1973 Ford Capri RS 3100

"The car you always promised yourself" was the advertising slogan used by Ford at the launch of their new Capri in 1969, and that may well have been true for lots of people, but if you were keen on 'sporting motoring', then the Capri 1300L was unlikely to have been on the letter you wrote to Santa Claus. However as the model range expanded and larger and larger engines became available, the Capri began to be recognised as a decent performance car.Ford were, and still are, experts in using their Motor Sport involvement to keep their showroom doors creaking, particularly so in the 1970s, and soon an RS 2600 Capri was commissioned and built to compete in the European Touring Car Championship, initially with considerable success. However, BMW had bigger ideas and introduced the more powerful 3.0CSL, rapidly stealing a march on Ford at the circuits. In response, Ford Advanced Vehicle Operations got the go ahead in September 1973, to build a batch of Capri RS 3100s to homologate the car for the E.T.C.C.and the motorsport public were treated to some very special racing in the '74/75 season as both manufacturers showed scant regard for cost, both on and off the track.The Essex 3.0 V6 was over bored to 3091 cc, developed by Cosworth, and when fuelled through a Weber 38DGAS, produced 148bhp and 187lb ft of torque. The gearbox was a standard Granada unit with an Atlas diff and this combination, when fitted to the road car resulted in 0 to 60 in 7.3 secs and a top speed of 125mph. The suspension was modified with stiffer front springs and competition rear springs and Bilstein Gas Dampers were fitted all round. Slightly flared arches, twin tail pipes, RS four-spoke alloys, a shallow front splitter and an enormous rear wing completed the look. The interior was pure 3000GXL with a flat 2-spoke steering wheel. The RS3100 was offered in a number of bright colours and they were all decalled in Gold around the power bulge, the rear panel and a triple line down the side.

We now know that 248 were built, however in the middle of a world recession sales were slow and Ford wanted the space for the Capri II, so production was ended and the last 50 of the unsold cars were sent to Australia.

The fabulous RS100 here, is finished in Sebring Red and was assembled in late '73 and registered in February 1974.The indicated mileage is 85,000 which is believed to be genuine but can only be verified back to May 1985 when the mileage was 75,156 according to the MoT certificate from that date. There are 13 subsequent MoTs kept safe by the last two owners, and the gentleman prior to our vendor, who owned the car from 1987 to 2012 obviously cherished it as he showed it extensively. Restored some years ago and returned to factory spec (it even has a Ford exhaust system), our vendor has used the car lightly and kept it in a 'Carcoon'. The current MoT (with no advisories) is in the paperwork file as are a number of old log books, MoTs, Tax Discs and information on previous owners.

Occasionally a car comes along that does not require a description of its condition and this piece of Ford history is one such. Look at the photographs and look at the car and you will see that this is a 'show car', truly excellent.

There weren't many RS3100s to start with, undoubtedly fewer now, and with 'Fast Fords' currently much in favour, this very rare RS will be welcome anywhere. Come to the Auction and have a good look at this sparkling Capri. Who knows, this time it really could be "The Car you always promised yourself".