Ford’s intention with the Capri was to create Europe’s own pony car - front engine’d coupe with rear wheel drive, sporty performance and affordability.
And in 1968 it did it with the introduction of the first generation model you see here. The car was mechanically based on the Cortina and was built at the Halewood plant in the U.K., the Genk plant in Belgium, and the Saarlouis and Cologne plants in Germany. A way to make it affordable was to offer it with a huge range of engines, from a 1.3- to a 5-liter V8. The front suspension used MacPherson struts while the rear adopted the classic leaf springs and a live axle.