An iconic two-door nameplate debuts as an electric SUV! Where have we seen that before?
While Americans immediately recognize the Mustang as our classic two-door slice of freedom, Europeans had the Capri. It originally ran for nearly twenty years between 1968 and 1986, and Ford of Europe didn’t see fit to revive the nameplate since — until now. There’s one thing you’ll notice with this new Ford Capri: It’s not a two-door coupe. In fact, it’s a four-door crossover, and it’s fully electric.
Sound familiar? It’s the same sort of move Ford made with the Mustang Mach-E (though we do, of course, still have the OG Mustang), and this Capri also makes a few minor nods to the sportier cars of yesteryear. Apart from the name itself, though, this is a near-complete departure from the three generations of Capri folks knew over that two-decade time span, right down to the platform on which this new model is based.
See, while there’s a Ford badge at each end and the “Capri” name stamped into the front bumper and badged on the rear, this car actually rides on Volkswagen’s MEB platform. It’s part of a tie-up between the two automakers that is also responsible for the new Explorer EV. So, like the Volkswagen ID.4 (or ID.5, since we’re talking about fastback-style crossover here), the new Ford Capri carries the a similar mechanical layout.
You get a rear-wheel drive model by default, with a 77-kWh battery pack and single 282-horsepower motor that’s capable of making the 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) sprint in 6.4 seconds. Ford claims a maximum range of 627 kilometers (390 miles) with this version, though that is using the optimistic WLTP cycle. The dual-motor, all-wheel drive version, for its part, kicks the power output up to 335 horsepower and uses a slightly larger 79-kWh battery pack. With the extra grunt, the acceleration time drops to 5.3 seconds, as does the range, to 368 miles.
Inside, the Capri looks pretty similar to the Explorer EV. That is, you get a three-spoke steering wheel, a small screen in front of the driver, a 14.6-inch infotainment screen…and not much else. The interior is minimalistic by design, though there is a secret storage cubbie behind the display itself. Buyers will also get the usual suite of driver assistance features, as well as a range of standard equipment including dual-zone climate control.
Pricing isn’t available yet, but European customers will get a chance to buy it later on this year. For us, the Capri’s arrival is pretty much academic, since it almost certainly won’t make it into the U.S. market. We already have the Mustang Mach-E, after all. And for all the flak it caught using the “Mustang” name, is gaining steam, selling 22,234 examples through the second quarter of this year.
