Capri Sunk; Ford Icon Found in Nottingham Lake

Pretty Fishy…

Although the Ford Capri was a popular model in the 1960's-1980's, it would seem that someone disagreed when a 1982 Ford Capri was fished out of a lake in Nottingham earlier this month. Police have launched an inquiry after the 1982 Ford Capri was found at the bottom of the Regatta Lake at Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham. The car was registered in 1982, with the DVLA confirming that it was last taxed in 1993 but police aren’t sure on how long it had been down there.

The car was actually blue underneath all of the grime, growth and algae with the Y-reg vehicle being worth up to £15,000 if it was in mint condition today. A routine weed inspection uncovered the unlikely car that had become home to a family of eels and had acquired a lot of sand; enough to fill half of the car!
 

Detective Superintendent Nick Sawdon explains that they had turned up for a dive training day when they had received a call reporting a car in the main water sports lake. Recovering the car was a challenge, due to the weight of the sand. The police are still investigating why or how the car had got there, suspecting that it was stolen. Sawdon added that he joined the team in 1997 and hasn’t come across any other cars being found at the national watersports site, Holme Pierrepont before.

The end of an era…

The Ford Capri was in production from 1969 – 1986 serving as a popular hatchback after originally starting out as a fastback model. The Capri went on to become an icon, offering a wide variety of options for buyers from a four-cylinder 1.3 litre engine to the premium 3.0 litre V6. After the switch from fastback to the more practical hatchback styling of the MK II Capri in 1974, sales of the Capri began to decline after three generations and over 1.8 million cars produced. 

The Resurrection?

The Capri was once loved by British car buyers, so much so that when the car was no longer available to the rest of Europe, Ford continued to offer it in the UK from 1984 onwards. Production eventually stopped in 1986, however the Capri has developed a cult status and following over the years in its absence. There was even speculation of the Capri returning with a coupe version after being voted as one of the UK’s most wanted vehicles. Unfortunately Ford announced last year that they had no plans for a Capri Coupe in the future. However, with high demand to see the return of the Capri, who knows what could be on the horizon?