Ford Capri 2000 GT - better late than never

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Ford Capri 2000 GT - better late than never

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Created on October 20, 2021

Text:

Paul Krüger

Photos:

Bruno von Rotz

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Ford

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Playboy

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Ford Motor Company

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The two-liter reached a top speed of around 165 km/h. In 1969, "auto motor und sport" measured the 2.3 at 182 km/h.

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A Ford Capri 2000 GT XLR from 1971 in the original color "corn yellow". A "rally paint finish" with a black hood was also available for the XLR at no extra cost.

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The interior could be customized in a variety of ways. The vinyl roof was also available in brown, beige and even silver colors

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From the front, there is a certain family resemblance to the Escort. Only the V6 Capri has the "power hump" on the hood.

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Curious economy measure: a second reversing light was only available from XL equipment upwards

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The six-cylinder models showed their status with two exhaust tailpipes. The four-cylinder models only had one.

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Thanks to its six-inch wheels, the Foto-Capri looks much stockier today than it did in 1971 - and it looks good.

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Mustang designer Philip T. Clark created one of the most beautiful coupés of the seventies.

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Classic sports car proportions: Long hood, short rear end and the driver centered between the axles.

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Until August 1972, the indicators were located next to the headlights. For the '73 model year, they were moved to the bumper and the headlights became larger.

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Ford lettering on the hood. US models bore the model name Capri here, as they ran as Lincoln-Mercury.

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Even if they are mounted very low: according to the brochure, the Hella Comet 450 are driving lamps and not fog lamps.

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The 13-inch alloy wheels of the Capri RS were as popular an accessory back then as they are today

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XLR was the highest equipment line. With the conversion to manual transmission, the "Automatic" disappeared from the lower emblem.

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The peeling black paint reveals that the air intakes do not let in any air, but are merely decorative.

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No identical parts policy: the Cortina, Corsair and Escort door handles are all slightly different.

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In line with consumption: the six-cylinder tank holds 62 liters, the four-cylinder only 48.

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Until August 1972, the Capri had the small rear lights of the Escort. From model year '73, there were significantly larger, horizontally split lamps.

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After Lincoln Capri and Consul Capri, Ford used the name of the Italian island for the third time.

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A touch of Lamborghini Miura: the store for the rear window is a contemporary accessory.

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Behind bars: the cat staircase restricts the view to the rear. The aerodynamic benefits are equally questionable,

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Black hole: alternatively, the corn yellow paintwork could also be combined with an interior in "ivory" or "maroc brown".

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The heavily cupped steering wheel conveys a racing atmosphere. Disadvantage: your fingers would now have to be ten centimeters longer to set the blinker.

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Six round instruments were available from the 1700 GT onwards. The Capri 1300 and 1500 had to make do without a rev counter, voltmeter and oil pressure gauge.

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Although built in Germany and delivered to Switzerland, the speedometer also has a mileage scale

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Luxury of the early seventies: radio with FM reception and wood from a plastic tree.

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The clock in the center console is somewhat awkwardly positioned. At least the underside of the dashboard now always knows what time it is.

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Filigree door opener, solid window crank. Electric windows were only available in the Capri III.

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Even if the seat and backrest pipes are perforated, the black imitation leather remains very sweaty.

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Thanks to the 60-degree bank angle, the Cologne V6 is beautifully compact.

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The two-liter engine with the NY designation delivers 90 hp at 5000 rpm.

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The three-liter Essex V6 was also available in England from September 1969. German customers had to wait until 1973 for it.

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A nameplate says: our photo car left the factory in Cologne in June 1971 - with automatic transmission.

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Semi-strong or not? The sporty silhouette appealed to both young and old Ford customers.

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XLR insignia such as the additional headlights were often retrofitted to the more simply equipped models.

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A Capri can also be fast on gravel. Walter Röhrl began his career in 1972 in a 2600 RS.

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A well-maintained country road is ideal Capri terrain. On bad roads, the rear end shifts from time to time.

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Six as sport: for reasons of driving pleasure, it is better to avoid the small four-cylinder engines.

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As a 2000 GT, the Capri accelerates to 100 km/h in 12 seconds. The 2300 GT is almost two seconds faster.

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Overtaking prestige: the Capri looks more determined than the Opel Manta A

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High spirits thanks to six cylinders. For Swiss country roads, 90 hp is more than enough.

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The two-liter Capri exits the adventurously routed exhaust system with a slightly snotty sound. Only the 2600 RS was allowed to have a symmetrical exhaust system.

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Press photo from 1972: The lady has parked her 1700 GT in the worst possible place to refuel. Is that why the guys on the right are looking so skeptical?

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Spit and sportiness: a Capri 1700 GT XLR with rally livery in front of a 1972 bungalow

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A young family's dream in 1970: a house of their own and an XLR Capri in light blue metallic.

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In the USA, the Ford was sold as the "Capri imported for Lincoln-Mercury" and was at times the second most popular imported car after the VW Beetle.

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A bad break: Claudia Jennings was given a Mercury Capri 1600 as "Playmate of the Year" in 1970. Connie Kreski was given a Shelby GT-500 in 1969.

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As a Siku model, the police version of the Capri found its way into thousands of children's rooms

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The new face from September 1972 already gives a foretaste of the Capri II.

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Has the rear end become more attractive thanks to the new rear lights? Just a hint: the twin-flow RS exhaust system.

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On August 29, 1973, the millionth Capri rolls off the production line in Saarlouis: it is a white RS 2600

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The RS 2600 with Kugelfischer fuel injection and Minilite wheels was intended as a homologation model for racing.

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Gerry Birrell and Claude Bourgoignie in the Capri RS 2600 at the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans. Behind them, the Alfa Romeo 33 TT 3 of Nino Vaccarella and Andrea de Adamich.

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Its robust construction also made the Capri popular in rallycross sport. Roger Clark built this Capri with four-wheel drive for this purpose.

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The Capri celebrated its greatest motorsport successes in the DRM. Here Toine Hezemans chases Niki Lauda around the Norisring in 1974.

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One of ten hand-built prototypes during winter testing. Note the GBX-style rear side window.

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The shape of the Capri was completely redeveloped, only technical components had to be taken into consideration

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Conceptual model for the Capri and inventor of endless surcharge lists: Ford Mustang from 1964

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Not just for villa suburbs: the down-to-earth Capri also looks good in rustic surroundings.

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This fits better with the coupé's youthful image anyway.

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Summary

Ford took the American youth by storm with the Mustang in April 1964. At the beginning of 1969, it was Europe's turn to be delighted by Ford with a stylish everyday sports car for the whole family. The Capri combined reliable mass-produced technology with an incredibly attractive coupé body and became a global success. Our driving report tells the story of the Mini-Mustang once again and shows it in many contemporary and current pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

A Mustang for Europe
Colt becomes Capri
Australia and America
Individual equipment
At the wheel of the 2000 GT
A question of posture
The country road as a race track

Estimated reading time: 9min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Sometimes you wonder how you can overlook the most obvious things for so long. In ten years of Zwischengas, have we really never written a driving report about the first Ford Capri? That's almost impossible. In fact, we already have a lot of material about the Cologne coupé: the entire history of its creation up to the start of production, the further development of the production model over three generations up to the end of 1986, drives in the late 2.8 Injection and even in a rare two-seater Capri with May-Turbo as well as a whole series of historical test reports and brochures of various engines and models. But something as simple as a driving report on an early first-series coupé? Not a word - which is a huge omission and also highly unfair, as we already covered the rival Opel Manta seven years ago.

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