Henry Ford II’s bespoke Capri is heading up for auction

This thing looks fairly like a standard Mk3 Ford Capri 2.8i from the outside, doesn’t it? Nothing out of the ordinary, you might assume.

It’s a little bit more than that, though, because this particular 1981 Capri was commissioned by Ford’s Product Affairs team for company president Henry Ford II to use on visits to the UK.

As a result, it’s a completely bespoke spec. In the Cologne factory it was subject to stricter quality control checks. It was then shipped to Ford’s Special Vehicle Engineering department, where it was fitted with a three-speed automatic gearbox and wider leather seats to allow for comfier cross-country commutes. It was also given extra layers of that Graphite Grey paint.

It was eventually delivered to Turville Grange – the Ford family home in the UK – and it was used by the founder’s grandson until 1983. At that point it was sold to Head of Ford Product Development, Ron Mellor, who in turn moved it on to designer Alan Jarman, who would use it to commute from Torquay to the SVE division in Dunton.

The rather special 2.8 Injection Capri now has 68,958 miles on the clock, but only 6,800 of those have come in the past 28 years. It was given a full refresh earlier this year too and is now heading up for auction with Car & Classic. The estimate? Between £25,000 and £35,000. Not bad for a little slice of Ford history.