Classic Ford Capris now sell for Ferrari money

Tuesday, 15 October 2019

OPINION: I have had a very sad realisation just recently - I will now probably never own a Ford Capri.

I never really though too deeply about it before, but I had always drifted through life secure in the knowledge that I simply would own a Capri one day. Because, for me, the Capri has always been the one that got away.

You see, my first car was very nearly a Capri. I had just got my learners and had pretty much convinced my mother that a superbly brown 19-year-old 1970 MKI that sagged slightly to the left and had a frankly alarming amount of stuffing spurting out from the driver's seat was the perfect first car.

That was until sage advice from car-knowledgable family friends and relatives saw me end railroaded into a disturbingly yellow 1979 Mazda 626, complete with CNG - and, as it turned out, a radiator with a serious attitude problem - instead.

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I hated that 626 with a passion and, as far as an inanimate object can, it appeared to hate me too. Part of that hatred was because it was an awful car, but a lot of it was because it denied me my dream Capri that probably would have probably been even more awful, but still; not owning that Capri is my eternal car-shame and something that even a run of self-chosen and funded cars that included some fast Hondas, turbo Nissans, a worryingly quick V6 Telstar (yes, really - and it was awesome) and a Peugeot 205 GTi could never erase.

As a result, I had always just operated under the assumption that I would one day rectify that glaring omission in my car history and eventually own a Capri, even if it was an ill-judged mid-life crisis purchase of a rusting hulk that would sit in my garage surrounded by unused exercise equipment, boxes of crap and vague dreams of restoring it one day.

But that will probably never happen now, as the humble Capri has now reached true classic status, with prices to match.

While a number of later MKIII Capris have been selling for around NZ$100,000 over the last few years, most have been either extremely limited (like the 280 Brooklands that set a record for Capri prices of NZ$113,000 back in 2015) and the earlier cars are staring to catch up. Quickly.

Classic Car Auctions 'Everyman Classics' in Warwickshire, UK saw a number of less-exotic classics go for very good money, but two Capris were the standouts.

Okay, so as far as the 'common' Capri goes, the two were still rather rare and desirable - Lot 741 was a 1974 Mk1 RS3100 which had been restored and was one of as few as 50 still in existence, while Lot 749 was a 1970 Mk1 2000 V4 GT XLR in 'outstanding condition'.

But the money was still verging on eye-watering, with the V4 GT XLR selling for £27,195 (NZ$54,134) and the RS3100 selling for a hefty £53,280 (NZ$106,059).

The development of the Ford Capri began in 1968, after Ford of Europe had spent a few years watching the success of the Mustang in the USA and thinking 'we need something like that'.

For the Capri, Ford took the same formula it used for the Mustang - a sporty coupe based on an existing sedan - and translated it to European tastes. They made it smaller, that is.

They even wanted a similar name; the Capri was codenamed the Colt during its development, but Mitsubishi owned the name, so Ford settled on reviving the Capri name it had previously used on the two-door version of the Consul for the production model.

The Capri was based on the Cortina - UK magazine Car cruelly, but accurately, described it as a Cortina in drag - much as the American Mustang was based on the humble Falcon sedan.

Over the course of its life the Capri was powered by a range of engines, including the venerable Kent inline four that debuted WAY back in 1959 in the Anglia and finally tapped out 44 years later when it was replaced in the Fiesta by the Duratec E engine. Other engines included the Essex V4 as well as the legendary Cologne and Essex V6s. There was even a V8 version built in South Africa.

The Capri was a massive success for Ford and the company made just under 2 million examples during its 18 year production run, so there are still a fair few of them floating around. But they are only getting more expensive…

The same auction saw some newer very tasty metal go for a lot less than the two Capris, with a 1999 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG selling for £17,205 (NZ$34,289) and a 1988 Audi UR Quattro in Tornado Red selling for £22,866 ($45,571).

While for the same money as the RS3100, you could have had a manual 1994 Ferrari 348 Spider that sold for £53,280 (NZ$106,185). Think about that for a bit.

Personally, I would still rather have the Capri.

Sure, prices for less pristine Capris are not as astronomical, but a cursory glance at Trade Me will show that even the roughest of basket cases are now heading up considerably and will no doubt continue to do so, leaving my only hope - bar a Lotto win - that panicky middle age purchase of one of those basket cases as a 'project car'.

But then I guess I could always buy one of those leaky Australian Capri-in-name-only FWD convertibles (I would never rule that out, as they are becoming one of those cars that are getting weirdly cool because they were such a failure), but deep down I would know that it just wasn't the same…