Ford Capri 280 Brooklands Turbo Technics | Spotted
Get on your best tracksuit and dig out your favourite cassette - there's an icon in our midst
Everybody knows the Ford Capri. Lots of people love the Ford Capri. Which is why it was the ideal name for Ford to resurrect, because it didn’t need any marketing or explanation. The new Capri could hardly have been more different to the old Capri, but that didn’t matter - the name would stick. And in a packed EV SUV sector, recognisability is important.
Though it’s still hard to imagine now, there was a long time where the original Capri was simply too common to be considered much of a classic. They were everywhere, and not deemed worth saving, because there’d always be another one. Until there wasn’t. What were banger racers and £200 scrap and Sheds of the Week were gone, almost overnight.
40 years after the last Capris were made, there remains plenty of love for all of them, but some stand out above the rest. The 280 ‘Brooklands’ is certainly one, the lavishly equipped last of the line special made as young enthusiasts moved from coupes to hot hatches. What Ford could hardly give away in the 80s is the collectors special now.
But this isn’t any old Capri 280 (Brooklands is an unofficial name that stuck), because it’s a Turbo Technics Capri 280. Perhaps the most 80s thing on wheels since a roller disco, and maybe even more exciting as well: power was up to 200hp from 160hp or so. And Capri brakes were never great to start with…
Undoubtedly it’s going to draw a crowd. Driving the final 280 close to Ford’s heritage HQ was like driving an F40 in Maranello (probably), kids pointing and old men wanting to chat. And that’s before seeing under the bonnet.
This one was recently restored as well, refurbished from top to bottom by a marque specialist so it really should be as good as new. What couldn’t be repaired was replaced, the underside is said to be immaculate, and you’ve never seen better shiny interior plastics. Even after seeing dozens of Capris in the classifieds, this one appears a real gem. It was actually a recent competition prize, but the winner opted for the cash instead, so now it’s up for sale. And in the slightly mad world of classic fast Fords in the mid-2020s, £35k doesn’t seem daft. Best get planning a 40th anniversary road trip…
SPECIFICATION | FORD CAPRI 280 BROOKLANDS TURBO TECHNICS
Engine: 2,792cc, turbo V6
Transmission: 5-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 160@5,700rpm (standard)
Torque (lb ft): 162@5,700rpm (standard)
MPG: N/A
CO2: It was 1986…
Year registered: 1987
Recorded mileage: 36,000
Price new: £11,999 (standard)
Yours for: £35,999
One Sunday afternoon I’m manning the site solo – nothing unusual there. It’s teeming with rain, so not many customers out and about. I’m bored.
I decide now would be a good time to drive the Capri 2.8i with a Turbo Technics conversion that we’d just taken in and which sits next in line to be valeted.
Fuel – check. Tax disc – check. I lock the door to the sales office and I’m all set.
First problem is exiting the forecourt. The camber of the road is quite steep, and I’m spinning the rear wheels just trying to get moving. With alarming suddenness I’m at the first junction on my test route. I slow to allow another car to clear, then give it some beans. The resultant fishtail would have made a thresher shark envious, but I somehow manage to get it pointing in the right direction.
This exercise is repeated at each subsequent junction – miraculously I manage not to bin it and return to base unharmed, if a little pale and shaky. The boss has decided to pay a visit.
“Where have you been?”
“The battery was flat, so I took it for a spin to charge it up”.
“OK, anyone been in?”
“Nope”.
“Ah well, take the rest of the day off, and you can use the Capri until next weekend”.
I never owned a Capri in period, but find myself strangely drawn to them these days.
One Sunday afternoon I m manning the site solo nothing unusual there. It s teeming with rain, so not many customers out and about. I m bored....
I recall even having a 1600 Laser as a courtesy car (in replacement for my 1000 mini) and it felt like a rocketship...
This car is 40 years old and is the last they made.
They (the normal one) were regarded as a bit of a beast at the time, and folk would nowadays dismiss that much power as paltry, but, they arent very heavy, have no electronics, rear wheel drive and have a live rear axle, plenty to get yourself into armfuls of trouble, I used to manage plenty of that in a 1600.
This will have felt plenty fast, 247 lb ft at 3800 rpm, the normal one was quite grunty back then by most standards, with like 80 lb/ft less at 4200, had a ride in a friends Tickford, not quite the same implementation of the turbo side but similar end result and that felt pretty rapid, might have been down to doing 100 mph through Trafford Park that added to the effect....It really didnt like hitting the old railway tracks on the road.
This car is 40 years old and is the last they made.
They (the normal one) were regarded as a bit of a beast at the time, and folk would nowadays dismiss that much power as paltry, but, they arent very heavy, have no electronics, rear wheel drive and have a live rear axle, plenty to get yourself into armfuls of trouble, I used to manage plenty of that in a 1600.
This will have felt plenty fast, 247 lb ft at 3800 rpm, the normal one was quite grunty back then by most standards, with like 80 lb/ft less at 4200, had a ride in a friends Tickford, not quite the same implementation of the turbo side but similar end result and that felt pretty rapid, might have been down to doing 100 mph through Trafford Park that added to the effect....It really didnt like hitting the old railway tracks on the road.
ISTR a TT Escort RS local to me that was 'legendary' insomuch as we all lived in a fairly average market town, and buying an RS was expensive enough but taking it to TT was seen as eye wateringly expensive. 'Local boy done good' scenario, in the sense that in those days credit was not available to every man and his dog.
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