The Ford Consul Capri GT was created by Ford of Britain as the glamorous two-door coupé companion to the more conventional Consul Classic saloon. Developed under the evocative codename Project Sunbird, the idea was championed by Ford sales director Sir Horace Denne, who wanted a car that would bring some excitement and glamour to the company's British range. Designer Charles Thompson working under Colin Neale, gave the Capri its distinctive sweeping lines, pillarless coupé roof and unmistakably Transatlantic appearance, drawing inspiration from contemporary American Fords including the Thunderbird and Galaxie.
Announced in 1961 and initially offered for export, the Consul Capri reached British buyers in January 1962. Ford promoted it as its first British "personal car" — something intended to be desirable as much as practical. Its dramatic twin-headlamp front, extensive chrome and low coupé profile made it an unusually flamboyant sight on early-1960s British roads, particularly alongside the more restrained family saloons of the period.
The Capri's elaborate body was also its undoing. It was complicated and expensive to manufacture, while the arrival of the simpler and enormously successful Cortina changed Ford's priorities.
Production ended in 1964 after a remarkably short life, making the Ford Consul Capri GT one of the rarer British Fords of its era. Its significance goes beyond rarity, though: years before the famous Capri of 1969, Ford of Britain had already experimented with the idea of an affordable, stylish coupé that offered its owner a little taste of American glamour.
