Capri 500 Prototype

[Steve Saxty]

Everyone enjoyed the RS2800 prototype. So how about this one then, the Capri 500 prototype? The Capri 280 before it was born was intended to have a colour-coded spoiler, gold Minilite-style wheels and unique badging. Inside it had a burgundy red steering wheel (that I swiped for my Tickford) and a, snigger, red gearknob to match. It all got a little diluted when Marketing decided to go for 1000 rather than 500 units.

What do you think of this one?

Oh and there's more Capri and other Ford prototypes I uploaded at https://www.stevesaxty.com/scrapbook-images

[Pas28i]

Hi Steve I was going to mention this Capri in the RS2800 thread but the posts got too long!

I thought the badging was going to be gold as well, but with the burgundy extras inside then I guess the red stripe would have tied it all in...

Perhaps change the white stripe and lettering to gold, as the wheels to me look like add ons..

Back in the day I remember seeing a x pack kitted 280 that really looked the part, and would’ve suited this limited edition.
Did Tickford consider incorporating the x pack it on their cars?

Lastly for a version that never was...if production continued to 1989, a 24v Cosworth version;

Painted in the Sierra Cosworth Flint grey, with the leather trim, and maybe the x pack...this was my vision when I was 14, but will never create, now that I understand the reality of how much money is needed!!

[ESSEXV6ESSEX]

I am not so keen. I think the Gold minilites dated it where as the RS 15" wheels fitted in with the range at the time and made it contemporary. I never liked smaller rubber boot spoilers painted, they always looked cheap, I remember the first of the Erika '86 Escort XR3i where people would colour code the spoiler and they looked tacky, didn't balance the car well. I think Ford could have done more. For me Turbo charge all of them and a cream interior would have looked better and more premium. I like everything on the 280 except the name. I cannot see why except there were more than 500, thing is there weren't 280 either. It just shows Ford up as being lazy and lacks the respect the Capri deserved even if it was just a UK run out model, it had 18 years of support behind it. I get it sort of is an extension of the 2.8i but it's weak. I think Turbo charge the car and cream leather then call it the Capri 2.8Ti or something.

[Not_Anumber]

A turbocharged Capri may have just left too much of a price and performance gap from the 2.0 Lasers though.
I suspect if they hadn't gone the 500/ 280 route the 2.8i special would have been due for a minor update and it could be said that a change to roadwheel size and seat colour would have done that job . Making those small changes but with different badging and a limit to a single body colour made it stand out, will not have put off buyers who thought they could still order a 2.8i Special, got the attention of the press, all without adding very much at all to the manufacturing cost.

[Jasonmarie]

Not a 280 thread , next they will get special parking at the CCI show or start wanting 40k for one . O they already do funny why Ford picked Green as it is a unlucky colour https://www.motor1.com/news/77139/are-g ... s-unlucky/
I remember this when I was young like don’t walk under ladders . Not for me sorry to say it was a 2.8i with black leather seats & 15” Capri standard wheels . That’s it .
Young Tom on here in my eyes has the best Ford Capri ever what sold to family’s in the millions ,took baby’s home after being born . Took men to work .
The Capri I really remember . Now that’s a subject that made Britain great and gave so many people happerness .

In the words of the greatest man I ever new the 1.6 pinto capri was a good old English pint . The 280 was a expensive French wine that was a bad vintage .

case closed .

And here is young Toms Capri

[Jasonmarie]

Please note the mother in law was here for two hours today , so thank you Steve for helping me out with a 280 or 500 or 1178 I think post as I feel better now

[Steve Saxty]

Hi Steve I was going to mention this Capri in the RS2800 thread but the posts got too long!

I thought the badging was going to be gold as well, but with the burgundy extras inside then I guess the red stripe would have tied it all in...

Perhaps change the white stripe and lettering to gold, as the wheels to me look like add ons..

Back in the day I remember seeing a x pack kitted 280 that really looked the part, and would’ve suited this limited edition.
Did Tickford consider incorporating the x pack it on their cars?

Lastly for a version that never was...if production continued to 1989, a 24v Cosworth version;

Painted in the Sierra Cosworth Flint grey, with the leather trim, and maybe the x pack...this was my vision when I was 14, but will never create, now that I understand the reality of how much money is needed!!

Hmm, well I do have the Tickford design sketches somewhere and they didn't have the X-pack. The issue with wide arches are they require a body repaint and that adds huge cost (not that Tickford had much of a grasp on cost control). The wide arches look good IMHO... except that the widest 7.5" wide rims are still a bit narrow for them.

As for never-was.... I posted that pic on Facebook tonight and someone responded that "he'd heard" that the 280 was supposed to be all turbo, electric windows, rear disc brakes and more - oh, and Ford "found 500 missing body shells" and so built 1000 instead of 500 run-out 280s. All bogus and he took it well but that was part of what I tried to achieve in the book (which I hope you've all read by now) that Ford is run as a business to make money, not make cars - that gets drummed into every employee. Even Rod Mansfield was continuously under threat because of all the fancy nonsense his team made was taking up time and made for distracting PR!

[Steve Saxty]

A turbocharged Capri may have just left too much of a price and performance gap from the 2.0 Lasers though.
I suspect if they hadn't gone the 500/ 280 route the 2.8i special would have been due for a minor update and it could be said that a change to roadwheel size and seat colour would have done that job . Making those small changes but with different badging and a limit to a single body colour made it stand out, will not have put off buyers who thought they could still order a 2.8i Special, got the attention of the press, all without adding very much at all to the manufacturing cost.

I have the "PP&DC Product Review" for the "Capri 500 SVP" or special value program. The Injection Special WAS the run-out Capri in LHD and it was only Ford of Britain that wanted to keep it going. The calculations are interesting - by only making it in one (green) color there was an estimated cost saving of some significance. Why? Well it means not having to stock different colors which makes it costlier to stock and leads to customer dissatisfaction. So the green paint was effectively free, along with the everything else as.... (whisper it) biggers wheels and tires cost nothing extra, the "leather" in the doors was vinyl and cheaper than the Injection Special cloth and so..... All the 280 cost in extra bits was the leather seat centres!

I feel bad now.

And yes, I always come off a bit curmudgeonly on the 280 but I've nothing against it. They did what they could, there was no money to add trinkets like electric windows without ratcheting up costs. The only thing I'd really complain about was the price of it - but for anyone that used its high price to negotiate a bargain on a Rosso Red Injection for 3K less then well done!

[Steve Saxty]

I am not so keen. I think the Gold minilites dated it where as the RS 15" wheels fitted in with the range at the time and made it contemporary. I never liked smaller rubber boot spoilers painted, they always looked cheap, I remember the first of the Erika '86 Escort XR3i where people would colour code the spoiler and they looked tacky, didn't balance the car well. I think Ford could have done more. For me Turbo charge all of them and a cream interior would have looked better and more premium. I like everything on the 280 except the name. I cannot see why except there were more than 500, thing is there weren't 280 either. It just shows Ford up as being lazy and lacks the respect the Capri deserved even if it was just a UK run out model, it had 18 years of support behind it. I get it sort of is an extension of the 2.8i but it's weak. I think Turbo charge the car and cream leather then call it the Capri 2.8Ti or something.

Well... All except that when Turbo Technics offered their semi-official conversion sales went down of their conversion. Most people didn't want a turbo Capri back then and it would have been tough to do - the cost of adding brakes that worked would have made it unviable. Plus, SVE were so bogged down on getting Cosworth down the line that they had no resource. And, the Tickford and Zakspeed sold so badly that I think it would have been somewhat risky thing to comms resource to engineering a third potentially unsalable turbo Capri with no cycle recovery. The TT option wasn't bad - I had it for a week after SVE and Marketing finished with it - I liked it so much I crashed it actually! (My mum reminded me of that rather kindly last week).

Name - well I've spent longer typing it than was ever spent on it. When Marketing wanted to go for 1,000 units they simply sent Geoff Fox at SVE a memo and he quickly redrew it himself from the 500 logo that Design issued to him. I've added the original 500 logo there above.

[Paul G]

Not a 280 thread , next they will get special parking at the CCI show or start wanting 40k for one . O they already do funny why Ford picked Green as it is a unlucky colour https://www.motor1.com/news/77139/are-g ... s-unlucky/
I remember this when I was young like don’t walk under ladders . Not for me sorry to say it was a 2.8i with black leather seats & 15” Capri standard wheels . That’s it .
Young Tom on here in my eyes has the best Ford Capri ever what sold to family’s in the millions ,took baby’s home after being born . Took men to work .
The Capri I really remember . Now that’s a subject that made Britain great and gave so many people happerness .

In the words of the greatest man I ever new the 1.6 pinto capri was a good old English pint . The 280 was a expensive French wine that was a bad vintage .

case closed .

[Daz-RSK]

Lastly for a version that never was...if production continued to 1989, a 24v Cosworth version;

Yes, it would have been a nice thought to have one of these. But it was waaayy out of budget.

The 2.9i went electronic - electrics that without a whole redesign was way beyond the Capri Mk3's capabilities. Then there is cost of the R&D to bring that to life. Then we are considering a Capri mk4 because the changes were so radical and far reaching. It is one of those conundrums - what if......

It's a great "what if...." though.

Back in the late 1980s, when Capri was being sold in one market in the world and whilst a healthy sales performance here at 18000 pa, that's not enough to make it a global leader nor enough to reap any surplus cash for the manufacturer to make that jump to the later engine and/or design. If Ford had abandoned the other markets with the Capri, a re-launch would be difficult.

Also to support this lack of interest, Ford had a 2.8EFi engine on the shelf and was placed into the Mk3 Granada prior to the 2.9EFi being launched. It obviously was not in Ford's plan to modify the Capri, even to an EFi.