When one hears “Ford Capri,” odds are, an electric vehicle isn’t what first comes to mind. The Capri nameplate once graced a low-slung muscle car that cradled the 5.0 Windsor V8 (and other internal combustion engine, or ICE, powerhouses), and the moniker’s revival as an all-electric crossover has ruffled some feathers. Richard Hammond of Top Gear recently weighed in on the new Capris versus the old, and he’s got a lot to say about the modern day rendition.
Hammond points out that designers tried to stay at least somewhat true to the original Ford Capri, implementing design elements from the muscle car, like its curved rear window and a single plastic spoke on the steering wheel. He does say that while driving it, he tries to “forget about the name,” but he just can’t. In fact, he argues that they’re not all that different after all.
Spiritually, the modern electric Ford Capri and the classic ICE Capri answer the same demand: they’re both sporty versions of family haulers. The original Capri was supposed to be the “working man’s car.” However, Hammond says that muscle car enthusiasts just need to get with the times and accept that nobody’s going to produce a gasoline-driven, rear-wheel-drive (RWD) coupe with no traction control. Things have changed since the day of the original Capri, and thus, the nameplate needed to change with it.
“Let’s be honest. It doesn’t matter if this car has anything at all to do with the original Capri,” Hammond says. “Calling it that was a marketing exercise. It got us talking… it also makes it stand out in an era when a lot of Chinese mini SUVs are called the ‘Flopsy Revival Renew,’ or whatever name they give it. Capri is kind of snappy.”
Like it or not, the all-electric Ford Capri represents the modern audience, even if “grumpy” petrolheads would prefer otherwise. However, it is worth noting that The Blue Oval opted to slash 1,000 jobs at the plant responsible for the vehicle’s production in response to cooling demand for EVs in general.
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And yet, the so called Capri EV, is not a Capri. If Farley isn`t capable of producing a car that turn heads and sells by itself and needs to cheat prople using iconic cars names to sell, perhaps it´s time that Ford lets him go. Ford has lost a lot of presence in the european market. It sells now much less than Hyunda, Kia and even less than VW. And that probably is because of the CEO´s wrong decisions. A few years ago, Ford had similar market share than VW. The loosing of that share market didn't happen by chance.