X-Ceptional

Immaculate Signal Amber paint work, legendary X-Pack styling and a whacking great 24V Cossie V6, it’s hard to imagine any Capri being better than this…

Our cars are more than a hobby, they are for most of us a way of life. In fact, I would go further than that and say for most of us they are better than any counsellor or therapist. In these times of doom and gloom in the news, getting out in the garage or onto the driveway, whether it’s just tinkering with your carbs or getting knee-deep into a big build, the stresses and tensions of life seem to drift away.

The wide-body Capri you see on these pages has had many hours lavished upon those flanks and in return it has helped its owner, Wayne deal with a lot of things life has thrown at him. Including the sad loss of his father during the early stages of the build. “Losing my dad meant I needed something to focus on and I through my heart and soul into this build as a tribute to him,” says Wayne.

The end result is a superb car that although modified looks like it could have been a special edition, and rolled off of the production line like this. Nothing looks untoward or out of place.

However, things could have turned out differently as the Capri was a very different animal when Wayne originally got his hands on it. “I was actually considering buying a Sapphire Cosworth, but I preferred the shape of the Capri. Then this one came up with the 24-valve Cosworth lump already fitted. It was the best of both worlds,” grins Wayne.

Starting out as a humble Laser, a previous owner had the car converted by Capri gurus, Tickover, to BOA power. It was a pretty neat install, so Wayne was happy and that was the end of that, then. Well, not quite, in fact this was just the beginning.