By 1970, the Ford Mustang and Mercury Cougar had begun to put on weight. And Ford was a year away from introducing its first subcompact, the Pinto. That perhaps led Mercury to decide to add a sporty compact to its roster and did so in the form of the German-built Capri. Though smaller than the original Mustang, the Capri had the long hood/short deck lid configuration that worked so well for the Ford. This 1972 Capri has been off the road for 28 years and will need work, starting with getting it to run again. Located in York, Pennsylvania, this mini-Merc is available here on craigslist for $2,400.
For whatever reason, Mercury chose not to put any of their badging on the Capri, yet the cars were prominently featured in dealer showrooms. Ford of Europe supplied two generations of the Capri from 1970 to 1978. After that, the Capri name would move over to Mercury’s version of the all-new Foxbody Mustang. Despite its size, the first-gen U.S. Capri had quad headlights, a bit unusual for the size of the automobile. The 1972 Capri got its power from a 2.0-liter OHC inline-4, with a V6 being optional (the seller’s car has the 4-banger).
The seller’s bronze-colored Capri was last driven in 1998. Why its active participation ceased isn’t known, so does that mean a mechanical malady beset the little car? The odometer has turned over, so it was a well-used machine during its first 26 years. A 4-speed manual transmission resides behind the 4-cylinder motor, with its condition unknown.
Things are well-worn here, though the paint isn’t as bad as you might think for the age. Since this is a Pennsylvania automobile, surely rust will have to be dealt with. And the interior appears used up, with the front seats having upholstery with tears and splits. At the asking price, you might find this as an affordable donor, assuming you have another ’72 Capri on the rack. Thanks to Barn Finder Rob for the tip!
Brings back memories. My girlfriend (now wife) had one in this color. Hers was a 4 cylinder automatic; this one would have been a bit more fun to drive.
These were nifty cars in their day. I’d like to think this one can be revitalized, but after 28 years of sitting, and with rust showing, and with the trashed interior, it might be just a parts car.
My dad bought one new in 72. It was a V6 stick. A lot of fun for a 16 yr old to drive! Same colour.
I think this car is pretty rough but after renting a 4 speed version in Europe I can attest to the cars being a lot of fun to drive.
When we moved into our neighborhood in 2018,I
walked around to see where the streets went.As I walked
by a house I saw a car covered in a plastic tarp & thought
that there was an interesting car under there.The next time
I walked by the left front wheel was exposed & I thought to
myself “That’s a Capri”.I met the owner George,who bought
it new in 1972 & it needed a restoration,but was in good shape.
He eventually decided to sell it,& it ended up going to
Australia.Almost wish that I’d bought it myself.
Good looking cars.
These were really great cars back in the day. The Facebook “Capri” Group has some excellent examples that have been restored. Sad to this one in a state of disrepair.
All those years ago Ford should have used this as the basis for the Mustang II… and not the Pinto based travesty…
These were pretty cool and they had genuine racing cred. Back in the day, Ford’s Capri went toe-to-toe with BMW’s 3.0CS coupes in big European touring car races. It was an incredible rivalry and spawned such things as BMWs CSL Batmobiles and the RS series Capris, with huge flares, a huge ducktail spoiler, twin cam six-cylinder engine, etc. The factories signed the best drivers of the time: you saw the likes Lauda, Stewart, (maybe Fittipaldi?), Stuck, Peterson, and other greats duking it out. It was a no-holds-barred couple of seasons of racing. Somewhere in all the mess on my bookshelf is a terrific book on those epic battles.