Ford Capri turns 40
Ford's classic Capri coupe is forty this year with a bunch of events to celebrate
The Ford Capri is 40 years old, and there’s a bunch of events to celebrate.
Many owners’ clubs are hosting get-togethers, including those at Castle Combe, Wiltshire (June 6 2009), Grampian Transport Museum, Aberdeenshire (August 30), London’s Ace Café (September 5) and Surrey’s Brooklands Museum (September 26).
The coupe launched in 1969 as Europe’s answer to the Ford Mustang, and in its 18-year production run nearly two million were sold. Just like the Mustang in America, it hit the market with a huge array of options – six engines (from four-cylinder 1.3-litre to 3-litre V6) and a variety of custom packs ensured 26 different derivatives, a concept that was pretty new at the time.
Find used Ford Capri's for sale on the Classic and Performance Car site here.
It is the Ford model that attracts probably the fondest of affections. Many of the brand’s modern-day coupes – think Ford Probe and Ford Cougar – have ended up fairly unloved, with perhaps only the Ford Puma attracting praise close to that of the Capri.
evo Motoring Ed John Barker’s V8-engined Ford Capri is back on the road, and you can read about it in issue 131 of evo, on sale now.
You can read our Birth of an Icon feature on the 1969 Ford Capri.