This Mercury Capri is a clean example of the rarely seen coupe that offered American shoppers a taste of Ford’s European product line. Few of these cars are left in condition like this, quickly becoming obscure models not long after their introduction. Today, there’s a limited following for these captive imports, but the ones that are still on the road tend to be owned by enthusiasts. This one has clearly been updated with contemporary wheels, Bluetooth, and heated seats, making one wonder if it was used briefly as someone’s daily driver. The Capri is listed here on craigslist with an asking price of $12,000. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Pat L. for the find.
I often wonder who is looking after these unusual Ford products built by the company’s operations in Germany: is it dyed-in-the-wool Ford guys who would otherwise pilot a Mustang, or is it a contingent of Ford fans who always yearned for more of the company’s “forbidden fruit” to be sold stateside? It’s hard to tell, especially considering I’ve yet to see one in person and/or meet the owner that drives it. The Capri seen here clearly benefits from ongoing attention, as the interior looks to be in great shape with the aforementioned updates the sort of thing only a committed owner would focus on – a flipper could hardly be bothered to add heated seats.
The body looks to be in spectacular condition as well, with no obvious dings, dents, or rust. The wheels aren’t my favorite look, as they strike me as being a few years too new for the Capri. There’s plenty of period-correct wheels out there that would compliment this car better than these, which would look more at home on an early 90s Nissan S13. The wheels are in keeping with the tweaks in the cabin, namely the CD player and Bluetooth capabilities. Look, I get it, it’s not the end of the world that it has these modifications; it’s just that none of them are what I’d call period correct at the moment. Regardless, they are easy fixes for the next owner.
My favorite features in the Capri of this era is the glorious Cologne V6 engine, which makes some of the best noises you’ve ever heard from a V6. The Capri’s engine got bumped to 2.8L in 1974, making this the one to buy if you’re hunting for a rare European Ford like this. The seller doesn’t detail any specific maintenance projects and/or improvements, but the high level of detailing in the engine bay should put most fears to rest. The asking price is on the high side, but this also is one of the cleaner Capris of this era I can recall seeing in recent memory. Would you leave it as-is or bring it closer to stock condition?
My personal experiences aside, and they weren’t that bad, you have to admit, it’s a sharp looking car. I’d prefer the automatic, as the 4 speed had funky ratios. True to fashion, I say $12g’s is a lot for a basically poor car, only because NOBODY kept a Capri, or very few, anyway. Considering how many were sold, they were very popular until the Asians blew them out of the water. Great find, tho.
A close friend of mine had one just like it , even the same color.
We went to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the SCCA Southeast divisional autocross race in 1977.
I was in my 1974 Honda Civic and he was in his 1974 Capri. We both won fourth place in our classes.
I remember how badly the Capri suffered from understeer. The four cylinder version handled much better but my friend was a great driver and got the most out of it.
Mine did have all that understeer but I had a lot of fun autocrossing it just the same.
Had two of them. 1600 cc Cortina and a Colonge V6. Should have kept both
These were also built in South Africa where we had them in either 1600cc, 2 litre, 2.8 litre V6, 3 litre V6 or the Basil Green Ford Windsor V8 302 Perana.
With a top speed of 207 km/h and an acceleration of 7.8 seconds from standstill to 100 km/h the car became the favourite of Ford’s chairman Lee Iacocca. (Wikipedia). On it’s debut year it won 13 out of 14 races. I have had them all, other than the BG version, and I found the 2 litre, 4 cylinder car to be the most friendly to drive. Great cars, all of them.
I mean, isn’t that 2 litre the same 4 banger that’s still being raced these days in open wheel classes? They’re a good enduro motor.
Those wheels are not ‘too new’ for this Capri – they’re modeled after the famous 8spoke Minilite that was an extremely popular wheel in European motorsport already in the 60s. Even the famous ‘177’ Mini Cooper – winner of the ’67 Monte Carlo – had them.
I understand the Capri wasn’t nearly as much of a success in the US as in Europe – after all it resembled a 3/4 sized copy of a dated US pony car. There is probably a much larger market for these in Europe, partly because it was the best/only pony car European buyers on average salaries could afford, partly because the 1st gen Capri is the most coveted and sadly ( being a 70s Euro Ford) also extremely prone to rust… quality 1st gen Capris will certainly be on enthusiast hands already. It wouldn’t surprise me if several US sold Capris have been shipped back to the old world already
There’s a massive following for these cars in Europe and many of the Capri clubs have been around for decades
https://www.caprimk1ownersclub.com/
Even though I became of driving age during the muscle car era I always preferred European sports cars. The Capri seemed like a smaller, thriftier, more agile version of American Pony cars, which had started to get pretty large by the early 70s. Yes, the Celica, et al, pretty much killed the US market for them, but I still like them. This one looks particularly nice.
I bought a Capri II (same basic car but with an updated body style) new in ’76. Really nice little car – decent performance with the 2800 Cologne V6 and a 4-speed. It would seat 4 in a pinch and had almost unbelievable carrying capacity with the rear seats folded down (mine was a hatchback). I autocrossed it and used it for TSD rallies in addition to it being my daily driver for 8 years. Might still have it if another Capri owner hadn’t come down with a bad case of seller’s remorse and offered me a deal I couldn’t turn down. Not a sports car but a really good compromise between performance, economy and utility. Definitely no regrets from having owned that one!
I’ve always liked this cars looks ,and came close to buying one of these in the same color when I was 18 ; until the seller sold it to another guy who offered him more money even though I put a deposit on the car.
The reason they ” quickly became obscure” at least here in New England was that they quickly rusted out like many imports of the time
I haven’t seen one of these in years and now there has been three listed here this week!! This one is the nicest and the one to buy in my opinion!! Great little under appreciated American sports car!!!
Fully agree with you these are cool rides, but these aren’t American sports cars – captive imports made by Ford Europe!
You are right local sheriff!!! I stand corrected!!!
Assuming rust was properly repaired, better pictures and a better forum than CL might yield more than 12K.
This was my thought exactly. Looks like a really good Capri. They have a dedicated following. And with few being in good shape, it should bring impressive money. But not via Craigslist or with this Craigslist-typical ad — few pictures and little verbiage. Just a *** little *** effort could yield much better results for the seller.
One of my favorite cars I ever owned was a 1974 capri, V6, four-speed.
I had a Weber carb and duel exhaust. The sound was wonderful and what a hoot to drive. Raw and mechanical, the way a sporting car should be.
The automatic trans is an extreme wet blanket and a show stopper for me.
I’d buy another 4-speed Capri in a minute.
I had the same car! Bought it brand new. It was so much fun to drive. I actually got it up over 120mph on the 101 freeway in Ventura California.
Wish I still had it. Drive it for over 20 years and 279,000 miles. If I had the money I would buy one now.
Ah, youth…
1977…I’d come off of two years on the Alaska Pipeline, had waaaaay too much money, wasted a year at UAA, bought a clean low mile silver-blue ’74 v6 4gear Decor group Capri in Anchorage, and played a LOT. Euro RS style paint, Western Wheel Minilite copies, a Flex Dam in front, Hella H4 lights, Cannon headers and the resonator cut off. Sounded like an e-type muffled through a box of Brillo pads!
Moved to Portland a year later, sucky Carter economy, it had to go. Damn..
I always loved these cars. That smooth V6 did have a great sound to it. Plus, every offering from Japan was both ugly and a total rust bucket when it was driven off the boat. So even if the transmission didn’t have great ratios, you could still drive this without having a bag on your head for embarrasment of being seen in a Japanese brand vehicle of the same era
It’s a little on the high side of pricing. That being said, if it were less expensive I’d seriously consider buying it.
As far as restoration, hmmmm…. no. Seeing as the motor has already been altered, I’d probably just go ahead and remove it completely and drop in a nicely tuned 302. My neighbor had one when I was a kid and it was scary fast. It’d be a real fun coffee and cars ride.
I had a 73 2.8 while in Holland on Embassy duty. German built, special order. My Air Force buddy had it in his garage and said he couldn’t keep it from overheating. I bought it for 1500. US dollars. Put a new stat and flushed it out real good, and it ran perfect! Canary yellow, black vinyl top and it would blow the doors off just about anything I raced, even on the autobahn! I put wide Pirelli tires and honeycomb aluminum wheels, had them balanced to 170 mph. It would do every bit of that too. Loved the 4 speed, no slop in mine! Which I sent it home!!! Bad ass ride, I would race a German buddy in his BMW 325i thru the Black Forest and won every time. 12 miles of road with 1/4 mile banked curves at 120 mph! Balls!
@Steve. I think that should read 170 kph, not 170 mph.
The body lines make these look like they are going backward.
dash board and gauges overhead console might not be original?
I had a ’72 Capri in high school. My Dad bought it from a co-worker of his really cheap. Mine had the 4 banger, automatic, no a/c, and was red with black vinyl interior and the black vinyl roof. In the summer it was an oven! With the 4 banger in it was really wimpy on power. Sold it when it got to the point that it was burning about as much oil as gas and I could not keep it running at stop lights without slipping in neutral and keeping foot on gas. Needless to say I was an unimpressed teenager. Next ride was a ’77 Datsun 200sx. Fun little car, but a pain to find parts for because it was only produced for 3 years in that specific style. Memories. :)
Graduated from college in 1971, and Shortly after, my folks and I flew to Cologne, Germany where we picked up a Capri at the Ford Factory! A 1971 2.0 liter Red Capri with the upgraded interior, a sun roof and automatic. It was the same body style as the featured car, but before they hung on those huge bumpers. Drove it around Europe for 5 weeks, and shipped it back to NY from London. Great little car, fun to drive, but really not supported well by Ford in the states! Needed a new universal at one point, had to buy the whole driveshaft! The head light switch failed, Had to wait 3 weeks to get one from Germany. After 2 years, sold it and bought a Mercury Montero. Wish I had either today!
I had a ’73 forrest green 2000 4spd and sold it for a ’76 V6 4spd….loved both of them. This was the car to buy in ’73-’77. We had 4 in our family and my best friend liked mne so much he bought one too! A green, white, yellow and 2 browns identical to this one. This is one of the best Ive seen except for the white ’77 that sold on Hemmings a year ago. If I had garage space, this one would be coming home to CA!!🤓
Back in the early 80s, I had a pair of these – a 71 with a 1.6 liter and later a 73 with a 2.9 liter. I spent a LOT of money on the V6 at a company called Dobi. I upgraded the suspension, bored it .030 over, put a 4 bbl intake on it with a 390 cfm Holley, a hotter cam, headers, dual exhaust, and I replaced the nylon timing gear with a steel one. That made everyone think I had a supercharger under the hood because of the whine it made! It ran high 14s in a quarter and the top speed, which I was foolish enough to attempt on suspect tires as a college kid, was north of the speedometer’s 120 mph.
When I got my commission in the Navy, I traded it in on an 85 Monte Carlo, which I still own. I love my Monte, but I think back to the sound that little V6 made at 6500-7000 rpm compared to the dismal sound of the anemic 4.3 liter in the Monte… but for some reason I can’t bring myself to mod the car I’ve owned for so long.
My parents bought one, a ’76 Capri II version with a V-6 with auto trans, it was a Ghia version. It was a good daily driver and handled great. I recalled the price Dad paid out the door $5600. Sadly after Dad passed Mom told me to sell it! Now if I can find one with the same equipt. I’d buy it!
In Europe, Capris were raced extensively, with the Zakspeed-tuned Capris at the top of the heap. A few years after the subject car (’76 or’77, I believe), Ford/Lincoln Mercury offered a version that was black with gold striping called “Le Cat Black” (I guess that name was selected to be consistent with the feline theme that Lincoln Mercury had going at that time…) that my 16-year old self wanted so so badly. I thought they were the gorgeous.
Oh yeah; the Zakspeed Capris were killer racing cars based on the Mk3 Capri competing in what is now known as DTM. Once you start digging into them you’ll soon realize there’s VERY LITTLE left of the original Capri in these racing cars other than the roofline. And, no Cologne V6 in the Zakspeed Capris – these were powered with über-agressive 1.4liter turbocharged I-4s!
Of all the racing Capris the one wearing Mampe livery has always been my favourite. As a kid I had a massive official Ford poster from this very scene in my bedroom
https://www.listal.com/viewimage/19371192
There was also a white one with the same stripes.
The people we bought our first house from had one.
It was kind of ironic – we had a ’73 Capri & a ’77-
Toyota pickup,& they had the white Capri,& a Mazda
Rotary pickup.
Memories! A friend got the same car as featured, I thought it was the cooolest car and begged my dad for one but it wasn’t to be and have forever loved that car.
My parents had 2 of them. (1971 if I remember. ). I’m not sure what happened to my dad’s, but we lost mom’s in 1985 in an accident south of town.
I had a’74 Capri, 4 cyl. auto. Marvelous on corners; once needed a thermostat. Rear ended and totaled at 62k miles. I still miss it.
I had one back in 1984, a yellow 1974 4-banger. I loved it, it was a really great car. One of the unique things I liked about it is that you had to lock the doors with the key, so you could never lock the keys in the car. The engine compartment can hold a much bigger engine. I saw one at an auto show in Cleveland with a huge blown V8 in it with few modifications to fit it, and wheelie bars on the back. I rebuilt the engine because the previous owner never changed the oil, and took the smog pump off. That gave it a lot more power