One of many things the Ford Motor Company excelled at was knowing how to sell their cars to the right market. This is standard practice today, but until 1969, there had not been a car in Europe sold like the Capri before. Proving cost-effective, Ford stuck gold by selling the Capri in just one body shell with hundreds of trim, engine, and colour choices. This made it easily configurable from the dealership, allowing customers to specify a one-of-a-kind combination of extras without breaking the bank.
The Capri looked sensational; the elegant styling echoed the Mustang, and was also sold with some impressively potent engines and soon gained a racy image. By the time the Capri was 10 years old, its lustre was starting to fade despite the attempts of Ford’s marketing muscles to take advantage of TV placements in shows like The Professionals. Production was rumoured to have been earmarked for the axe in the early 80s, and its last hurrah was the installation of the 2.8 injection engine which gave the car a considerable power hike, allowing it to reach 60mph in less than 8 seconds. The engine gave the Capri a performance boost supporting enough British demand for it to remain in production until 1986.
This car has seen a sympathetic restoration which not only retains 80% of its original parts but has to be considered as one of the very best examples of an early 2.8 Injection model. It comes with an impressive provenance of history, with its original bill of sales and hundreds of invoices that cover almost every aspect of the car’s maintenance, repair and renovation. A considerable amount of time and effort has been spent over the last 6 months to bring it up to an incredible standard.
