as a car Applause designed by the late American Philip T Clarke the Ford Capri was Europe’s unashamed answer to the Mustang and according to Ford’s own original advertising campaign It. it was the car you always promised yourself to celebrate the Caprice halfcentury we’re taking it on a Road. road trip down memory lane picking up from four Of.

of Europe’s. Europe’s headquarters in Cologne where it was originally built then to the iPhone Mountains where it was tested and eventually to some of the Circuits. circuits on which it raced with such huge success in the 1970s and the driver’s championship falling to blimp sir in his capri number one as cruise down the finishing spray and the Capri I’m going to be driving to celebrate its 50th anniversary well it’s a very special one indeed super rare one It’s.

it’s an RS 2600 the car that formed the basis of all those really really famous really successful racing and I have to say I am thoroughly excited about the prospect of taking this Car. car on a proper road Trip. trip to celebrate that anniversary but before we go into any of the Eiffel mountains or spar or Zandvoort. zandvoort well I’m just gonna take it for a little cool In. in downtown cologne the spiritual home Of. of the Capri this is where Ford brought the Capri throughout its Life. life to test it long before it went on sale to make Sure. sure that it was just right there Were. were many Other.

other test locations of course but the Eifel mountains and the Nurburgring itself which Nestle’s within them well these were Probably. probably the new capris biggest challenge forbes Thinking. thinking was that if the car drove well here then it would drive well anywhere and they were dead right because although the Capri never represented the height of sophistication it was one of those rare cars but somehow managed to over deliver on the sum of its parts leather steering and suspension was based on far more humble ford products the Cortina in the escort it was way sharper than a quarter in a way sharp Than.

than an escort and that’s because they finetuned it on roads just these to be just That. that Also. also the arms out thumb down driving position was absolutely spoton back in the day and even today it’s perfect it feels just right from behind the wheel does the Capri and the v6 engines particularly the high compression 2.6 v6 engine of the RS 2600. 2600 they made it go stink In.

in 1972 And. and I tell you what even in 2019 the RS 2600 Still.

still feels Properly. properly rapid fair enough fifty years later the Capri does feel somewhat antiquated on the road even in this rarest most capable Of. of forms and with some 140 Or.

or bhp to show for it but the charm of the original car is still very much present in this car even though it’s 47 years Old. old I’m falling in Love. love with this car completely falling in love with it the RS 2600 capris had arguably their greatest racing success at the spa 24 hours which they won outright twice on the trot in 1971 and 1972 much To.

to the dismay of the works cars from Alfa and BMW the capris didn’t just win the spar 24 hours they absolutely blitzed it and it was a fearsome winsome racetrack It. it was at the time fastest road racing Circuit. circuit pretty much in the world certainly in Europe I’m Not.

not doing much twirling of The. the steering wheel because it’s it’s not totally straight everywhere they’re just the odds slight bends the master kink here for example which was just an awesome bit of track It. it just goes on and On. on and on right out into the Ardennes Forest and then eventually it rejoins The. the spa that we know today 14.1. 14.1 Kilometres. kilometres the old circuits firewalls and the capris went round there in 1972 in just a whisker over four minutes so they were quick properly properly quick so after Spawn.

spawn we pointed our capris long bonnet and its distinctive quartet of round headlights towards the coast of Holland and towards the amazing circuit of zandvoort specifically why well because on the 11th of August 1974 the Capri won one Of. of its very last big European Touring Car Championship races there with Jochen mass and Ralph’s Tomalin fending off the competition from porsche alpha and BMW in a car that By. by then was probably a bit beyond its best so it seemed a fitting place to go To. to and to drive at and eventually to say good to our 50 year old friend but not before I ran a few laps in the old girl around this Franky greens Old.

old circuit just appreciate a bit harder than you ever could do on the road and we’re not talking and about dynamic perfection here not by any stretch of the imagination but You.

you cannot help but smile when you ever go in this thing on a track this I’m gonna miss this old car when we finish this shoot and put it away I really really but maybe just maybe just one more then to be honest fast you could go in it even though it was a highly successful racing car and As. as a road Car. car was pretty much king of the hill in its day no the Capri was the car that allowed the man in the street to live the everyday dream It. it made you feel good about things when you were behind the wheel and it still does that today ultimately it was about the pure enjoyment of driving a car there was A. a little bit different a little bit sexy a little bit naughty Even.

even and in its day there really was nothing else quite it to date my own family has owned four different capris across all three and I Am