Mk1 Capri (1969-1974)

The first Ford Capri to be introduced to the public was at the Brussels Motor show in January 1969 with sales starting the following month. It was originally going to be called the "Colt" however due to this name being trademarked by Mitsubishi it was then christened the Capri.

Produced in Europe (UK, Belgium and Germany) it was mechanically based on the Cortina and Ford hoped it would reproduce the success they had with the Mustang in America, in the European market.

The capri came with a variety of engine options which differed between for the UK and German markets. In the UK the choice was the 1.3 or 1.6 4 Cylinder Ford Kent Engines. There was also a 2.0L Cologne V6 option available which was the range topper until the end of that year. Thereafter a new model was introduced with the 3litre Essex V6 know as the 3000GT and capable of 138bhp.

In 1972 the Mk1 facefift was introduced. The Kent engines were dropped and replaced with Ford Pinto's. The 3000GT model was introduced for the German Market. The facelift models also benefited from more confortable suspension, new rectangular headlights and new seats.

August 1973 also saw the 1,000,000 Ford capri sold and the highest number of sales in a year attained with 233,000 vehicles sold in that year.