New Ford Capri to return as an electric coupe-SUV

• Based on same platform as electric Ford Explorer SUV
• Up to 330 miles on a charge
• 335bhp four-wheel drive flagship model

In a controversial move, it looks like the Ford Capri will make an unlikely comeback as an electric coupe-SUV. The news comes just weeks after Ford revealed its modern interpretation of the Explorer SUV, with that car’s designer Jordan Damkiw confirming they will “be expanding on other iconic names” in the future.

Inside sources have now told us the Capri will join the product range, alongside a new all-electric Puma due later this year. The new Capri will take on a completely new appearance – shying away from the sleek two-door body that made it so famous in the seventies and eighties; our exclusive image shows how the reinvented model might look.

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As part of a deal between Volkswagen and Ford, the upcoming Ford Capri will be based on Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform, which has been shared by electric cars such as the Volkswagen ID range, Skoda Enyaq iV and Audi Q4 e-tron. The upcoming Ford Explorer electric SUV is also based on the platform.

The return of the Capri will not be the first time the Ford brand has revived an old nameplate in a polarising fashion. In recent years, the Ford Puma – which was originally a sporty coupe built in the late nineties and early 2000s – was brought back as a small SUV. More recently, the Ford Mustang Mach-E revived the iconic Mustang name as a sporty electric SUV. It’s part of a strategy to “make electric iconic” – rival brand Renault has done something similar with its upcoming Renault 5 EV also channelling the nostalgia of a revered model.

Our exclusive images show what the upcoming Ford Capri EV could look like. It’s very likely the two-door configuration of the original would be swapped for a more practical and popular four or five-door layout with the swooping roofline common on modern coupe-SUVs. 

In the interests of better aerodynamic efficiency and given its electric underpinnings, the new Capri will look very different to the 70s and 80s classic, though Ford would probably try to incorporate nods to the old Capri, such as the quad circular headlights referenced by the LED daytime running lights.

The interior will be based on that of the larger Explorer SUV, with high-quality, soft-touch materials and clever use of space that incorporates lots of useful storage. As in the new Ford Explorer, the Capri will likely feature a 15-inch portrait-style touchscreen that slides upwards to reveal a locked compartment behind it for valuables.

We’d expect a few different powertrains to be offered, with a top-of-the range model featuring a 335bhp, four-wheel drive setup with an 82kWh battery for a range of over 300 miles. Lesser models could include an entry-level 168bhp rear-wheel drive version with a 55kWh battery and 220-mile range, echoing the upcoming base model Explorer. There might also be a mid-range version that offers less power than the flagship, but with the same 82kWh battery for around 330 miles on a single charge.

Fast-charging with speeds of up to 170kW taking as little as 25 minutes to get the battery from 10 to 80 percent will most likely be standard across the model lineup – again, as per the latest Ford Explorer.

Ford hasn’t given any word on pricing yet, but we’d expect it to sit slightly above the Explorer, suggesting a starting figure of around £45,000. While the original model was an affordable, yet desirable coupe, it’s yet to be seen whether the upcoming reborn Capri can capture the same recipe that made it iconic all those years ago.

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