£30k+ TO SPEND

This is where you’ll find the truly special Capris. Saying that the RS2600 is fundamentally a lowered MkI with a big engine is to do it a huge injustice; it’s fitted with a 2637cc version of the Cologne V6 engine by Weslake, with alloy cylinder heads, a modified front crossmember to give negative camber, single leaf springs and Bilstein dampers.

It’s considered to be one of the best Capris ever built and achieved legendary status through its early 1970s European Touring Car Championship successes against rivals such as the BMW 3.0 CSL.

Its successor, the RS3100, is one of the rarest Capris, with only 250 examples leaving the Halewood factory. Based on the 3000GT and using many RS2600 parts, plus a large duck tail spoiler for high speed stability, it was fitted with an over-bored 148bhp Essex V6 giving a top speed of 124mph. The advent of the Capri MkII meant that the RS3100 was quickly rendered obsolete, but is a great investment proposition today.

Speaking of big engines, there is a firmly held belief among Capri fans that Ford should have offered a V8 – and technically it was in the form of the Perana. South African Basil Green Motors produced a version of the 3000XL MkI fully sanctioned by Ford that was fitted with a 5.0-litre Windsor V8 from the Mustang. These performance icons seldom appear on the market and represent a true ‘Holy Grail’ find.

Finally there’s the Zakspeed – the ultimate Capri. Zakspeed developed the car from the production Capri as a purpose-built racer for the 1978 German DTM Touring Car Championship. It dominated in the early 1980s and remains a true stalwart of the motor sport world.

Expect to pay silly money if you do manage to find one, though; a 1979 car went up for auction at last year’s Le Mans Classic sale with an estimate of € 550,000-€750,000, though it remained unsold by the end of the sale.