Description
Pavilion Gardens | Buxton, Derbyshire
12th Feb 2025 - 9:00AM
1973 Mercury (Ford) Capri MK1 2. 6 V6
Built in Cologne for the US market complete with 2. 6 litre V6
Estimate
£15, 000 - £17, 000
Registration No: JKH 732L
Chassis No: GAECNB06187
MOT: Exempt
Rare Cologne-built MK1 Capri produced for the US market
Potent Cologne 2. 6 litre V6 engine variant
Definite 'Bullitt' vibes, thanks to its distinctive colour scheme
Californian import and current UK ownership since 2019
The first generation of the Capri was imported to the United States of America directly from Ford of Europe. Manufactured in Cologne, Germany (and designed by Ford of Britain), the Capri reached European markets in 1968, with the American marketing taken on by the Lincoln-Mercury Division, starting in April 1970. Sold through Mercury dealers as the Mercury Capri, it was priced at some $2, 300 at the time of its launch, firmly pitching it in the Capri was marketed as an economical sporty coupe. Beginning with power from the 1. 6-litre Kent Crossflow straight-four engine, the Mercury Capri received a 2. 0-litre straight-four in 1971, and as an option in 1972, Mercury introduced the much more American market-suitable 2. 6-litre Cologne V6. It became the first American-market vehicle marketed by Ford Motor Company with a V6 engine.
This 2. 6-litre Cologne V6 engine example of the Mercury Capri was supplied new to the target market of the United States of America, residing there for the vast majority of its life. Imported to the United Kingdom from California in 2018, the Capri is finished in the distinctive colour scheme of metallic Green paintwork with a Satin Black bonnet, very much evoking the 'Bullitt' vibes. The exterior appearance is completed with split-rim style alloys and Mat Black bumpers, while the interior is trimmed in luxurious Black leather upholstery and features a deep-dish Springalex steering wheel. Registered on British roads in 2018 as ‘JKH 732L’, the Capri has been in current ownership since 2019.
Offered now with just shy of 40, 000 miles showing on the odometer, the Capri is accompanied by import documentation, copies of California titles, previous MOT certificates, and a current V5C document. Undoubtedly cool, the Capri with the potent Cologne V6 and ‘Bullitt’-esq colour scheme is sure to turn heads, with the vendor informing that it “provides rapid acceleration, while the precise handling and responsive steering”. If you want something a bit different in the Fast Ford crowd, then this is certainly a more than viable option!
