Ford Relaunch The Capri - But Is It Really a Capri?
The first Ford Capri was launched in 1969 as fastback coupe. Over the years, various options were available for the Capri, with varying engine sizes and some special editions. Over its lifespan, 1.9 million Capris were sold worldwide. They were even the car of choice for criminals and police alike, with Lancashire Police introducing the Mk.I 3000 GT into their fleet in 1971, and Greater Manchester Police having the Capri in its fleet until 1992. Ultimately, the Capri was loved by the many and a true icon on British roads. Off the road and on the track, the Capri continued to make waves when Ford launched the Capri RS3100. The road version of this car came with a de-tuned 3.1 litre V6 engine boasting an impressive (for the time) 148bhp with a top speed of approximately 125 mph. In 1969, the Ford Capri prices started at around £890, which is around £11,000 in today's money. Unfortunately, the new one hasn't kept the original pricing.
We could write forever on the prestigious history on all of the variants that Ford brought out of the Capri. But what is taking the headlines at the moment is the relaunch of the new Ford Capri (if you are prepared to call it that). And car enthusiasts and experts are not best pleased.
The latest car launched by Ford has adopted the Capri by name but by no means has adopted any of its classic styling. In fact, it is not even a fastback coupe. It is, drum roll please... another fully electric SUV. Personal opinion warning: the market for electric SUVs is pretty saturated. With the likes of Nissan Ariya, Kia EV9, Hyundai Ioniq 5, BMW iX, Audi Q4 E-Tron, Skoda Enyaq, Tesla Model Y and Ford's own Mustang Mach-E, it really does feel like Ford have missed a great opportunity here to relaunch a classic with an EV battery and take the market by storm.
Starting at around £42,000, the new Ford Capri is a fully electric SUV, as previously mentioned. An member of the team at Ford who worked on the car said "it roughly has the same middle section of the new Explorer, but with a different, lower front and rear." The range, according to Ford, will be between 250 and 390 miles, putting it direct competition with the Tesla Model Y.
The Critics
Experts and critics have been quick to jump all over the new Capri. Top Gear's online car reviewer wrote what many will be thinking when they said: "Fair odds that anyone over 40, upon seeing Ford's new interpretation of the Capri, will spend five minutes simply saying 'that's not a Capri though is it'?" We would take it one step further and say that anyone that has any knowledge of the Capri will be confused by this new launch.
Motoring Nomad said on X (formerly Twitter): "...stop ruining classic names by trying to cash in on them please Ford!"
Through our research, we have found endless tweets and posts about how this new Capri has let the name down... like that second child that doesn't quite live up to the first (but you won't admit that one). We did find one support, though, and it came from Ford's very own Chief Designed for Ford Europe. Talk about marking your own homework.
Murat Gueler said, when discussing using the classic name that "an iconic name has a coolness factor" and that it would get buyer's attention. As the saying goes, there is no such thing as bad publicity. Right? Gueler went on to say: "how do you get a buyer's attention? You can get it through adding LEDs and go nuts on the design, or you can go with this: an iconic name that has the coolness factor and then something relatively simply design-wise. That's why we're very confident the Capri will stand out from the masses."
Well, there is a lot to digest there and he sure has got people's attention. Only time will tell whether those people are buyer's or critics.
Leasing The New Ford Capri
Nevertheless, if you are fan of the new Ford Capri and this electric SUV is "the car you always promised yourself", Pendle Lease have started to receive the latest pricing from Ford to offer them out on both business and personal lease. A member of our team will be more than happy to help with pricing.
All our staff are friendly and welcome. In light of the new Capri, they have undergone some specific Ford Capri 'training' to be ensure they leave their personal opinion of this car off of any quotations we send out. PS, that is a joke. No formal staff training has been conducted in relation to the Ford Capri between 1969 and 2024.
