Model Page
Ford Capri 2.8 Injection & Special
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Produced: |
1981 - 1986 |
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Production Run: |
24,592 |
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Built: |
Cologne (Germany) |
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Engine: |
Cologne 2.8 Injection V6 |
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0-60: |
7.8 secs |
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Max Speed: |
133 mph |
The Capri 2.8 Injection project was driven by Bob Lutz, he had became head of Ford Europe in 1979 having previously worked for BMW and had a particular affinity for sports cars, Lutz had realised that the Capri was being left to die slowly. He was a driving force behind getting the XR4i into production, but this car was still three to four years away with the car due in 1982 / 1983. Lutz turned to the Capri with the intention of developing a new model for introduction in 1981, this would allow the car to have a two year production run in order to recoup the development costs before the Sierra was introduced.
2.8 Injection Special Rear End
Ford and the Capri had an image problem in Germany and this needed to be addressed, the 3.0 V6 Capri in Britain had strong and consistent sales so the main driving force behind the car was to release a limited volume car for the German market. The 3.0 V6 was a hit in Britain but the engine did not suit well to the high speed Autobahns so the free revving Cologne V6 2.8 Injection from the Granada was chosen as the engine for this new car. The engine had previously been fitted to the Mk2 Capri’s sold in the US, although in carburetor form the majority of the tooling and development work could be taken from this previous model so time and costs would be significantly reduced.
The development of the Capri 2.8 Injection was handled by Fords Special Vehicle Engineering department (SVE) in the Dunton Research and Engineering Centre in Essex under the direction of Capri fan Rod Mansfield. The project was developed under the name of Capri FI (Fuel Injection), this name was later dropped in favour of Injection. The car was developed as a left hand drive vehicle with estimated sales targets in Germany being 1500 cars. The specifications of the car were set out by product planners but there was a degree of input from SVE. The interior of the car was to be the same as that in the "S" with grey velour Recaro seats and black carpets - this was eventually changed to the grey set. The X series front spoiler from the RS catalogue was chosen to be used, however this was dropped after the suspension had been lowered by an inch as it had the effect of rubbing on kerbs due to the lower ride height.
2.8 Injection Special Front Side
By June 1980 several prototypes had been developed, these were used to develop the suspension, brakes, chassis and for general durability testing. Problems were encountered when fitting the series X brakes to the Capri front suspension so as an alternative a new disc design was used coupled with Granada callipers. The suspension was changed to single leaf springs on the back, Bilstein dampers installed all round as well a larger front and rear anti-roll bar. The front springs were lowered by one inch giving the car a lower more aggressive stance, to control costs the four speed gearbox was retained from the 3.0 Sport.
The car benefited from Wolfrace Sonic "Pepper-pot" 13" alloy wheels fitted with Goodyear NCT 205/60, the chassis and suspension setup having been fine tuned to work best with this particular tyre. Standard fittings included steel tilt and slide sunroof, digital stereo, tinted glass, power steering and rear seat belts.
The left hand drive Capri 2.8 Injection was signed off for production during January 1981, the right hand drive variant was not approved until later in April 1981. Ford of Britain had identified that they could sell 500 Injections per year if available, in actual fact on average 3,600 cars were sold in Britain alone. The car made its official debut to the press during May 1981 at Nurburgring. The Injection was well received by journalists and public alike with the car lauded for its precise handling and high equipment levels. The car went on sale at £7,995 a hike of £1050 over the Capri 3.0s and £875 over the then range topping Capri 3.0 Ghia equipped with the automatic gearbox.
In January 1983 the Injection benefited from an upgrade to a five speed gearbox making motorway cruising less strenuous, the seats were changed to Monza shark grey trim and the car's appearance modernised somewhat with new side decals and colour options.
Ford scored an own goal when the journalists tested the £9,170 Sierra XR4i alongside the £8,125 Capri 2.8 Injection, with most preferring the Capri. Management decided to keep the Injection in production as long as the vehicle remained profitable and did not require any substantial amount of money being spent on it.
2.8i Half Leather Recaro Seats
In 1983, Ford began to think about the future of the Capri once more and the decision was taken to launch a final version of the car for sale in 1985 model year. Sales were poor in Europe and the dealers were requesting that they did not wish to stock the Capri any longer. The Capri was selling well in Britain with 22,000 sales, 70% of these were to private sales - much more profitable for dealers and thus Ford Britain was keen to keep the car in production. The Injection special was to be produced and sold in Britain for 18 months until the car was earmarked to be discontinued, left hand drive cars were to be sold as final limited editions in all other markets.
For the Injection Special the car's interior was taken a step upmarket with the installation of shark grey half leather Recaro seats as standard, the gear-knob was trimmed in light grey matching leather and a leather trimmed steering wheel was added.
A 25% locking limited slip differential was added that reduced wheel-spin under cornering and also increased traction in poor weather conditions. The wheels were upgraded to 13" 7 Spoke RS alloys neatly finishing off the car. The 2.8 Injection Special went on sale in October 1984 at £9,500, again the press were enthusiastic about the Injection Special commenting on the handling of the car and worthwhile inclusion of so many items as standard.
Unfortunately sales continued to slide with only 11,000 being sold in 1985, well below the 20,000 units that Ford had been projecting. The decision was taken to axe Capri on 19th December 1986, with the final models being sold in 1987. Production of the Capri ended after 1,886,647 sales.
The Facts
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Engine: |
Ford Cologne V6 |
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Capacity: |
2,972 cc |
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Valves: |
12 |
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Compression Ratio: |
9:2:1 |
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Fuel System: |
Bosch K-Jetronic |
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Maximum Power: |
160bhp @ 5,700rpm |
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Maximum Torque: |
162lb ft @ 4,300rpm |
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Transmission: |
Manual 4 Speed / 5 Speed |
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Top Gear: |
21.9 mph per 1000 rpm (4 Speed) / 25.7 mph per 1000 rpm (5 Speed) |
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Brakes: |
Servo Assisted Vented front discs / rear drums |
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Kerb Weight: |
1230 Kg |
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0-60: |
7.8 secs |
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Max Speed: |
133 mph |
