Ford Consul Capri

This classic British car belongs to the era of the early 60s, when Telstar ruled the airwaves and Joe Meek was helping Heinz Burt (himself a proud Consul Capri owner) do it Just Like Eddie.

Ford introduced the Capri version of its 1961 Consul Classic saloon in early 1962. The coachwork was inspired by the Galaxie Starliner, and Dagenham also wanted a two-door coupé for its extensive overseas territories.

Motorists bought the Consul Capri for its huge boot or its straightforward engineering, and they took great delight in the variable speed windscreen wipers, the cigarette lighter, and the quad headlamps –  but not the top speed of the car!

Ford claimed that “behind the wheel, when a man feels power, a woman feels freedom”. But both would have probably felt annoyed at being overtaken by an Austin A35.

Home demand was quite high, despite the initial lack of performance, but by August, Ford offered 1.5-litre power and introduced a GT version in early 1963. When Capri production ended in summer 1964, it had outlasted the saloon version by several months.

One reason was the look of the car, which was totally unrestrained and completely irresistible. The Consul Capri was sold as ‘The First Personal Car from Ford of Great Britain’, which translates as ‘We don’t care if it’s not practical – it looks great!’

Such charisma, of course, comes at a price. In this case, £915. But as Ford said: “Extravagant? – Well, it’s not a car for everybody”.