WORKING CLASS HERO
Boy racers, medallion men and TV crime-fighters. It seems like only two minutes since the Ford Capri epitomised blue-collar ambition, yet today’s motoring market sees the rear-wheel drive coupe as an icon of British culture; as much a part of the 1970s as punk, prawn cocktails and particularly bad tastes in clothes.
Throughout that decade, Ford kept its Capri very close to the original concept launched in 1969 – that of glamorous bodywork over everyday mechanicals, in this case derived from the Mk2 Cortina and Mk1 Escort. And while later Cortinas swapped to double-wishbone suspension, the Capri kept its existing platform, with MacPherson struts and leaf springs. It was sanitised and smoothed out into the Mk2 of 1974 with a practical hatchback tailgate and less of a sporting edge; and by the time the Mk3 arrived in February 1978, the Capri was as much about looking the part as it was high performance.
Retaining the bulk of the Mk2’s bodywork, the third-generation coupe added an aggressive stance, featuring a front airdam, quad headlamps, new grille and wrap-around plastic bumpers. The sex appeal was back, even if the entry-level model had a wheezy 1.3-litre Crossflow under the bonnet; with
