MEET THE OWNER: ALLAN JONES AND HIS FORD CAPRI MK.I SPECIAL

The year is 1975, and Allan Jones has just encountered a very handsome 1972 Capri 1600GT Mk. I in an Edinburgh car showroom. “A closer inspection revealed that it was an XLR version with gleaming black paintwork, black vinyl roof and red coachlines, and I just had to have it”.

The first limited edition Capri was the 1971 Vista Orange, followed in June 1972 by the ‘Special’ based on the 1600GT 2000GT or 3000GT in XLR guise. The additional equipment included opening rear windows, a bonnet bulge, an alternator, a heated rear screen, a map lamp, hazard warning lights and, of course, ‘sports wheels’.

Best of all, there was a choice of two splendid colour schemes; Emerald Green with a gold coachline and a black interior or Ebony Black with a red coachline and a red interior. The Special marked the swansong of the original Mk .I before their facelift in September of 1972 and Ford made 750 of both colour schemes.

Most Specials appeared to be in 1. 6 or 2.0-litre forms, but Allan points out “a couple of 3000GTs have come to light - one long disappeared but another that has survived but needing a lot of restoration”. There are believed to be just five examples of this very exclusive Capri still on the road.

Naturally, Mr. Jones was delighted with this Capri, but three years later, a growing family plus running a company car meant he had to part company with SSS 994 K. However, he never forgot the Special and in 1995, after months of searching, he found its doppelganger:

I got a phone call out of the blue from a fellow Capri Club member to tell me he knew of one in Cheshire, only a few miles from where we then lived, and that it might be for sale. A quick inspection and test drive was arranged, and this confirmed that the car was totally original and identical in every respect.

VRB 54 K hailed from Derbyshire, and by the mid-1990s, it was not in the best of condition. The Capri suffered from a certain amount of corrosion and mechanical issues. Fortunately, Allan found a local body repairer:

…who was willing to take on the work, and the car disappeared into his workshop for the next three months. While I wasn’t looking for anything like a Concours restoration there was still a huge amount of work needed to cut out and replace or repair damaged wheel arches, sills, floor pans, scuttle panel, etc. The car was finished and back on the road by December 1995.

Seven years later, Alan parted with the Capri, together with his Escort Mk. I GT and Cortina Mk. III, before his relocating to Portugal. By 2011 he had returned to the UK and, naturally, reacquired the Special. By then, VRB was in a very sorry state, but thanks to the efforts of a gentleman named Gordon Needs, it soon looked as though it had just emerged from the showroom,

Today, the Jones Special is one of the only five known survivors in Ebony Black, and it embodies the appeal of the first-generation Capri. This was a car that offered a genuine sense of glamour for an accessible price, and the XLR option pack represented excellent value for money while the Special’s appearance only enhanced the Mk.I’s image. It really was ‘The Car You Always Promised Yourself’.

WITH THANKS TO: Allan Jones and Ford Capri Mark1 Special Editions.