Ford Capri set to return

The New Ford Capri due to arrive at Frankfurt in 2010

The iconic Ford Capri was, at its peak, a huge success for Ford. The stylish, quick (in big-engined guise), 2-door coupe brought a certain dash to the products from Dagenham, even when it was powered by an asthmatic 1.3 litre engine putting out about 12bhp! But it was the big-engined variants that are most fondly remembered – the early 3.0 litre and the later 2.8 Injection (and let’s not forget the RS3100).

In the mid ’70s a car with 138bhp was considered pretty impressive, and that’s what the 3.0 litre Ford Capri offered. It put Ford up with the likes of the Reliant Scimitar GTE (as driven by Princess Anne – a bit of a ‘Speed Queen’ in her day) and was, by the standards of the day, very ‘Sporty’ and well-equipped. I even had one myself – a bronze coloured 3.0 litre Ghia with all the toys. Tail-happy didn’t start to describe it, and power slides were the order of the day, even unintentionally.

But the Capri became a dinosaur, and Ford dropped it in the ’80s. But rumours of its return have circulated ever since, and it now seems pretty certain that Ford is to revive the name to take on the likes of VW’s Scirocco, according to Auto Express.

The new Ford Capri will be based on the next-gen Ford Focus, but come in a 3-door coupe package, with styling cues from the Ford Iosis Max Concept we saw at Geneva. And if the picture here is anything to go by it should be an instant success. With a range of engines including a pair of 1.6 litre EcoBoost lumps delivering 150bhp or 175bhp, plus a turbo diesel good for 130bhp and a 2.0 litre with up to 200bhp, there should be enough choice to cover all the bases and give the Scirocco and the Megane Coupe a run for their money.

But what of a compeitor for the VW Scirocco R or the Megane RenaultSport? Well, unfortunatley, it doesn’t look as if the new Capri will get the mighty 5-pot from the current Ford Focus RS. Which is a real shame (but Ford have been known to change their minds about the Focus RS - so we can hope we get a Capri RS), but there will be a range topper, which will probably be a 2.0 litre, 4-pot EcoBoost Turbo with something north of 200bhp. Not enough to take on the Scirocco R, so let’s hope we get the full-fat RS version!

It shows how much times have changed in the last 30 years. In the ’70s the range topper had 138bhp and did 18mpg. It looks like the base model of the new Capri will manage that – and 50+ mpg – and handle properly.

The new Focus range is due to debut in 2010 – probably at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Let’s hope the new Ford Capri does too.

By Cars UK