Built In Germany: 1972 Capri by Mercury
The Capri was a sporty small car built by Ford Europe in the 1970s. It was sold there as a Ford, but when it was imported to the U.S. it was offered by the Mercury Division without any corporate badging. Assuming this is the “Mercury” Capri, the 1972 edition is a nice survivor built in Germany, with a hint of styling borrowed from the early Ford Mustangs. Located on San Juan Island, Washington, this car is available here on craigslist for $12,000. If you want to see the vehicle in person, you’ll have to take a ferry ride to get there!
As the U.S. automakers began offering subcompacts in the 1970s, Mercury didn’t have one. Ford had the new Pinto in 1971, but Mercury wouldn’t get their version called the Bobcat until a few years later. Instead, Mercury went with a captive import, the European-built Capri. It gave Mercury 36,000 cars to sell in 1972, none of which had a Mercury emblem anywhere. That wouldn’t change until the Foxbody Mustang came out in 1979 and Mercury’s variant was then called the Capri.
A 4-cylinder powers this Capri, likely a 2.0-liter engine which is paired with a 4-speed manual transmission. The seller says it runs and drives great, though the odometer reads 87,00 miles. The body and paint look good at 20 feet (per the seller) and the Capri wears a vinyl roof that we’re told is in excellent condition. The interior is even nicer, and the “Mercury” has refinished steel wheels wearing new tires.
The only flaw the seller mentions is the battery tray which has some rust in it (probably from battery acid as those things weren’t sealed in those days). For folks who like the long hood/short deck look, this car could be an interesting conversation builder at Cars & Coffee where several first-generation Mustangs are often known to habitat.
Comments
These are nice cars. Enough power and good handling. Rented one for 4 months in Europe waiting for our car to arrive. Enjoyed it while we had it.
My first car! I had a ’73 with the V6 and a four speed. Not much off the line but it would run 100+ all day long, a test that would have had the 170 HP V8s of the day belching their guts onto the highway.
A proper Driver’s car Fitch 😎
I too had a ’73,but it had the 2000 in it,with full gauges,
& a sunroof.It was a great road car,but didn’t do well at autocross
or on hillclimbs.
I think this would look a lot better if the rockers and rear panel were painted semi-black,like the V6 models were.
Count me in, as well. I too had a ’73, V6, 4 speed. I’m not really sure why I bought it, I was more than happy with my MGB. I was tired of the beaters while the MG was stored in winter, and thought a nicer car would do. This would have been in 1975, and I had the itch for something else, I test drove a RX4, that was similar in styling, but couldn’t get past the rotary, the Capri was the next logical choice. I got the Capri cheap. Initially, I liked the car, but soon, several shortcomings began to surface. The V6 began using coolant, I never cared for the gear ratios, had no back seat room, a small trunk opening, it handled funky, stopped funky, poor in the snow, and that gas filler was a poor design. I was never so happy to have Spring roll around and began driving the MG again, and it was adios for the Capri. Capris were okay cars, but like the Opel that relied on Buick, the Capri was not welcome at L-M dealers. They claimed, like Opel, it took sales away from the US brands, and horror stories of dealers shenanigans began to surface. These cost about $2100 new, and about the same as a Pinto or Vega, but options sent it over $4grand. The only cheaper cars were the VW and Gremlin, at just under $2grand. The Capri ll was a much improved car, but by then, the Asians already had a stronghold on US buyers, and the Capri faded away.
A friend of mine had one that he ran in SCCA slalom with the same 2.6L engine but to make more power (he thought) he found an aluminum intake for it with the smallest 4-barrel carburetor we’d ever seen, don’t remember who made that set-up, and headers. Little car actually performed pretty well but it was (as you mentioned) mostly up top. Got mad at me when I outran it up a mile hill on a stock Honda CB350. HP to weight is what he forgot 14.5 vs 21.9 and an extra gear.
I had a ‘72 around 1976 or so. Mine had the V6 and a 4-speed so it was peppy and fun to drive. Chocolate brown with a saddle interior. These weren’t common to see back in the day but were nice cars.
These were a well-done, sporty economy car. Unlike the Merkur effort we discussed a few days ago, importing the Capri worked out well; I think they were solid sellers. They have a following today. This is a nifty and well-kept example.
I bought a brand new one in 1971 when I came back from Nam. Clearly remember writing a check for $2601.93!! It was at a Lincoln Mercury dealership and they were a bit “snooty” to a 20 year old kid. The salesman asked me “how do you intend to pay for it?” and it felt so good asking him — “do you take checks?” Great little car and I could afford the insurance unlike on a Mustang. There was a concern in Sausilito,CA that raced them and sold headers and other speed parts. Time in the USMC and Nam well spent!
That would be Bob Winkelmann’s shop.I came across it while
walking around Sausilito & thought it was a really cool place.
The next time I went there,it was shut down.
I had a pair of these back in the early 80s. The first one had the 1.6 engine and the second the 2.6 V6. I found a Dobi catalog, probably referenced in a car magazine, and that is where I got the suspension bits, intake manifold, 4 bbl carb, headers, cam and gear drive.
One trick that a machinist told me during my rebuild was that I could buy 6 pistons for a Ford 2.0 liter TL20(?) engine and reverse the pistons on the 2.6 liter rods to correct the piston angle, and you have a budget .030 over piston for your engine. I did that, along with the parts above, and it was a solid performer.
Thank you for your service.
Had a red 4cyl 73 that was a great car. Coolest part was a built in map light on the passenger side of the windshield. Worst part was absolutely no traction in snow. Not good for Chicago winters!
I still have one of those map lights. Got it in a wrecking yard out of a Capri. It was in my Dodge van for a long time, went back on the shelf when I sold the van and is now mounted in my Cortina. Very useful.
P.S.- I had an earlier comment on here about engine identification on this vehicle, but, like many comments recently, it disappeared, so it’s not just you.
I drove 2 of these to college, I drove from South Dakota to Texas at least 4-5 times a year. My return on one round I drove out of town ,set the trip odometer, and put it on the FLOOR ! An hour later I was 105 miles into Nebraska! the next hour about 95 miles more! Lots of curves and small farming towns were along the way and little traffic on a Sunday Morning—–
That air freshener isn’t doing any good with the plastic wrapper still on it. 😅
Lol 😃 Good eye! I have to beg to differ though. For those of us with sensitive noses, you just open the top of the wrapper and pull the air freshener partway out (as appears to have been done here) and you don’t get overwhelmed by the heavy perfumed smell. Then as they age, you pull the wrapper off further, thus extending the life of the freshener.
I bought a new one in ’72 while stationed in Germany. I had just totaled my Datsun 510 wagon, and my insurance agent did wonders getting $$ from insurance company(I didn’t ask). Got the 2L 4 cylinder with a 5 speed. Toured all over Europe for the next 2 years. Cruised very nicely at 90 mph. Brought it back, put some mags on it and was sharp looking! As for handling, when put the rims on and Goodyear tires, it handled great. And anyone ever in Germany in the winter time knows about studded tires. Put the best studded snow tires on back, and cheapest studded snow tires in the front. Was stationed in Ft. Riley KS and had a ice/snow storm. Everyone trying to cross a bridge on a hill, I assisted them by pushing them up the ramp. They couldn’t believe what they were being pushed with.
Then I got stupid and instead finding a V6 2600 in it, I decided I would be the only person in America to put a 289 w/C-6 trany in. Alot of cutting and welding. It was fast, but not good looking anymore. Another visit to the insurance company w/assistance of HS friend who happened to be an agent. Nuff said. If was closer, I would be a player on this but already shipped an Alfa from AZ, and the shipping was close to what paid for car. On the bucket list.
Had one as well – the V6 – and ran the dog s out of it untill I traded it off for a GTX.
These had a much longer production run than just the 1970s in UK/Europe, launched in 1969 and final generation was last sold in 1989.
I’d agree with the consensus of the other comments, these are fun little cars with the stick-shift, especially with the more powerful V6 engines. Not a fast car by modern standards but fun with RWD and stick.
I remember these were hugely popular back in the day in the UK, always associated with the “boy racer” image, but a triumph of great Sales and Marketing by Ford to create the image, leveraging the Mustang theme in a scaled-down package, and selling the dream. They sold them in a range of engine options and trim, from a pretty anemic 1300 up to the 3-litre V6s. I think the majority of sales were the cheaper smaller engine cars, but everyone bough into the image… a bit like Ford’s Mustang range in recent years here in the US, there were some pretty high performance V8 GTs and Cobras, but Ford makes the volume sales with the V6 automatics….
This one’s a frequent flyer. Been for sale for a while. Thought it looked better than it does, until I saw that lead in shot. The right rear wheel arch has had questionable work done and the compound curve is all wrong.