IF YOU WANT WHY NOT EMAIL ME.

WHAT FOLLOWS IS A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FORD CAPRI.

I'M GOING TO CONCENTRATE ON THE MARK THREE CAPRI AS THIS IS TYPE THAT I OWN AND IS WHAT I THINK THE BEST OF ALL THE VERSIONS MADE.

THE CAR FIRST STARTED LIFE IN THE SIXTIES WHEN PETROL WAS CHEAP AND FLARES AND BRYLCREAM WERE IN. THE YEAR WAS 1969 THE YEAR THAT FORD LAUNCHED THE CAR WITH THE SLOGAN "THE CAR YOU ALWAYS PROMISED YOURSELF".

MECHANICALLY IT WAS SIMPLE FOLLOWING THE DESIGN OF MOST OF THE CARS OF IT'S TIME I.E. ENGINE POINTING TOWARDS THE REAR DRIVING ALL OF THE BRUTE POWER TO THE REAR WHEELS( WHICH GAVE IT ITS EXCITING HANDLING ). THIS SIMPLICITY AND THE EASE OF D.I.Y MECHANICS DID NOT CHANGE THROUGHOUT ITS LIFE TIME. THE CAR WAS OFFERED WITH VARYING DEGREE'S OF TRIM LEVELS TOO MANY TO LIST HERE. YOU COULD LITERALLY MAKE UP THE CAR OF YOUR DREAMS IF THIS INVOLVED CHROME STRIPING DOTTED AROUND THE CAR THEN SO BE IT.

THE MARK 1

THE FIRST CAPRI OR THE ( MARK 1 ) WAS A HUGE SUCCESS AND THIS LEAD FORD TO START THINKING OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF THE CAPRI. IT WAS GOING TO BE THE CAR THAT LEAD FORD THROUGH THE 70'S AND WELL INTO THE 80'S OR SO THEY THOUGHT.

IN 1974 THE MARK 2 CAPRI WAS RELEASED UNFORTUNATELY AT THE TIME THE WORLD WAS IN THE GRIPS OF A OIL CRISIS AND AS THE CAPRI'S MAIN LUXURY MODEL HAD A THREE LITRE MOTOR THIS DID NOT BODE WELL FOR THE NEW MODEL. THE PRESS WERE NOT AS KEEN AS WELL. THE MAIN PROBLEM WAS THAT MOST PEOPLE HAD THOUGHT THE CAPRI HAD GONE SOFT ( LOST IT'S SPORTING APPEAL ). THE REASON FOR THIS WAS WEIGHT. IN THE DESIGN OF THE NEW MODEL THE BASIC MECHANICS HAD BEEN KEPT THE SAME YET THE CAR LOOKED TO EVERYONE TO BE BIGGER.

THE MARK 2

THIS WAS DUE TO THE CAREFUL USE OF CURVES IN THE BODY PANELS, THIS GAVE AN IMPRESSION OF A BIGGER CAR BUT IN FACT IT WAS ONLY 2 INCHES WIDER AND ONE INCH LONGER. AN ADDITION TO THIS MODEL TO MAKE IT MORE APPEALING TO THE GENERAL MARKET WAS THE OPENING TAILGATE ( HATCHBACK ) THIS ADDED TO THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE CAR BUT THIS ALSO ADDED TO THE WEIGHT. THE TOTAL AMOUNT ADDED WAS OVER TWO HUNDRED POUNDS, SO THE 1600 BASE MODEL WHICH BEFORE WAS QUITE SPRIGHTLY WAS NOW LIKE AN ARTHRITIC SNAIL.

THE CAR WAS A FLOP AND NUMEROUS "SPECIAL EDITIONS" WERE RELEASED TO KEEP IT ALIVE LONG ENOUGH FOR FORD TO THINK AGAIN AND TO DESIGN A CAR THAT WOULD SAVE THE CAPRI FROM DYING OUT.

THIS LEAD ONTO THE MARK 3 THIS WAS RELEASED IN 1978. AGAIN THE CAR WAS MECHANICALLY THE SAME AND AS BEFORE SUBTLE CHANGES TRANSFORMED THE CAR INTO A SPORTING BEAST OR THAT'S WHAT EVERYONE WROTE AT THE TIME. THE FUNNY THING WAS THE ENGINE WERE CARRIED OVER FROM THE MARK 2.

THE MARK 3

UNFORTUNATELY FOR FORD ALTHOUGH SALES WERE UP ON THE MARK 2 THEY WERE NO WAY NEAR WHAT WAS EXPECTED SO TO KEEP THING'S ALIVE AND BECAUSE OF LOOMING EMISSIONS LAWS IN 1981 THE CAPRI INJECTION WAS LAUNCHED AMID A FLURRY OF PRESS COVERAGE. NUMEROUS VARIATIONS ON THE INJECTION WERE IMPLEMENTED INCLUDING THE INJECTION SPECIAL, TICKFORD CAPRI AND THE 280 BROOKLANDS. THE LAST TWO OF THESE WERE RATHER SPECIAL IN THERE OWN RIGHTS.

TICKFORD CAPRI

THE TICKFORD CAPRI WAS THE MOST EXPENSIVE OF ALL THE CAPRI'S, IT HAD BEEN DESIGNED BY TICKFORD WHO AT THE TIME WERE OWNED BY ASTON MARTIN. THIS LEAD TO A CAR WITH NO COMPROMISES AND NOT ONE WAS THE SAME AS THE LAST BECAUSE IF YOU COULD AFFORD YOU COULD CHOOSE EXACTLY WHAT COLOUR YOU WANTED THE INTERIOR DOOR HANDLES INDEED EVEN IF YOU WANTED THEM AT ALL. EVERY CAR WAS HAND MADE AND THE STANDARD INJECTION ENGINE WAS GIVEN A HELPING HAND WITH THE ADDITION OF A TURBO CHARGER THIS LED TO A QUITE SCARY TOP SPEED OF 140MPH. LESS THAN 100 OF THESE WERE ACTUALLY SOLD THIS WAS DOWN TO THE PRICE, WHEN IT WAS RELEASED IN 1983 IT WAS PRICED AT �14.000 THIS WAS NOT FAR OFF THE PRICE OF A PORSCHE AND WAS 70% HIGHER THAN WHAT YOU COULD PICK UP A STANDARD INJECTION CAPRI.

280 BROOKLANDS

THE 280 BROOKLANDS CAPRI WAS THE LAST CAPRI EVER TO BE MADE AND WAS RELEASED IN 1987. THIS WAS TO BE THE CAPRI'S DYING SONG SO THE 280 RECEIVED SPECIAL TREATMENT. THE SPEC INCLUDED, SPECIAL ALLOYS WHICH WERE BIGGER THAN WHAT HAD BEEN ON ANY CAPRI BEFORE, HALF LEATHER INTERIOR, AND A SLIGHTLY IMPROVED SUSPENSION. THIS CAR WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO BE CALLED THE CAPRI 500 DESIGNATING THAT 500 WERE TO BE MANUFACTURED THIS WAS CHANGED AT THE LAST MINUTE AS FORD THOUGHT AS THIS WAS GOING TO BE THE LAST AND ONLY CAPRI AVAILABLE VOLUMES MIGHT BE HIGHER. THE ORIGINAL FIGURE WAS INCREASED FROM 500 TO 1000 AND THE CAR WAS RENAMED THE CAPRI 280.

CONCLUSION

THE LAST CAPRI TO BE MADE WAS REGISTERED D194 UVW AND IS HELD BY FORD IN IT'S MUSEUM AT DAGENHAM ALONG WITH THE LAST SIERRA COSWORTH. THE LAST CAR IN BRITAIN TO BE REGISTERED WAS IN 1988 AND AFTER 19 YEARS AND 1.9 MILLION CAPRIS THE CAPRI DIED.

THERE ARE STILL A FEW OF THESE CARS AROUND AND THE PEOPLE WHO OWN GENERALLY CARE FOR THEM AND WISH THAT FORD KEPT MAKING THEM.