by HoTWire
10. February 2009 06:29
I like this car, I like this car for one specific reason, although there are lots to like, it is the car that given the budget and equipment most of 'us' would have built out of a Mk3 Capri. Take a Mk3 Capri, add a bit of body kit (it was the 80's), add a really nice interior, lower and stiffen the suspension, then slap a turbo charger and put it on the street.
Tickford had a long an illustrious history before getting the chance to breathe on Ford's sporty coupe, started in the 1820s as a coachbuilder, they naturally moved onto automobile coachbuilding until they effectively become part of Aston Martin in the 1950s. In 1981 Tickford under the guise of "Aston Martin Tickford" was formed and their services opened up to other customers. One of those companies that chose to work with Tickford was Ford. The partnership produced some great work, including the road going versions of the Sierra Cosworth RS500 and the fantastic RS200. However it is the Tickford Capri that kicked all this off for them.
The Tickford Capri was based on the V6 2.8i model, receiving a turbo on the engine, walnut and leather interior as well as electric windows and the obvious body kit. Motor Sport magazine compared it to the 2.7 litre Porsche 911 in performance terms, it raced to 60 from standing in just 6.7 seconds and it topped out at 140mph. More could probably have been done, certainly there was room for improvement in the engine department, but the car was already pretty expensive. In fact the price was its only real failing point. eventually just 85 Tickford Turbos hit the streets.
Picking one up now days is a tricky affair, and they demand a premium, unsurprisingly. You can find more information about the cars Tickford created at the Tickford Owners Club website. The photos in the entry have been taken from this excellent Flickr account.
Tomorrow we'll be heading back East for some wild small car action.
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