This is NOT a Capri…it isn’t head turner & no one who had classic version will buy it, says collector of legendary motor

HERE’S a car that will divide opinion TWICE over.

One, because it’s another expensive electric Ford.

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Two, because they’ve stuck one of the most cherished names in the history of cars on it.

Capri.

The Seventies and Eighties hero – dubbed the “working man’s Porsche” for its style and affordability – sold almost 1.9million.

Ford advertised the two-door sports coupe as “the car you always promised yourself” and it was just as popular on TV.

Del Boy, Bodie, Minder’s Terry McCann, they all had one.

But the question is: Should Capri return after nearly 40 years as a four-door electric crossover? 

I’m not sure about it. Ford fanatic Mark Smith, aka Mr Capri, is a definite No.

While Ford design chief Amko Leenarts argues the case for using such a historic name on a car like this.

YES says Amko Leenarts, Ford’s design chief

IT’S not every day you get the chance to redesign an icon. There was always a bit of tension – are we able to truly deliver? And I think we did.

We knew  from the start this was going to be the new Capri so it  obviously needed to be a coupe.

The original car is a sports car for the  family. So we worked a lot on making sure that we’ve got the right silhouette.

The second clue is the two twin headlights. 

The third clue is the Capri swoosh in the rear side windows, again very recognisable from distance. 

And, lastly, at the rear the Capri graphic behind glass out of respect for the original.

If Capri would have continued after 1986, every ten years we would have redesigned the car, evolved it, and that’s why Capri looks the way it does right now. 

We looked at two  important moments in the history of the development of automobiles.

In the Nineties, we started to get four-door coupes.  Then in the 2000s, we went all up. The hip-point  and  eye-point both went up because people wanted to look out and feel safe.

Those two movements have been critical I think for the development of what this could have been if we had developed it.

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Going from a two-door to a four-door and then going up. It kind of makes the result we see here. Of course, we could have made a two-door sports car but it would have been so niche. 

For me, that didn’t make sense and we had to create a car that made sense in the zeitgeist of where we are.

That idea of, electric sports car yet really safe for the family, has been a thread throughout the development.

There will be lovers and haters of it –  and actually we think that’s OK. That’s not a bad thing.

Car culture has always been a visualisation of what society is and society isn’t looking for two-door sports cars. Maybe that’s never going to come back as a general thing.

So what do you say to people who will say it’s not a Capri?

I would say try it and be open-minded. Have an experience for a  couple of hours and come back to us.

NO says Mark Smith, classic Capri owner

IT’S not a Capri [sighs]. It’s not a Capri. Why have they done that when they’ve got Mustang Mach-E and it’s more or less the same thing? It’s a four-door. It’s wrong. It’s wrong.

If they wanted to use a name from the past Mondeo would have been better.

Or leave it until next year and call it Focus. It’s more like a four-door version of my 2011 Focus RS than a Capri.

The Capri was a head-turner and still is. That won’t be. My Focus RS is. My Focus ST is. Call me cynical but I don’t think it’s going to work.

When they launched Capri Mk3, people were queueing up to buy it. I don’t think they’ll be queueing up to buy this.

Ironically, I said to a friend of mine a few weeks ago, Crapi. The Capri club used to do summer camps and the club chairman and his missus, and some of the others, had a band called the Crapis.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice looker in its own right, as a new Ford, but it’s not a Capri. It’s an electric Mondeo or Focus.

If they wanted to bring back Capri, then do it so it looks like one. I know Capri is nearly 40 years ago but it still looks right. There’s too much difference.

Mark owns one of the last originals, a mint 1986 Capri 280 Brooklands with 28,000 miles on the clock. It’s worth about £54k. Would he swap it for a new Capri?

No. I don’t think anyone who has had a Capri would buy this.

There’s likely to be a backlash. Can you imagine what Jeremy Clarkson or Tiff Needell would have to say?

Ford said the Capri 280 was the last Capri. “This is the end. The final Capri.” It was sold as that. So how can you suddenly go, “There’s another one”?

This car won’t survive on Capri  legacy and I don’t think it will sell in  volumes. How many people have got 50-odd grand? It’s too expensive.

I would go and look at one in the actual metal but that’s where it would stop. I’ll not be swapping mine for one.

lMark has owned more than 40 classic Capris over the years and is secretary of the Manchester Capri Club and Ford Capri 280 Register. 

Pri Pri sauce

I’M not sure why Eric Cantona unveiled the new Ford Capri. I thought he’d be more Renault Fuego. 

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Mind you, Capri has got some kick to it. So maybe that’s it?

The spiciest Capri is 340hp, all-wheel drive and smokes a Focus ST off the line. But it’s a juicy £56k. The cheapest £42k car is 170hp and rear-wheel drive. 

Then there’s the mid-range motor.  Capri is technically the same as  the new Explorer SUV and uses VW parts.