Mercury Capri
The success of the Mustang made it highly influential, inspiring American car brands to offer a pony car of their own. Even in Europe, the Mustang was popular and common. However, Ford wanted to explore the market further with a smaller European version. That’s how the Ford Capri came to be in 1969. In the US, it was sold as Mercury (via Augusta Chronicles).
Designed in the UK, the Capri was a European Mustang in every way. The Capri looked great with the “long hood-short deck” formula and semi-fastback styling. Although they based it on the standard Cortina and used the same engine, the Capri looked like a thoroughbred muscle car. Most people thought it was a U.S.-built Ford. However, most Capris had diminutive four-cylinder engines. Even the six-cylinder versions were less powerful, even for fastback.