The Ford Capri StoryHardcover, 1 December 2012

The Story series takes on the development of the Capri

Before the Ford Capri arrived in 1969, GT cars had tended to be expensive, temperamental, impractical, and rarefied. Ford decided there was no reason why a four-seater coupe couldn't look stunning and go like a rocket (with the right engine), yet be as easy and cheap to run as a Ford Escort. Little wonder that the slogan they used in 1969 to launch it, The car you always promised yourself, made an immediate impact. The Capri was a hit from day one, and continued to be a favorite until 1986, at which time it had been somewhat overshadowed by the emergence of the Hot Hatchback. Over its lifetime, the Capri was available in a vast array of guises over three distinct Marks, but all of them had at their heart affordable fun and a surprising degree of everyday practicality. Nothing has ever quite replaced it, but it lives on in the fond imagination of everyone who loved it.