CL: '91 Mercury Capri "almost as underwhelming as the 1991 Lotus Elan at a fraction of the price"

lol "Seriously, the pictures don't do the flaws justice. You just have to see it to appreciate how nice it is to be nearsighted without your glasses."

Full Ad: http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/5777965693.html

I thought GRM would appreciate this.

That, is a really good ad

I've become really intrigued by these cars recently. I have a hunch that actually driving one may cure me of that.

No one on earth has ever missed the point more than whoever designed in that back seat.

I've owned a few of these (all Turbos). They are really good cars! My step dad actually has a '93 Turbo with Hardtop. The Mazda B-series is dead reliable, the "back seat" was just to lower insurance premiums against the Miata.

In reply to dansxr2:

Thanks, I didn't need to hear that. I should probably start researching these...

This is second time that ad has popped up here. Looks like he's dropping the price again. Hmm... The wife did mention it would be fun to have a convertible...

I wonder how much I'd be missing out not having the turbo.

I do like the stripes.

dansxr2 wrote: The Mazda B-series is dead reliable, the "back seat" was just to lower insurance premiums against the Miata.

I could never figure out how they built this thing to take on the Miata, and presumably the MR2...but neglected to make it RWD. It's like it was designed by committee. "Convertible? Check. Wedge shape? Check. Turbo? Check. And let's make the styling really different from the other two as well. Ok, that's a wrap!"

I have not seen one of those in the wild in years. The very last running one I saw was a turbo that was leaving vast plumes of smoke behind it from failed seals.

I actually got to drive a NA one. The radio station I worked at had one as a giveaway. To this day it is the only FWD I have ever driven that tried to swap ends on me unexpectedly

Everytime i see one of these i get a bit sad. I loved my 79 capri, after it died of rust i went looking for another and went too look at a 90 capri. I was dissapointed.

I like how the home-spun graphics running over the car say "XR-1" when the hot version was XR2.

I remember reading an interview with Bob Lutz about these cars. It was supposed to be a two seat sporty car like the Miata. But at some point the group-think in product development got in the way and random requirements got mixed in like the rear seat. I think FWD was also a change that came along during early development.

Being a development of the BG chassis I would imagine that these can be made to handle quite well. I also imagine that, from the factory, they really aren't that great.

In reply to pres589:

I was told these aren't BG-chassis?

The Miata almost was a closer relative to that car - there was a proposal to base it on the BG chassis to save money. Dodged that bullet.

It's really interesting to look at the two of them. They were released almost simultaneously. The Capri was totally contemporary, it could be argued that the Miata was the first retro car. At the very least, if you can get past the shape of the front air opening, the Miata was out of time.

A lot of Capri XR2s have donated engines to 323 GTXs.

Keith Tanner wrote: A lot of Capri XR2s have donated engines to 323 GTXs.

My cousin has (had?) an XR2. I wouldn't mind snagging that car... it's too bad there wasn't a shared transmission, too

petegossett wrote: In reply to pres589: I was told these aren't BG-chassis?

I think it's the chassis before the BG.

That has been one of the funnies CL ads I've seen in a while.

XR2 engines belong in Festivas.

There's a pretty clean one with matching hard top in my local pick n pull.

I bought one of these as a Challenge budget project a couple of years ago. Sadly I'll never get to drive it. What was hastily bought under the advertisement of a simple blown headgasket, morphed into "holy moly, where are the floors/rockers?" and ended at "well, the motor's seized." That along with needing a softtop, tires, lots of suspension goodies, etc. It's now being parted out.

It's a shame because it's the rare 1994 XR-2 variant. Oh well, its spirit will live on. I'm saving the drivetrain, harness and other goodies to someday put into a Festiva.

Per review of internet data, over less than a five minute period, seems to indicate that these cars are indeed BF-chassis derivatives. Unfortunate.

I've always wanted to try one of these just to see what it was like. Sadly, I think none of them sold here and any that did are little rust piles by now.

I may need to pull this one up for consideration!

I had a soft spot for red, 4 cylinder, 5 speed Ford (or Mercury) products once upon a time and this appeared.

Bruce

egnorant wrote: I may need to pull this one up for consideration! I had a soft spot for red, 4 cylinder, 5 speed Ford (or Mercury) products once upon a time and this appeared. Bruce

It's amazing how many of these cars I see in this pose.

Every fall at least 3 or 4 of them pop up on CL locally for cheap. I'm always intrigued but never in a position to make an impulsive car purchase. It will probably happen someday. I have a weird thing for early 90s Fords.