Mercury Capri

The Mercury Capri is an automobile that was marketed in North America by Mercury. The Mercury Capri was sold in the US as three distinctly different cars over three decades. The Capri for the 1971–74 model years and Capri II for 1976–77 were Ford captive imports made by Ford of Europe in Germany. At its peak, Capri sales in North America were the highest for any import model except the Volkswagen Beetle. These Capris, now fairly rare, are becoming sought after for restoration because of their styling, performance & relative affordability. The Capri from 1979–86 was a rebadged Ford Mustang made in the US, and from 1991–94, a convertible from Ford Australia.

The origin of the name after the Italian island of Capri, dates back to the Lincoln Capri of the 1950s. The European Ford Capri was developed as a "baby Mustang" for that market, a 2-door car with a short trunklid (later hatchback) and a long hood.

The Capri was built in Cologne, Germany, and was sold through Lincoln-Mercury dealers in North America. The European Capri was first sold in the US in April 1970 but did not carry the Mercury marque identification. The only type initially available used the British 1600-cc Kent crossflow, with a starting price less than US$2300. The 2.0-L OHC I4 was introduced for the 1971 model year. The '71 2.0-liter Capris are particularly desirable, since they have a 9.0:1 compression ratio (which was reduced to 8.2:1 in 1972). The 2.6-L "Cologne" V6 was introduced late in the 1972 model year.

North American-spec 1974 Capris adopted large, federally mandated 5-mph bumpers at both the front and rear of the car. The bumpers were covered in body-colored plastic. The 2.6-liter Cologne V6 was replaced by a 2.8-liter Cologne V6 with revised castings for both the engine block and cylinder heads.

Capri II

The Capri was restyled as a hatchback in 1974,and arrived in the US in 1975 but sold in North America as an early 1976 model named the Capri II, though worldwide it was usually referred to as the Capri Mk II. Engine options were the 2.3-liter Lima 4-cylinder and the 2.8-liter Cologne V6. The use of the name "Capri II" followed the introduction of the Ford Mustang II in September 1973.

After the 1977 model year, the Capri II was no longer imported from Europe. Remaining 1977 Capris were sold as 1978 models. Over a half a million German-built Capris were sold in North America 1970 through 1978. Starting in 1979, the European Capri was replaced in the North American market by the "Fox" chassis Capri. Production of the European Capri continued for the European market until 1986.

During this period, a version of the Ford Mustang was sold through Lincoln/Mercury dealers as the Mercury Capri, giving Mercury a pony car for the first time since the Mercury Cougar was upsized in 1974 to complement the Ford Thunderbird. The Capri was built on the Ford Fox platform, which was used for the Mustang from 1979 to 1993 with a design change in 1994. Trim series included the base Capri, the Capri Ghia, the Capri RS, and the Capri Turbo RS. The second generation Capri was the only Capri model to be equipped with a V8 engine.

The Fox-based Mercury Capri was fairly unchanged throughout its entire run. It maintained its squared-off front fascia and grille, and distinctive flared fenders. The only major iteration happened in 1983 with the addition of a racing-inspired hatchback with a compound rear window (also known as the "bubble back"), a new rear bumper and taillights. In 1984, the high performance Capri RS received a front air dam which continued until 1986. The drivetrain and interior options closely matched that of the Mustang year for year. There are differences but they are generally minor.

Ford Australia produced a Mazda MX-5 rival named the Ford Capri from 1989, which ironically, was based around many Mazda 323 mechanics. From the 1991 model year, this car was sold in North America as the Mercury Capri. The car was sold until the 1994 model year with minimal changes (1994 models did get a minor cosmetic update that included new front and rear bumpers as well as taillights). The XR2 also came standard with an independent rear suspension, and offering reinforced front and rear sway bars.