It was on this day in 1986 that the final Ford Capri rolled off a production line at Ford’s Halewood plant in Merseyside.
First launched in 1969, the fastback coupe was intended as the European version of the phenomenally successful Ford Mustang and didn’t disappoint, selling over 400,000 models inside its first two years due to its bold styling and a relative affordability.
Under a famous advertising strap-line of ’the car you always promised yourself’, sales of the Capri remained buoyant in the early 1970’s - it sold 250,000 models in 1973 alone - but then began to decline after a revised, less sexier model was introduced in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis.
After a mark 3 Capri failed to capture the public’s imagination when launched 1978, the vehicle limped on into the 1980’s with sales dwindling further due to competition from a myriad of new ‘hot hatches’, leading to Ford pulling the plug in 1986.
In all, 1,886,647 Ford Capris were produced in its 17-year run.