Ford Capri revival has faced a lot of flak… but are buyers put off? Here’s what visitors to the Festival of Speed had to say
What's in a name?
If Ford was aiming for a strong reaction by reviving the Ford Capri nameplate as an electric SUV, mission accomplished. But the fact that much of the chatter has been deriding the move, suggesting the brand is “killing a legend” rather than bringing it back, with one wag on Instagram dubbing the new car the “Fraud Capri”, might be worrying a few suits within the walls of the Blue Oval’s Essex HQ.
The original Capri was launched in 1969 as a car that might replicate for the European market the success that the legendary Mustang enjoyed Stateside. The Capri went through three generations and was most notably seen smashing through cardboard boxes and performing handbrakes turns at the hands of CI5’s crime-fighters Bodie and Doyle, in TV show The Professionals.
The similarities between those old Capris and the new electric model could be described, even by fans of the new model, as tenuous at best. Aside from a D-shaped rear window, raised leading edges on the bonnet, and the use of quad lights front and rear (as on the Mk 2), the two cars are about as different as they could get.
Ignoring the fact that it features pure-electric power (to be expected as we approach the ban on new petrol and diesel cars), the new Capri has five doors whereas the old one had three, and it is quite clearly a high-riding crossover instead of a low-slung coupé.
The new Capri made its public debut at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed, and it didn’t help that the static model on the Electric Avenue stand was parked right next to another reinvention of a legendary nameplate: the Renault 5. Both, coincidentally, appeared in striking yellow hues.
Viewed side by side, the contrast in approaches by Ford and Renault could not have been starker, with Renault opting for a more faithful reinterpretation of its cute hatchback, which was on sale between 1972 and 1996, and Ford giving only a passing nod to the Capri of old.
The differences were not lost on the Festival of Speed visitors, with all who were willing to go on record having strong views on the two cars; particularly the Ford.
“It’s just mad that they put it next to the Renault 5,” Ian, who was in his 50s, told me. “You can see that [car] is a version of the old Renault 5, but they [Ford] build a monstrosity and called it a Capri. It resembles nothing about a Ford Capri. No, it’s just wrong. It’s not a Capri. It should never have the Capri name.”
Alexandra, a school supply teacher, remembers the original Capri very well. “I was brought up sitting in the back of the Capri,” she told me. “So when my husband said there was a new Capri I was thinking: low; two doors; slopey back. So this is not quite what I was expecting. They’ve used the name but apart from the round window at the back, there’s nothing there that’s ‘Capri’.”
But here’s the crucial point: do these Goodwood punters think any of this will matter to most car buyers? Or is it just us enthusiasts who are annoyed by Ford’s actions.
“I don’t know how I feel about it,” said Alexandra, “but I don’t think it being called Capri would stop me buying it.”
“It’s probably just us enthusiasts [who’re annoyed],” admitted Ian. “Maybe most people won’t remember a Capri. We remember the Capri name, [but] if you talk to a 20, 30 year old, they’ll be like, ‘What’s a Ford Capri?’”
That’s perhaps unfair. Ed and Archie, both aged 21, had climbed aboard the new Capri for a closer look, and one of them most definitely was aware of the nameplate’s heritage.
“It’s much improved from the old one,” Archie told me. “My dad had one. I don’t like the fact that they’ve used an old car’s name for a new car but they’ve done it with the Puma, they’ve done it with the Explorer, so it feels like they’re just sort of neglecting their heritage a bit. But I’m not put off, no.
“I can imagine some people are. I respect someone who is, and I don’t really understand why they’ve named this the Capri, as it’s nothing like it. But I don’t think it would put me off buying it. I really like it; [it has a] smart interior.”
And it’s not just the very young who’re keen on the new Capri. Chris, 32, told me: “They’ve done a good job in the design and everything. We’re all petrolheads and like the classic Fords, so we just can’t quite understand why they called it the Capri. But they’ve done a good job of it. And it wouldn’t put me off buying one, no. Not that much.
“I’m very impressed with the size of the boot. From a design perspective it’s relatively inoffensive, unlike a lot of other electric cars out there. It costs from 42 grand; 389-mile range. So, sensible. Because it’s a good sized car as well. I think that’s relatively fair when you compare it to others.”
One person not interested in buying either the Ford or the Renault was Michael, 75, but not because of the cars themselves — he’s more worried about the recharging infrastructure and the “unnecessary stress” of charging up on a long journey. But of the two cars, he’s a much bigger fan of the French hatchback.
“First time seeing the Capri… boring,” he said. “It just doesn’t attract me whatsoever. I think I can see design elements they’ve carried over from the [old] Capri: the interior with the hatch on the back; the little D window at the back there, and maybe the trim. But, no… a Capri needs to be cool.”
At the same time, the fact that Ford has revived the Capri name for this car “doesn’t bother” Michael. “It annoyed the bloke on the news, from the owners’ club, this morning when they were talking about it – he was quite upset. But I’ve got no feelings about it whatsoever.
“But I like this one, I must say,” he tells me, turning to the Renault 5. “Just first impressions, just looking at that here and now, having just walked in… I like that.”
Judging by the reaction from the well-informed attendees of the Festival of Speed, the Renault 5 gets most of the love from a design point of view, but the Ford Capri could still be popular with less engaged car buyers. If it can achieve anything like the success of the revived Puma, which is currently the UK’s number one bestselling car, then Ford’s marketing folk will have been vindicated.
What Bodie and Doyle would make of it all is another matter.
Related articles
- If you enjoyed this article about car buyers’ reaction to the revival of the Ford Capri nameplate, you might like to read more about the new Capri here.
- Also check out the new Ford Explorer, on which the Capri is based.
- And if you want to know more about the new Renault 5, click here.
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