EUROPEAN TWIST!
In the mid to late 1960s Mustang sales were going through the roof. Everyone wanted one and the US was swept up in pony car euphoria.
Across the pond Ford Europe was pining for a sporty car to give it similar success and that was the thinking behind the Capri.
Make it a Mustang for Europe and the UK.
In its development phase it was named Colt, (following the horse theme) but Ford couldn’t use the name outside its walls as Mitsubishi had trademarked it, so Ford named it after an Italian island.
Like their American cousins Ford Europe wanted the Capri to be an affordable fun-to-drive, two-door, two-plus-two coupe, aimed at blue-collar buyers. Its advertising used the tag line ’The Car You Always Promised Yourself’.
To pen the Capri, Ford Europe seconded Philip T Clark from the US, who worked on the Mustang design. And like the pony car, the Capri was to feature a long bonnet and squat tail.
In aiming the car at the broadest audience the Capri had to be affordable, which is why the Mk1 Capri was built on the same platform as the Mk 2 Cortina and it utilised most of its mechanical components. The rear suspension was a live axle with leaf springs and short radius rods and up front MacPherson struts along with rack and pinion steering.
The first
