Introduced in 1969, the Capri was Ford of Europe's equivalent of the Ford Mustang. While it was never as glamourous or as quick as the Mustang, both cars had sporty bodywork based on the chassis and running gear of a humble family saloon, the Falcon in the Mustangs case, while the Cortina underpinned the Capri. Both cars could be tailored to the customers requirements, with base models having puny four cylinder engines and stark interiors. But with all the options available, costlier models had plush interiors and bigger more powerful engines (V6s in the Capri, while the Mustang had the option of four cylinder, six cylinder or V8 engines). One major difference between the Capri and the Mustang was that the Capri was only ever offered as a two door fastback coupe, while the Mustang could also be had as a convertible or a two door notchback coupe.
The Capri was built at first in both Germany and the UK, but after 1977 all Capris were built by Ford of Germany. The first version of the Capri was made from 1969 to 1974. The advertising slogan used by Ford was that the Capri was "the car you've always promised yourself", and for many it was. The Capri was a big success with over 1,000,000 Mark I Capris made between 1969 and 1974 (when the Capri Mk II was introduced). All were rear wheel drive with front disc brakes.
This model is of the GT1700 Capri, and represents a German Capri (as it has left hand drive). It has a 1.7 litre four cylinder engine driving the rear wheels. It was the first release in Minichamps 1:18th Capri series and overall I feel it is a good model. It is well made and has nice green paint and an attractive interior, which is nicely detailed. The engine bay is realistic, but like it's sister model the Capri RS2600, it does not have an opening boot.
Interestingly Minichamps have now re-released their Capri line as part of a new budget line of 1:18th models (called the "Car Collection"). Typically they cost about half of what the "regular" Minichamps 1:18ths sold for, but they have cheaper packaging and lack some detail compared to earlier higher priced versions. In the Capri's case they lack interior carpeting but are otherwise pretty much the same as the higher priced original which is pretty good value overall.
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