UPDATE 08/11/2025: Affordability can be a key consideration for those seeking a classic to park in their garage, and this 1994 Mercury Capri XR2 has recently become more so. We initially saw this little Aussie-built Ford around a month ago with an asking price of $6,250. Since it appears that the seller has had no success, they have recently relisted it here on Craigslist in Bothell, Washington, with an asking price of $5,500. No details beyond the price have changed, so if you were tempted the first time, you may now find this Capri irresistible. I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Curvette for spotting this returning classic.
07/04/2025: To me, the Mercury Capri is like that restaurant in town with a horrible menu but great dessert; you’re willing to stomach the subpar chicken parmesan to get the out-of-this-world Black Forest Cake. The Capri isn’t as sporting as its primary competitor, the NA-chassis Miata, but the rad-era styling and Aussie-Ford connection make it far more interesting than your average roadster. The Capri shown here on Craigslist is made even more interesting due to sporting a rare color, factory hardtop, and having formerly belonged to a Ford employee.
Now, I could be wrong since the seller doesn’t mention it, but I believe the XR2s are factory turbocharged, which is another way these funky convertibles stand apart from their rival from Mazda. The irony, of course, is that the turbo’d 1.6L engine is lifted from the very Miata it was competing against, with 132 horsepower channeled through the front wheels. Take note of those alloy wheels – they’re unique to the 1994 edition of the Capri, replacing the goofy three-spoke design that was all the rage in the 90s vehicle aftermarket. The 1994 models also received updated front and rear bumpers.
The seller notes that this Capri is unusual not only for, well, being a Capri, but also because it left the factory wearing Magenta paint. The seller claims it’s one of just 28 examples painted this shade, and while I can’t verify this claim, I’ve also never seen one in person. The black interior balances nicely with the pure-90s color scheme, and thankfully, this car is equipped with the preferred 5-speed manual. There was one of the earlier edition models in an old neighborhood of mine that I desperately wanted to rescue, but it was equipped with the optional automatic transmission – not the ideal combo.
I love details like this: the factory hardtop, on the factory stand, still wrapped in the factory protective color. I see that old Mercury logo, and it brings me back to the 1990s when my grandfather owned a 1990 Cougar, and you used to see a Tracer in every parking lot. In addition to the rare color, the seller claims he purchased this Capri off of the “….Ford employee B lot,” which I can only assume means some special area where cars are reserved for discounted purchase by corporate staffers. With the rare color and seemingly tidy condition, this Capri looks like it may be one of the best ones left of the small pool of examples still on the road today. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Kevin for the find.
Fun car for a southern seaside town ⛱️
Mine looked exactly like this one. Mine had an automatic. It was a nice car but strictly a blvd cruiser.
The “B” lot was where cars were sold that had been leased to salaried employees Grade 9 and above for less than a year. The employee who leased filled out an order form and in many cases checked a lot of boxes so you see cars like this one. I worked at Ford WHQ and the “resale lot” (as we called it but you did buy the car on the “B” plan) was over by the FMCC HQ building. I bought 2 vehicles this way…you could walk over at lunch and peruse what was available. If you purchased, it was assigned to a local Ford dealer to handle the paperwork.
@ John Wilson, I’d be taking a LOT of long lunch breaks if I was there. That sounds like a really great experience.
In Newport Beach it was called the lease lot, and each car had a little tag in the window that told who had driven it for the last year of the lease, the mileage, and the non-negotiable price. Needless to say, there were some previous driver’s cars that were to be avoided due to hard use.
That’s because pool cars were included…and they were mercilessly abused
I’ve commented on these before because I owned a used one for a few years. Mine was the XR2 model and it was turbocharged. It exhibited a bit of turbo lag and torque steer but not terribly so. With the five speed and a convertible top that you could drop quickly with one hand ( like a Miata); it was a fun little car to drive. The factory hard top was welcome in the winter. I daily drove this for part of the time I had it. It was reliable and got good gas mileage. Other than maintenance I never had any other costs. Good as a Miata IMO and I didn’t hear any “chick” car remarks either. The only reason I sold it was because a friend wanted it very much and made me an offer I couldn’t pass up. I would enjoy owning one again and this is the one to have. GLWTS.
Wow – $6,250 for a low mileage and excellent condition 1994 XR2. Buy it, drive it and enjoy this wonderful car for a fraction of the cost of some new fangled technology car. Do you really need Apple Carplay, lane assist, active cruise control, automatic braking, fully self-driving, etc, etc, etc ???
I have a 94 I drive everyday winter and summer. This is my second one and couldn’t be happier with it. Never lets me down and fun to drive.
Thanks, BF, for bringing back the thumbs- up!
The increasing ad volume sucks, but it’s still BF.
You can browse ad-free if you sign up for a membership!
And I’d like to add. If you join you can see Fast Finds, you’ll see a lot of cars before they’re written up, and see the write ups before they hit the public page.
The Capri XR2 is an economy car that really looks like a sport car. The layout is pure economy car while the stance and profile says sports car and that’s what I always liked about this little car. Top up or down this little car just looks good to me. This is a nice one. Good buy.
I can just picture my wife and myself dropping the top and going to Dairy Queen!!!! This just looks like fun.
A lot of smiles per mile.
I was lucky enough to get one of these for nothing and drove the heck out of it for a couple years of cheap fun. That engine loved to rev and I took advantage of that with every drive and every shift. Only got rid of it because I had 3 cars and a Suzuki Bandit 1200 while living in an apartment.
The Craigslist ad is gone, so presumably the car is as well.
I had to make the drive over the mountain. (Carson City to Pleasanton CA) To a Ford Mercury service meeting. I liked driving these and there was one in demo service so I selected a red one. Returning the next day I put the top down and headed towards home. Traffic was medium to heavy so I was anxious to get back to the mountain part of my drive. Traffic all of a sudden started braking and sliding all over the road in some red slippery stuff. My ex-ice racing experience clicked in and I was one of the very few to dodge other cars. It seems that my selection of the road home was also the route of large tomatoes laden trucks going to market. One split open and dumped its entire load all over the interstate. I can never see one of these without my brain going back to tomatoe alley. I really like these cars would like to have one.