VC01302 Corgi Vanguards Ford Capri Sporting Trilogy Collection

The Ford Mustang's launch at the New York World's Fair in April 1964 created a sensation and the Capri, originally codenamed Colt, was planned to emulate that success in Europe. Like the Mustang it was an attractive, aspirational but practical sports coupe that boosted Ford's image by scoring numerous motorsport successes and was profitable as it shared components with higher-volume saloons. Revealed in 1969 and astutely marketed as 'The Car You Always Promised Yourself' the Capri was an immediate hit and could be ordered as an economical 1.3-litre or fire-breathing 3-litre. It continued in production over three generations and almost 1.9 million cars until 1986. Ford Capri Mk1 RS3100 Marine Blue The RS3100 was conceived to homologate the Capri for the European Touring Car Championship and the racing machine developed from it won the 1974 Manufacturers' ETCC. A total of 250 RS3100s were produced during November 1973 at Ford's Halewood plant and only the last ten were Marine Blue. This example was supplied by Ford dealers Endeavour Motor Company, Brighton, on August 1st, 1974, and has been cherished by the Security Officer of the Ford AVO Owners Club, Naz Khan, since October 2020. He'd spent years looking for an RS3100 in this colour before finding this one a mile away from his home in West London. Ford Capri Mk2 3.0 GTS Black Just over 2,000 GTS Capris were produced, around 1,500 black and 500 white, and it's known colloquially as the 'JPS' because its gold coachlines echoed those of contemporary JPS-Lotus F1 cars. Launched at the 1975 Geneva Show, all were built at Halewood between June and August 1975 and this example is one of ten 3-litre GTS automatics. In June 2009 it was purchased by Suffolk-based enthusiast Nick Carley who comprehensively restored it, completing it in 2012. Since December 2021 it's been in the care of his widow, Lesley. In 2016 it was featured on 'Stars in Their Cars' with Paddy McGuinness and Neil Morrissey. Ford Capri Mk3 2.8 Injection Special Turbo Technics. Nimbus Grey / Strato Silver To keep the Mk3 Capri competitive it was substantially re-engineered by Rod Mansfield's team at Ford's Special Vehicle Engineering facility in Essex and the resulting car was launched in spring 1981 as the Capri 2.8i. The car modelled is an example of the third of four 2.8i generations and is unusual in featuring two-tone metallic paint and a dealer-fitted Turbo Technics conversion; so popular it was offered by Ford as a factory-approved kit that didn't impact the warranty. In April 2022, showing 30,000 miles, it was purchased by renowned Capri authority and author Steve Saxty because of its rare specification and time-warp original condition.