The sixties were wild: whether in clothing, hairstyles or music. The world was in turmoil and young people were rebelling. The car market also underwent a change, as classic cars were out in Europe and young people longed for sports cars like those in the USA.
As sales figures at car manufacturer Ford slumped and the trend was recognized, the European answer to the Ford Mustang was developed and the Ford Capri saw the light of day in 1969. The coupé was to become not only the little man's sports car, but also the trendy and affordable family car of the time.
For many people, the Capri still brings back memories of their own childhood or youth: vacations with the family, their first car, or cheering on motorsport championships. Even after 50 years, the car has lost none of its fascination and fans from all over Europe are celebrating the Capri's milestone birthday.
A special exhibition to mark the anniversary ...
There are two Capri events to celebrate at the Technik Museum Speyer this year. On the one hand, the new special exhibition "50 Years of Ford Capri" will be running from June 20, and on the other, the big International European Capri Post Meeting will take place on the museum grounds from June 21 to 23.
From June 20 to December 20, 2019, the special exhibition will present a cross-section of three generations of Ford Capri, as well as pieces from the 25-year history of the European Capri Post Meeting.
The exhibition will be on display in the museum's Space Hall and is included in the regular admission price.
... and a big Capri meeting
Speyer has been a regular meeting place for the European Ford Capri fan community since the 1990s. The museum has long enjoyed a good friendship with the Mandl family, publishers of the Capri Post and organizers of the Capri Meet. It was therefore an obvious choice to work together for the special exhibition and to coincide the exhibition and the meeting. More than 400 Capris are expected to attend the 25th anniversary of the European Capri Post Meeting.
Fans of the cult car can spend three days discussing their passion, learning interesting facts and celebrating together. The participants come from over thirteen European countries such as Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Norway and Ireland. "We are offering a platform for fans in Speyer and want to celebrate the Capri's anniversary together," says Andrea Mandl. She and her husband Gerald have been organizing the Capri get-together from the very beginning and know their way around the museum grounds inside out. As the couple have been active in the automobile scene for more than 35 years, there is no way around them in Germany when it comes to Ford Capri. Mandl's children Sven (31) and Julia (26) have also been part of the organizing team since they were young. This year, in addition to the meeting, they are also helping to organize the special exhibition.
The meeting will take place in the parking lot of the Technik Museum Speyer and can be visited by interested parties free of charge.
Ford Capri - the European Mustang
50 years ago, you didn't need a minivan for family happiness, a small sports coupé was enough. Four seats, a spacious luggage compartment and an affordable price, combined with the sporty design, made it the dream car of many family fathers, which could easily be taken on vacation. The Capri series kept Ford's cash registers ringing in Europe for almost 20 years.
The car enjoyed great popularity, not least because of its price. In its very first year, the Capri increased Ford Germany's market share to a good 16 percent and by 1970 almost every second Ford from Cologne was a Capri. In three generations, over 1.8 million vehicles left the production line.
Even though the basic version with 50 hp was no faster than the outdated saloons, it simply made drivers feel faster and more dynamic.
Fortunately, there were later models with more horsepower for fans of fast cars. So it's no wonder that the Ford Capri also found a home in motorsport.
In the 70s and 80s, motorsport legends such as Niki Lauda, Dieter Glemser, Hans-Joachim Stuck, Jochen Maas, Harald Ertl, Klaus Ludwig and Hans Heyer, among others, drove it.
At the beginning of the 1980s, however, the trend changed again and the new compact cars, such as the VW Golf GTI, were the hot target.
The last Ford Capri rolled off the production line in December 1986. There was never a successor, but the fans from back then are still around today and thanks to them the enthusiasm will continue for a long time to come.
You can read more about the Capri special exhibition at the Technik-Museum Speyer on the museum's website.
