Ford Capri RS2600 duo that sprang from box of delights

One of a pair of frozen-in-time Ford Capri RS2600s discovered in a container could be your next classic racer, says Simon de Burton

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Imagine being a fan of 1970s GT racing and opening up a shipping container only to discover that it contained not one, but two Ford Capri RS2600s in the exact same livery (and probably on the same tyres) that they wore when last on track more than 40 years earlier.

That was the case with this remarkable ‘time warp’ RS being sold on behalf of a client by competition-car expert Duncan Hamilton. The ‘sister’ Capri, which was resting alongside it when the container was opened around a decade ago, turned out to be the 1972 factory Le Mans car driven by Jochen Mass and Hans Stuck, which managed 14 hours and 152 laps before retiring with an oil pump failure.

That has now been restored to its correct Le Mans blue and white works colour scheme – but the car being sold by DH Rofgo remains in its unique silver with red and blue stripes that signifies it as having been part of Clayton Dopke’s Rok-Stock-sponsored IMSA team.

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It’s one of two Capris raced by Clayton Dopke’s Rok-Stock sponsored team in IMSA

USAF Major Clayton ‘Clay’ Dopke, who died in 2010, was a B-52 bomber pilot during the Vietnam War who took to saloon car racing when he retired.  Dopke campaigned the Capri – which was discovered on America’s east coast – during the mid to late 1970s when European cars dominated IMSA’s popular GT series. It retains the livery of America’s leading Capri tuning house Rok-Stock and still bears every sticker and scrutineering label from the days when it last raced.

“The cars are thought to have been put into the container around 1980 and simply stayed there,” says DH Rofgo’s Jack Tetley. “At the time they were probably worth very little, but of course the value of all historic racing cars has since soared.”

Dials of the Capri

The RS2600 was launched in late 1971 and was one of the hottest versions of the celebrated Capri available from the factory thanks to its Weslake-assembled 2.6-litre Cologne V6 engine, Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection, close-ratio gearbox and its lightweight body panels.

Although it was originally a road car, its 150bhp output, 7.5sec 0–60 time and beefed-up brakes meant that it was quickly adopted for Group 2 racing and achieved a string of spectacular results in the European Touring Car Championship in the hands of notable drivers including Mass, Jackie Stewart and Klaus Ludwig.

The interior of the Capri

Tetley says that the car clearly needs recommissioning before being run, but emphasises the fact that parts are readily available – as is the expertise of top race Capri tuner and restorer Ric Wood Motorsport of Stockport, Greater Manchester. Once up and running, the car will be eligible for a host of race and rally events –and, if kept in its current zany 1970s colour scheme, will also be the only IMSA-liveried Capri in Europe.

One other thing’s for certain, too: it will certainly serve as a withering riposte to any Capri-ribbing medallion man jokes.

1973 Ford Capri RS2600

On sale with Duncan Hamilton Rofgo, Winchester. dhrofgo.com. Asking: £120,000


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