Crikey, there's a Janspeed Capri V6 turbo for sale
Once upon a time, Ford toyed with the idea of a boosted Capri flagship - what might have been...
Not so long ago, manufacturer performance goodies were much more commonplace. With the warranty intact, it would have been almost negligent to get your Ford ST without a Mountune tweak, or your Leon Cupra with an Abt tune, because they usefully improved the experience for not very much money. Hyundai went all in on a range of N Performance Parts, which would have been ideal for the i30 N and i20 N, only to decide its performance car range ought to consist exclusively of an EV that costs £65k. And who’s going to modify that?
As cars have become more complicated and costs have increased, so OEM involvement in performance upgrades seems to have become a rarer concept. Unless you’re spending £100,000 on Manthey bits for a GT3, obviously. But here’s an example of third-party involvement that might have created something very special indeed. It was a project, in fact, that was unknown to us before seeing this car: it’s a Ford Capri Janspeed V6 turbo. And yes, it really is two-tone beige and brown.
See, back when turbocharging was in its infancy, Ford wasn’t quite at the races - at least not where the Capri was concerned. RS Turbos soon popped up for hot hatch buyers, but the Capri and its old Essex V6 were looking a bit lame against a new generation of force-fed rivals. A 924 Turbo, for example, may not have sounded as good as a 3.0-litre Capri, but it was more powerful and torquier.
So Janspeed was consulted to see what might happen with a blower bolted onto the six-cylinder. This was 1980, close to the time that the Essex was to be replaced by the 2.8 Cologne in the Capri lineup, though the four turbo prototypes - this being one - used the old engine. Resulting in the Ford Capri Janspeed Essex Turbos, as they were named.
All four were soon up and running, then tested with Janspeed and customers; successfully too, by all accounts, the only thing said to hold a Janspeed Capri turbo back being the predicted insurance cost. Pity - not only does ‘Janspeed Capri turbo’ make for a great car name, it surely would have been a real hooligan to drive. Perhaps that’s what caused the insurance problem…
It’s believed that this is the last of the four Janspeed development cars remaining, and it only survived by the skin of its teeth: like so many Capris, it was at a scrapyard in the '90s. The ad suggests that an owner seeking parts couldn’t ignore the colour scheme, and ended up taking the whole thing home. Since that time, the story of the Janspeed Capri has been researched and the car thoroughly restored, the result a fascinating bit of fast Ford history.
The work undertaken included unearthing all the right turbo parts, a respray and a suspension overhaul, keeping it as close to the original '80s spec as possible. It’s been magazine featured, and understandably comes with reams of paperwork to support its incredible history. Good V6 Capris do still pop up every now and then, though certainly with less frequency. For one of such significance to emerge is really exciting.
You’ll pay for that significance, of course, this one for sale at £59,995. Which, even by contemporary Capri standards, is a lot more than the rest. Thank goodness there isn’t an RS badge on it. But the rest aren’t sole survivors, a great piece of fast Ford heritage that could well have been sent to the scrapheap in the sky. The rest aren’t two-tone, either. At this money, it’ll be one for the Blue Oval collectors, though we all know plenty of those. And what a car to arrive at classic car shows in next summer. Just go easy on that turbocharged throttle pedal…
I seem to remember in the 80’s that an ‘X-frame’ was a desirable fitment to the rear axle to help reign in its, ahem, wayward handling
Am I right in thinking that one of these aftermarket Capri turbo conversions (if there were more?!) featured “his and hers” keys? “His” allowing full power, “hers” limiting power? Or am I just regurgitating some internet myth?
But I loved driving them for giggles and loved the fact they're all bonnet.
Quite a marmite car and often up against people that are more into things like the E30. But hey, people obsess over old defenders and as far as I'm concerned they were fit for scrap when they rolled off the production line
Am I right in thinking that one of these aftermarket Capri turbo conversions (if there were more?!) featured his and hers keys? His allowing full power, hers limiting power? Or am I just regurgitating some internet myth?
, but this just looks plain wrong to me, stance in particular.Janspeed did the conversion.
1.4 engine
Went well. I had a Autosport magazine where it was featured.
Unfortunately it never really ran right.
After 3 months the dealer accepted it back.
My trade in had not sold so off I went in that.
That was a little Datsun 100a with a full Janspeed conversation.
Owned it 3 times...
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