Ford Capri Celebrates its 55th Birthday This January
Do you remember the Ford Capri on Malaysian roads
Fifty-five years ago, on January 23, 1969, Ford unveiled a brand new car, the Capri.
This stunning new sports car was unveiled at the Brussels Motor Show by King Baudouin of Belgium, who was making his first appearance at the show for 10 years.
Harry Calton was Ford of Britain chief press officer at the time and this is what he said: “Quite simply, there was nothing else like it. Capri was Europe’s equivalent to the Ford Mustang.”
From the outset, the Capri was about choice, with a range boasting 26 variants. A mixture of engines was also provided from a 1.3-litre through to a 3.0-litre V6 which catered for all tastes, while optional custom packs allowed a degree of personalization that broke new ground in the industry.
The Capri production ran for a long 18 years. In that 18 years more than 1,886,648 rolled down various production lines during its entire eighteen-year lifespan. The Capri was designed from the outset to be a practical coupe. It’s a full four seater, although rear headroom is a touch cramped for taller passengers.
The back seats can be folded, together or individually, to optimise luggage space. The overall load length then increases from 37 inches to over 65 inches with a maximum width of more than 52 inches. Folding the Capri’s rear seats boosts total carrying capacity from 9.3 to 22.6 cubic feet.
Equipment levels vary wildly depending on which trim level it was sold with. The 1977 model year saw big changes in a new updated Capri II based model. The car grew in size and in refinement while retaining the original styling cues of the Mk II.
It was now about the same size as the American Ford Mustang, a car considered a low point in Mustang performance, but had a interesting hatchback design that brought it closer in spirit to the Capri, despite being completely different cars in all respects. By this time only a few models of the Capri was available in Asia, mostly luxury based Ghias with 4 cylinders and sporty RS models with V6s.
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