Ford Australia conceived and built the Mercury Capri at its manufacturing plant located in Broadmeadows, Victoria. The company’s primary focus was on the car being a major export model, with the United States being its target market. Sadly, it never sold in the volumes to justify its existence, and what Ford Australia perceived as a long-term model was withdrawn from sale after only a few short years. Today, it is challenging to find a good one, but this 1992 model is a pearl. The owner believes that it could be one of the nicest left in existence today, and it is hard to argue on that point. It is also a drop-top that needs a new home, so the owner has listed it for sale here on eBay. The Capri is located in Holden, Missouri, where the bidding has reached $2,551 in this No Reserve auction.

Ford Australia had a bold vision as the 1980s progressed. Buoyed by strong domestic sales that saw it reach number one in the domestic new car market, it held lofty ambitions of becoming a significant exporter of new cars. Against this backdrop, it undertook market research that determined that a classic small sports car offered it the greatest export potential. The Capri was their answer, and as history would show, it proved to be the wrong decision. The body was styled by Ghia, with styling tweaks made by Ford to make the Capri more practical and easier to build. Our feature car rolled off the Broadmeadows production line in 1992 and is an original and unrestored survivor. Its Everglade Green paint shines beautifully, with no evidence of significant flaws or problems. As well as a Black soft-top, this classic comes with a factory hardtop finished in the same shade of green that graces the panels. Those panels look pretty straight. I can’t spot any dings or dents worth mentioning, and there’s no evidence of rust. The plastic trim has survived well, the glass is in excellent condition, and the distinctive alloy wheels show no evidence of stains or curb strike.

While Ghia handled the external styling, Ford Australia enlisted the help of ItalDesign to develop the interior. The result proved to be crisp and modern when the car was new, although the predominantly plastic trim developed a reputation for deteriorating following long-term exposure to UV rays. That fate hasn’t befallen this car, with the interior looking surprisingly fresh. The covers on the heavily contoured bucket seats, especially the driver’s, are stretched. There are no rips or tears, so the buyer may choose to live with them. If perfection is critical for them, replacement covers are available. They retail for around $620, but this includes a matching cover for the rear seat. The carpet shows some dirty marks around the driver’s feet area, but I think that a deep clean might address that issue. The remaining upholstered surfaces are in good order, while the plastic and dash show no evidence of problems. One unique feature of the American Capri compared to the examples sold Down Under is that the US cars featured a driver’s airbag. In addition to that safety feature, this Capri is equipped with air conditioning, power windows, power locks, power mirrors, cruise control, and an aftermarket Sony CD player with remote control.

Lifting the Capri’s hood reveals its numbers-matching 1,597cc four-cylinder engine that sends its 100hp to the front wheels via a five-speed manual transmission. It isn’t a muscle car, but the ¼-mile ET of 18 seconds was still considered respectable in 1992. The Capri’s drivetrain also reveals why producing this car was a strange choice for Ford Australia to make. The mechanical underpinnings were derived from Mazda’s 323, with the same components finding a home under the Mercury Tracer. At that point in Ford’s history, the company owned a 40% stake in Mazda, which was deeply involved in developing their MX5 Miata. Quite why Ford would decide to compete head-to-head with an offering from Mazda remains a mystery. As history would show, the Miata was a sales smash, while sales for the Capri were well below company projections. Adding to the company’s pain, they had initially intended for the Capri to hit the market well before the Miata to give it a sales edge. However, Ford Australia was going through one of the darkest periods in its history as it grappled with trying to bring three entirely new models into the market at the same time. It all proved too much, and by the time development of the Capri was completed and it hit showroom floors, that sales lead that it had envisaged had evaporated. The enormous workload also meant that early Capris suffered from some significant quality control issues, which heavily tainted its reputation. Our feature car has none of those problems, is in sound mechanical health, and has a genuine 63,000 miles on the clock. It runs and drives perfectly and is ready to be enjoyed immediately by its lucky new owner.

When Ford Australia launched the Mercury Capri onto the American market, they needed to achieve sales volumes of at least 25,000 cars per year to reach a break-even point. Sadly, they never came close to that figure. In 1991, there were 14,496 buyers prepared to slap down their cash for a Capri, which marked the model’s high point. The figure dropped to 5,641 for the 1992 model year, rallied to 6,828 for 1993, but the company knew that the writing was on the wall. The 1994 total of 2,325 cars sealed the Capri’s fate, and it disappeared from Mercury showrooms before the calendar year was complete. There was nothing wrong with the Capri, but it faced a perfect storm of circumstances that doomed it from the start. Early cars were plagued with quality control issues, and by the time Ford had addressed those problems, the Mazda MX5 Miata had captured the buying public’s hearts and wallets. Finding a good Capri today can be a battle, but if you’ve been looking, perhaps your search is over.