The new Ford Capri: Hero or Heretic?

Red post boxes, a nice ‘cuppa’ tea, and roast dinners. Three absolute pillars of British culture that if altered, would likely result in civil war. Capri – a byword for 60s/70s four-wheeled charisma – is another. However, pitchforks are being raised and torches lit as the automotive scene marches on Ford after the debut of a reborn Capri at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The Ford Capri might be the spawn of an American car brand, but the UK became its adopted nation as we never got the full-fat American icon that is the Mustang. Capri was THE car to be seen in with British buyers clamouring to own the stylish coupe seen in many period TV cop dramas. Better yet, this car was attainable by the everyman, instantly cementing it as a piece of British pop culture. So, surely the resurrection of the Capri should be a cause for celebration?

The sheets came off the new car and the audience gasped…Why? Not because it was a beautiful modern homage to the low-slung legend, but because the Capri name was tattooed on an electric SUV. Purists were instantly up in arms labelling it a cynical marketing exercise and utterly blasphemous.

There is tangible anger among British car enthusiasts on just about every social channel and forum, but should there be? A few things to consider before giving a piece of your mind to the nearest Ford employee… The sad truth is that mainstream sporty coupes don’t sell like they used to. As much as enthusiasts beg for their presence in the market, manufacturers have been burned many times for forgetting that the devotee buyer is a minority.

With that in mind, you might forgive Ford for giving the buying public what they actually buy, which at the moment are SUVs - it does make business sense after all. ‘But why use the Capri name’ we hear you cry. Well, the simple answer is that the Chinese are coming. EVs from China are increasingly proving a match for their European and US counterparts, and at a much lower price point. One of the few measures of retaliation legacy brand shave is their heritage, something a new tech-focused Chinese brand can’t conjure. Capri is an evocative name, and one that’s much sexier than some of the obscure Chinese nameplates such as Seal or Funky Cat.

From A PR perspective, using Capri is a genius move by Ford. Odds are that buyers of this new electric SUV aren’t going to be of the generation that took pride in their Capri 40 years ago. A fresh era of buyers is going to have a totally different relationship with a new Ford Capri, and that needs to be kept in mind. Additionally, what better way to launch a new car than with acres of press coverage? BBC, every automotive outlet, even your mum at the dinner table. Opinions good or bad, the world now knows there’s a new Capri and that is directly related to its controversial naming.

There’s clearly a lot of emotion and nostalgia tied up in the Ford Capri of old - and that shouldn’t be discounted - but how angry should we all be that Ford made a savvy business decision about its own intellectual property? This EV will continue to vex petrolheads, but they aren’t the target market.

Just like the reinterpretation of models such as the Puma that saw Ford turn it from a coupe to a compact SUV and go on to become one of the UK’s best-selling cars, this Capri is the next chapter for a new generation, and unfortunately, retro-inspired coupes aren’t in vogue.