1985 Ford Capri – Classified of the Week

Being the biggest at what we do means we have a a lot of data to hand, and from this data we can see in great detail what floats your boat in a classic car sense. There is of course, the millions of searches for the Porsche 911, which is understandable. It’s a legend. But almost right behind it is, unexpectedly, the Ford Capri. It was a car we loved back in the day, but then as a car buying public, we shunned it and even mocked it upon the arrival of the hot hatch revolution. Now though, the love is back and the Capri is a favourite once again. As such, this 1985 Ford Capri will almost certainly tickle some pickles, as it were.

This 1985 Ford Capri might only have the humble 1.6 Pinto hiding under that ‘power bulge’ bonnet, but that’s just fine. The Pinto is a tough little unit, it’s no more complicated than a Lego Duplo to work on and while it might not set the rear rubber on fire, it still pulls the car along nicely. Plus, in 2023’s landscape of speed cameras and so on, it’s nice to just cruise along and enjoy the ride rather than try and re-enact The Professionals at every given opportunity.

As you can see, this 1985 Ford Capri is a bit of a stunner. The seller appears to be in the trade, however, this has been a bit of a personal project, having been improved and refined over the last couple of years. Looking at it, it’s not hard to see why they fell for it. The Lacquer Red paint has a deep, showroom shine, there seems to be no rust on the car at all, the wheels are mint, the interior is excellent and the car’s most recent MOT was a clean pass with no advisories. Very pleasing.

The engine bay is a delight, too. Those all-important strut-tops look mint, and they don’t appear to have ever seen a sparkly spanner. In fact, none of it seems to have been welded. The pictures of the underside show a lot of protection, and lots of honest looking metalwork. Having covered 115k there are signs of life, but this is in no way your typical old Ford. It’s solid, straight and has clearly been cherished throughout its life. It makes the car a great investment, but more importantly than anything financial, it means you can buy it and drive it without worry.

The love for the Ford Capri has never, it seems, been stronger. And that’s reflected in the £12,995 price tag. That might make some of you wince, but really, it’s a bit of a bargain. It’s the desirable Laser model, it’s mintier than a mint imperial pickled in crème de menthe and it drives impeccably according to the seller, who lauds the car’s brakes, suspension and steering. This is, make no mistake, a great car. The fastest? No, but speed isn’t important when you drive a car like this. If you go too fast, how will people see you?