BERLIN: The Ford Capri was a stylish and affordable fastback car named after an island in Italy and it was designed to repeat the US success story of the Ford Mustang pony car in Europe.

In its heyday, the Capri sold so quickly that factories in Germany and Britain had trouble keeping up with demand, but rust has since claimed most of them. Today, 50 years after its launch, well-turned out Capris are sought-after and expensive to buy.

The Capri was the blue oval's answer to falling sales of its humdrum saloons. A mixture of practicality and grooviness, the car was a huge success thanks to a low purchase price and clever marketing.

Half a century after the Capri weighed in, nostalgia for the car is in full swing. The Capri was conceived as a lifestyle two-door coupe for the baby-boomer-generation that was still roomy enough to take the family on holiday.



The slogan used at the launch was “The Car You Always Promised Yourself”. Production started in the huge Cologne factory on the River Rhine in 1968 and the Capri was one of the stars at the Brussels Car Show a year later.

It was to have been dubbed “Colt” but Japanese maker Mitsubishi grabbed that name first. The sleek shape and low purchase price was what sold the Capri, although under the bonnet some versions were very tame.

The basic 1.3-litre entry version had to make do with a paltry 50hp, which propelled the car from 0 to 100kph in a lethargic 22.7 seconds. The car ran out of steam at 133kph.

A Porsche 911 T of the day was more powerful all-round but it cost four times the price tag of 6,995 German marks being asked for a Ford Capri. The comparison may seem far-fetched but the Capri had sporting pretensions. It was modelled on the Mustang, or what Americans call a “pony car” - a stylish coupe with a youthful appeal.

Versions with bigger engines could hold their own against more sophisticated competition and through appearances in blokish TV series like the cop show “The Professionals” the car gained cult status.



Rally ace Walter Roehrl along with FI drivers Niki Lauda and Jochen Maas could also be seen at the wheel. Competition issues of the Capri had up to 500hp under the bonnet and widened bodywork with extravagantly flared wheel arches.

For Joe Public there was a tweaked model in the range dubbed RS 2600 with a powerful 2.6-litre engine that made it almost as fast as a 911. This version was revered in its day and makes an excellent modern classic.

This Capri will bound along the motorway fast lane at 200kph. Its agility is hardly surprising since the car weighs a mere 1,000 kilos. Handling calls for skill since the car has no power steering or ABS braking on board.

Qualities like these endear the Capri to Frank Lehmann who chairs an enthusiasts club in Cologne. He can remember accompanying his father to the dealer launch at the tender age of 15.



He has owned four down the years but now has only one on which to lavish plenty of tender loving care. The effort is justified since the rust bug is apt to devour these cars, pushing the value of survivors to unheard-of heights.

“Prices for good RS models have doubled in the last few years,” says the Capri expert who believes that sound examples may soon change hands for six-figure sums.

“One will easily fetch 60,000 euros (RM286,000), some have gone for 80,000 (RM381,000) and it will not be long before the break through the 100,000 (RM477,000) barrier,” says the expert.

There used to be plenty of Capris on European roads. After all, Ford turned 784,000 in the first five years of production. When killed off in 1986 after three generations and 20 years the blue oval had made more than 1.8 million Capris.

As the Capri grew older and cheaper to buy, owners modified both the engines and bodywork making it harder to find good, original cars today. An alternative is to contact Rudolf Dollinger who runs the firm Capri Classic Cars in the Swiss town of Laufen. For a handsome price he will build customers a completely new Capri 2600 RS.

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