Style Machine

We track down a 2-litre Capri that’s been returned to its former glory by a self-confessed Ford fan.

- Iain Wakefield

The final incarnation of the Ford Capri is now firmly established deep into classic territory, although the big money now tends to invariably go on the V6 powered models, such as the 280 injection and the later British racing Green ‘Brookland’ versions. although the Mkiii 2.8-litre gained the reputation of being the bad boy of the Capri range with regards to handling, it was the 2.0-litre with the 100bhp inline-four pinto engine under its long bonnet that was the volume seller.

This blue oval-badged coupè provided a decent level of room for four passengers, while a reasonable amount of pace made a Mkiii 2.0-litre Capri a more exciting option than an equivalent powered four-door saloon with a Cortina badge on its bootlid. Over the years, the Capri managed to live up to Ford’s early marketing mantra of being ‘the car you always promised yourself’, as Ford of Europe produced three versions of this stylish coupé over an 18 year production period and sold nearly two million of them.

One Ford enthusiast who always promised himself a Capri is Mike Gibson, the owner of this recently restored 1982 2.0-litre Ghia. Mike bought his Mkiii Ghia just over 10 years ago and reckoned it was in a rough condition. “it was nothing like it is now and the first thing we did was to book the car into a local bodyshop for an appraisal before having it resprayed,” said Mike as he added that he originally wanted to have a few modifications done to the car, but was persuaded to keep it original.