I promised to give you odd updates on my new book, Capri 50 as it nears completion. Here’s the nearly-finished cover art of the book, I think it’s stunning.
The good news is that we are nearly there and it’s now a case of me reading through the final PDF before it goes to print in the next few weeks. I'm really pleased with the final result.
Although The Cars You Always…. has a vast amount of Capri material in it as well, this book should be a great complement to it. I’ve deliberately ensured that, although it’s far more visual, there are very few photos shared between them. As I mention in the new book’s intro, it’s your summer read. But don’t assume that at around 140 pages it’s a lightweight, it's a big book that is the same size as its big sister!
The book’s subtitle is “The Untold Stories Of Ford’s Iconic Coupe”. This time, I wanted to go back and talk to the people that made the Capri what it was back then by asking them to tell us their first-hand stories. Rod Mansfield has written a new foreword about his relationship with the Capri and his thoughts on what it was like to engineer the car.
The book has three main sections, each one starts with the design briefs; for Project Colt, Diana and Carla (the original Capri, Capri II, and Mark III). The design brief summarizes what was in the designers’ minds, illustrated by additional design sketches and prototype photos. The original 1969 Capri section, like the other two that follow, is illustrated using large, sometimes full-page, photos from Ford’s secret archives. They are interspersed with twelve “flagpole” Capris, the most notable versions that are beautifully illustrated and annotated with designer notes. If you have The Cars You Always… then you’ll know the technique and if you have that book’s Collector’s Edition you will enjoy seeing more of those hand-drawn side profiles. This time though they run across two pages which looks very dramatic! You can see the full list of the feature cars here including the dramatic exhumation of the original clay GBX model — brought back to life after 54 years!
The original Capri and Capri II sections are divided by a piece written by Harry Calton who led Ford’s PR and much of the launches for both versions. It’s fun to read how the original cars were sold off to traders in a Cyprus market and the Capri II’s unveiling to the press during a time of fuel rationing. This tees up the Capri II section that kicks off with the design brief and more never-seen photos. There are four beautiful renderings in there, including the RS2800 prototype and a heart-rendingly beautiful 1974 Ghia. Each of the three sections includes lots of information about the various Capri brochures, it’s something I didn’t have enough space for in The Cars You Always… So here they are and, having done a few in my time, it’s great fun to provide a professional assessment of them. I think they will be a real hit.
The Mark III Capri section follows the same pattern, the design brief followed by photos, brochures and no less than five feature cars including “Doyles” 3.0S and the prototype 280. This section also has two “I was there” pieces. Dave Wood of Tickford tells us how they built the fastest and most expensive Capri and Derek Price explains what it was like to create all the Ford wonderful brochures of the period.
We then come to a short piece on Project S272, the canceled 2003 Capri. I think that it’s a key part of the tale, although I am sure some will disagree, because it really marks the end of the Capri story. To close the book, I’ve written an Afterword that will, I hope, neatly wrap it all up as a celebration of the car’s 50thbefore I hand over and give the last words to the men that brought us the car you always promised yourself and a fun piece on the Capris’ badges.
You’ll be wondering about pre-ordering, buying it and the Collector’s Edition.
Key thing is to sign up here to be on the "expression of interest list", or the one with my publisher — if you haven't done so already. If you’re on either list then you’ll be able to pre-order in a few weeks at a special introductory price, likely to be £19.95. I'm confirming the cost of printing with the printer next week as it’s come in around 140 pages, which is way larger than planned, but I still expect it to sell at £25-30 after launch. It’s important to know that the new book will be primarily sold to new and existing readers of The Cars You Always… or those on my mailing list and so it’s important you sign up here to put your name down to express interest and be first in line so you can pre-order in a few weeks.
If you don’t yet have the first book then both will be available as a best-value two-book set of £54.95 soon after launch, drop me a line if you are interested.
Collector’s Edition
The main book is softback to keep down the cost but it will look great in the slipcase of the Collector’s Edition slipcase which features unique artwork. Rod Mansfield and I agreed that we probably only have the patience for signing and numbering 500 copies but when I polled readers you indicated that 82 per cent of you want this special version. It’s another reason to get on the expression of interest list so you can pre-order in a few weeks.
