existing European Ford parts/chassis/engine/etc. in a new body configuration, in the same way the American Mustang was a Falcon under the skin, and yet fostered so much approval and enthusiasm, shows how relatively low the American bar was in terms of small cars at the time. The Capri was simply a significantly better coupe than a Vega, Pinto, or Maverick. And it was a better 1965 Mustang, at that. There’s zero doubt in my mind that the big success of the Capri resulted in the similarly-compact Mustang II, although it came out much more bloated and decidedly lacking in exactly the charms that made the Capri such a delight.
Always enjoy a good Capri. I believe the ‘Essex’ V6 we had was somewhat less smooth, though with a good helping of torque. It was supposed to be improved over its earlier appearance in the Mk.IV Zodiac.
The silver blue car is a but of an enigma as it has the facelift side vents (much shorter compared to those in the test article) and the new dashboard, that largely carried over to the Capri II, but it has the old Escort rear lights instead of the larger ones.
I had a new 1974 Capri 2800 V6 and most things in this article are true. Great build quality, enough power and a fantastic exhaust note. My first new car plus Ford of Canada had a $500 rebate on it too. Problems included a drive shaft centre bearing that would “ring” a certain speeds, valves needed adjusting regularly and a crappy clutch that wouldn’t stay adjusted either.
I traded it in on a new 76 Trans Am Firebird 2 years later.
I’ve mentioned before that a V-6 Capri owned by a cousin was the car I learned to shift on, so I’ve always had a soft spot.
They were also the in the right place at the right time, indroduction-wise. Until the mid 70s changes in exchange rates between the DM and the dollar decimated the value proposition on this side of the pond.
There’s a really good article on Hagerty’s website comparing the Capri II with the Mustang II, and it says that by ’77, the Capri had a base price of ~$4600 while the Mustang started around $3700. Must have made the Capri II a tough sell.
Read the article here:
https://www.hagerty.com/media/hagerty-magazine/mustang-ii-worthy-german-built-rival-capri-ii/
OMG that vinyl roof! Although looked at as an abomination today, one must understand how wildly popular these were back in the day. In 1972 they put these on everything, regardless of how they looked. They may have been tolerable on large cars, not so much on small ones. This one is particularly bad.
Back in 1972 I had a part time job at the Dundalk Marine Terminal outside of Baltimore for a car importer that handled these. Got to drive quite a few around the terminal. Was quite impressed, especially with the six. The muscle car era was coming to an end and I hopefully thought this might be the future of sporty cars in America. Instead, Ford let the Capri wither on the vine and gave us the Mustang II. GM continued with wheezing, bloated Camaro and Firebirds. Chrysler didn’t even try. Japan was paying attention however, giving us the fabulous Nissan 240Z.
Having lived through the vinyl roof era, I have to agree. There are some cars it suits, many that it’s okay on, and some it definitely doesn’t. I always kinda liked the roof on my old Cortina. In most cases I’d err on the side of retaining the vinyl on the score of originality, but this is one car I’d happily strip it from.
If you think the vinyl top on this was bad, shoulda seen the one my 1972 240Z had. Never saw another like it, although at a car show a guy guessed it was from the Albuquerque Datsun dealership… he was right, per old registration slips… apparently that dealer put a black vinyl roof on every 240Z they got!
There’s a Subaru dealer in Denver that until it traded hands a couple of years ago, would put a pinstripe on every single Subaru before they put it on their lot. I recall getting quotes for one (a Subaru, not a pinstripe set) from a different dealer and they were looking for dealer trades and asked if I’d be willing to consider a car with a pinstripe since that other dealer was the only one who had the configuration I wanted. “Uh, no”. So we just ordered a new build from the factory instead. So odd what some dealers do, I’d understand maybe on some small percentage of the cars but not every single one.
Seeing how the pinstripes faded into oblivion on my Mustang over the years, when I picked out my Civic, it didn’t have them. Sadly, a few days later when I picked the car up, they had put them on free of charge. I wasn’t very happy about that, free or not. While the look good now, I doubt they will by the time my Civic is as old as my Mustang.
A V6 Capri was one of my dream cars in the early 70’s when I had just gotten my license, and it’s still on the very short list of classic sporty cars that I’d seriously consider buying today. It seemed like a bullseye to me at the time, and I think time has proven me right.
Sadly, the Capri ended up suffering the same fate as that of the Opel Manta, and that’s simply that the then-current exchange rate with the Deutsche mark made them prohibitively expensive for the US market.
OTOH, the BMW 2002, somehow, managed to come out on top as the premier German sport sedan of the seventies.
It was advertised as “the sexy European under $2300,” then “the sexy European under $2400,” and then “the sexy European you can afford.”
I’m intrigued by the mention of the Ford UK V6 having been sold in the US—that was new on me. What car was it in?
Ca. 1973 I went with a fellow UO student and her then boyfriend, later husband, to the West Eugene DMV office to get our Oregon driver’s licenses. She had a V6 Capri with automatic. I was capable of driving a stick (my car at the time was a Fiat 128), but I figured that an automatic would make things a bit easier, and in the unlikely event that I failed, one of the other two could drive me back. One of the other two drove to and from the DMV, so my only wheel time was during the actual test, but her boyfriend said, “This car moves out.” She said she’d driven it at a steady 80 mph on road trips. We all passed.
“I’m intrigued by the mention of the Ford UK V6 having been sold in the US—that was new on me. What car was it in?”
Ford never used the UK “Essex” V-6 in a US model. However, the 90 degree 3.8 V-6 used in the eighties and nineties (in the Taurus/Sable, Windstar and several Fox based cars) was built at the Essex plant in Windsor Ontario, so this “Essex” engine is occasionally confused with the Ford UK V-6.
And of course, this engine in various displacements, went on to power millions of Ford Rangers, Bronco II’s, Aerostars, Explorers, Pinto/Mustang II and Fox cars. Most of not all German-made. The 2.9 in my Ranger was smooth and powerful (140 bhp!) for the time, though not particularly economical.
Not to forget the Ford Sierra and Scorpio. I have the 150hp version of the 2.9 in my Sierra, it’s a nice engine – torquey and smooth from low revs and sounds delicious. Mind-numbingly thirsty thought for only 150hp in a 1300kg car…!
I grew up in the Midwest, and Capris were rare sights. I think I’ve seen more Opel Mantas in the past 20 years than Capris total. Early Celicas, same thing. It’s hard to fathom these were sales leaders within my own experience, because they just weren’t around. Regional distribution? It’s not like Minnesota doesn’t have German Roots in presence or anything…
I always liked the placement of the Capri’s front wheels in relation to the firewall. Much better than the placement further to the rear – and the resulting front overhang – that we saw with the Mustang II.
If only Ford could’ve applied more of the Capri’s DNA to the Mustang II, the latter may have been more fondly remembered in addition to selling very well.
The Capri should have been the Mustang from 1971 to 1978.
In theory anyway. Like the original Mustang, the Capri made use of locally made platform, in this case the Cortina. Problem is they weren’t making those here.
The Mustang II was a repeat of the Capri concept but the locally made platform was the Pinto, which was developed from scratch and not well.
That car was a big waste of time and resources because the Escort and Cortina were far superior cars and it would have made more sense just to build those here like they did in other parts of the world.
Ironically, the Pinto replaced the imported MkII Cortina in the US Ford product line. Even more so, the Pinto shared engines with both the MkII and MkIII Cortina as the Kent OHV engine and Lima OHC engines were used on both sides of the Atlantic. Then the Cologne V6 was used in several different applications over here, including the Mustang II and Fox-bodied Mustang in its first year.
GM and Chrysler were a little smarter in that they built the Chevette (Opel Kadett City) and Horizon (developed in cooperation with Simca before Chrysler sold it to PSA) here.
I suppose the V-6 was a tolerable engine. I suppose the chassis was adequate in it’s time. I suppose the interior was suitably sporty given the sales niche the car was in.
I could never get past the hateful character line on the side of the body, drooping like a limp noodle aft of the rear wheel. That one feature completely killed any enthusiasm I have for this car. I simply don’t have words for how much I despise the way the Capri looks from the side. Irrational, sure. But completely true.
The single best feature of the Capri II was that they put some lead in that pencil, so it carried straight through to the back of the car.
Same, it’s like the designer trying to copy the Mustang line to the vents and the pen slipped. Frankly there are numerous bits of the design that don’t do it for me, I’m not much of a fan of the greenhouse either, it reminds me of the Marlin, and I don’t know why so many European manufacturers in this period so lazy with the taillights. They’re just nondescript little rectangles like the side markers.
From a styling standpoint, I’d take the Manta.
I found it curious, strange, peculiar, even odd, but not hateful.
The styling of the original Capri was largely the work of Philip T. Clark, an American sent to Ford of Britain in 1965. The most obvious deviation from the original concept was the enlargement of the rear side window which had been felt to make the rear seats claustrophobic. The rounded shape was probably copied from the earlier Consul Capri of 1961.
The original rear lights were probably a cost-saving measure, lifted straight off the 1968 Ford Escort. Later they were replaced by larger, purpose-made units for the 1973 model year facelift.
I’m a fan of the “hockey sticks” on the side. I flip-flop between the Mk I & II Capris in terms of which I like better for style. When I have liked the earlier cars better, the later models look too slab-sided and plain. When I have liked the Capri II better, the earlier models seem a little overwrought. It’s like how I feel about the first and second AMC Javelins.
When the Capri came out my eyes shifted from the 510 and Manta over to this car. Of course I didn’t need it since I already had use of a company car while in college and kept the Cougar in the garage. I learned how to drive a stick on a friend’s 72 2.0L car. My sister ended up with a brand new 74 V6. Darned if I can’t figure out where that car ended.
However, her car taught me one very important lesson. I always changed my oil and when my sister came down to San Diego, for freshman year at UCSD 1975, she joined me at our parents vacation condo not far from UCSD. So consequently I handled care for her car and when it needed an oil change I did it and then took it out for a short test drive. Within 200 yards I saw the oil pressure plummet and thought WTH as I got the car back home. There was oil all over the underside of the car. What had happened is that the oil seal in the filter stuck to the block and I didn’t notice so there were two seals and the oil blew past them. I have never, since that day, not checked to make sure I have a seal with the filter canister.
Ah, the good ‘ol double oil filter gasket trick. One of my winter projects was putting a engine in one of my boat customers sons Honda Civic. Dad changed oil. Dad double gasketed the filter. Son drove it until the cam seized in the head. Dad paid for good used replacement engine and me to install it. 🙂
I liked these cars as a kid, and as a teen. But I like the Opel Manta better. I thought it looked better, especially in small bumper form. Yes, the Manta didn’t offer a V6.
And ultimately, at least in Europe, the Capri held on longer. The final variants of the Capri V6 were very quick and viable alternatives to 3-series BMWs, albeit lacking the Bimmer refinement.
But that V6 is nice–and in 1972, this car, while not as quick or refined as a 240Z was probably about $1000 or more less, and had room for four.
The Mustang II was a clunky mini-mark that lacked this car’s sportiness and efficiency, but the 1979 Fox-based Mustang/Capri, with the 2.8 V6, did pretty well for the malaise era, and came close to emulating it.
This featured Capri was on of the stars that appeared at the end of what I consider the first ‘golden era’ of US cars (early 60s to early 70s) before the Dark Ages of the Malaise Era dawned on (emissions controls, inflationary price increases, especially on nice imported cars due to the dollar’s decline, making cars worse and more expensive).
Man I put that little car through some stuff. It was the first car I bought brand new and my first car. I wanted this 1969 428 cj mustang but my dad said ild kill myself and wouldn’t cosign for it so we went looking and this little silver Capri with automatic 2600 hundred cc 107 hp he would sign for it. I didn’t like it but I was working at a gas station making 1.65 an hr in 1972 and my payments for full coverage ins. And car payment was 107 dollars a month. I burnt that right rear tire off in front of my hometown high school everyday. Ild race 340 magnum dusters and anybody around this lake we had. That had tight corners and got real good at cornering and beating the big boys. That little engine was tough. It didn’t see a day where it wasn’t red lined multiple times a day. 5700 rpm and 2 gear in that automatic was 82 mph and that was the 1/4 mile it would top at 117mph. After joining the army a year later I let a army buddy borrow it and it was totalled in Jan. 1974. Wished I had it today. BTW 3200 brand new
Had a 73 with 2600 4 speed blk vinyl roof great car. Fast. Maintenance nightmare. Redid the heads, put them on backwards and stripped the nylon timing gear. Then broke one of the joints on the funky driveshaft. Sounded awesome though. Great car.