For many years it was de rigeur to point and mock the Ford Tickford Capri, largely on account of its eye-popping bodywork…
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or many years it was de rigeur to point and mock the Ford Tickford Capri, largely on account of its eye-popping bodywork. That, combined with its price, meant it wasn’t a huge seller. But for the money you got the full Tickford treatment – cars were delivered from Cologne before being taken apart and reassembled by the same fingers that worked on Aston Martins and the RS Fords. For extra thrust Tickford fitted a turbo at the front of the engine bay and, in an attempt to keep the car on the bitumen, a limited-slip differential. Bilstein dampers and rear disc brakes were also added. This all meant a 0-60mph sprint of little more than six and a half seconds and a full whack of just under 140mph.
Out of a proposed run of 100 cars only 88 were built, largely because the £15,000 you’d pay for one back in the day was nearly the same as the much more practical Sierra RS Cosworth.
This one, up for grabs with Classic Car Auctions at its September 15 sale, is one of just three finished in Stratos Silver. It’s been fully recomissioned, has had a glass-out respray, and records just 63,000 miles on the odometer.
The fast Ford market is hyper-inflated, and Capri 280 Brooklands have been going for exorbitant prices. But the Tickford Capri has always been an acquired taste. Its estimate of £26k-28k puts it near the top of late-model Capri values. Details at classiccarauctions.co.uk