A STRIKING fastback four-seater Ford high performance car – what else could it be but a Capri? And 30 years after its demise the model’s return is overdue, so is this it?
With hybrid powertrain its profile with gullwing doors would stand up well beside the new Tesla Model X all-electric SUV crossover, not so different in looks and due to go on sale mid 2016 for around £65,000.
From 1969 to 1986 the Cologne-built Capri designed by American Philip T. Clark – famous for being one of the main designers of the original Ford Mustang – took Europe by storm as our alternative to the American muscle car.
Starting using components from the Cortina, it evolved to include an RS version and enjoy a respectable competition history as well as selling nearly 1.9 million units.
Click on 30 years and Ford is in ‘Go!’ mode, currently launching Focus RS, Ford GT and the new Mustang but with the all-important pledge earlier this year that the Ford GT is the pinnacle product of the new Ford Performance Group, a division dedicated to providing innovation through performance.
Set to deliver more than 12 new performance vehicles by 2020, this list includes Ford GT, Focus RS, F-150 Raptor, Shelby GT350, Focus ST and Fiesta ST which with Mustang leaves five more in four years. So where will they come from?
At the Ford GT racecar launch this year, Mark Fields, Ford Motor Company president and CEO, said: “Ford remains focused on three priorities globally – accelerating our One Ford plan, delivering product excellence with passion and driving innovation in every part of our business.
“All three came together to create the new Ford GT. We also know from our rich history in motorsports that world-class competition is a great incubator for even further product innovation.”
The Ford GT race car features a number of innovations Ford believes will not only make it competitive in LM GTE Pro, but ultimately positioned to provide benefits to each vehicle in the Ford line-up. These include state-of-the-art aerodynamics to deliver outstanding levels of downforce for improved stability with minimal drag, advanced lightweight composites featuring carbon fibre for an exceptionally rigid but light chassis, and the power and efficiency of EcoBoost technology.
Flick back through the files and you’ll find five years ago – not a long gestation period in this industry – the Ford Evos concept which made its global debut at Frankfurt in 2011 as “the ultimate expression of Ford’s new global design language, and explores key future powertrain and vehicle technologies.”
The company said then: “Created as a bespoke concept vehicle, the fastback introduces Ford’s first truly global design language as the momentum of the company’s One Ford product plan continues to build.”
Its name, Evo with an S, suggests thoughts of a raunchy road-racer variant, and there was more…
