Man of Steel
09-14-2021, 02:09 PM
The Tickford Capri Turbo (1985-1987)
The Capri Mk III had become bigger and stronger. The power came from the German 2,9 liter V6. But even then there were people who thought 'more' was not enough. (Lotus) Test driver and car journalist John Miles was one of them. He took his idea to Tickford, a company that belonged to Aston Martin at the time and also did things for Ford. His idea was to develop a Capri +. That company dropped out due to internal management hassle at Ford. But Miles and Tickford understood each other. The Tickford Capri Turbo was fully tested on the MIRA test track in England and in the wind tunnel, nor did it escape the crash test to get it officially registered as Aston Martin Tickford.
The intention was to make 250 Tickford Capri Turbos. That was adjusted to 100 units. In the end 85 were delivered complete and 15 left in the standard version, but with Tickford chassis numbers. One year after the production stop, 1 or 2 were made from the remaining items from the corner of the shed. One of which went in any case for the boxing (as in 'fist fighting') manager Barry Hear. We understand that. Jensen Interceptors were also so popular in the bling bling corner of the sporting event. Because excess is never enough.
The Tickford Ford Capri Turbo, also known as Aston Martin Tickford Capri, would not only have more power than the original
The birth of such an exotic started with the transport of the Capri's from Germany to Tickford in England. The cars were completely stripped there. Because the campaign was carried out according to the best British tradition in a very cumbersome and traditional way, that alone doubled the investment in the donor car. For example, Tickford's craftsmen lost six hours per bonnet to fit them nicely on the dense front that gave the car its distinctive face. It was of course also because they had chosen the hard way at Tickford. The turbo, an IHi that was noticeably smaller, and therefore accelerated more quickly than the Garrets often used in turbo builders' circles, was not simply screwed into the exhaust system.
Tickford opted for a mounting that was placed far to the front, where the standard Capri had the radiator. This not only required a lot more pipe length, but also the structural adjustment of the engine compartment. All in all, the turbo came in a cool place and the long inlet pipes provide a kind of pressure buffer effect, so that the dreaded turbo hole hardly ever occurred. And that gave the driver of this Aston Martin / Ford / Tickford the feeling that he was on the road with a car with a normal, atmospheric engine with a significantly larger displacement.
All in all, the Tickford Ford Capri was a commercial flop. Probably also because the Sierra RS Cosworth was too fierce in-house competition. It was cheaper and faster than the Tickford. But its rarity now makes the tickford extra valuable. The intention was to build 400 units, but due to the high price (14000 pounds against 8000 for a standard 2.8 injection) and labor (hand-built) only 100 units Capri injections were supplied by Ford to Aston and the 100 units approximately 85 converted into Aston Martin Tickford.
Of the 85 units built today, only 45 are left, of which 2 are in the Netherlands.
Source: https://amklassiek.nl/en/the-tickford-capri-turbo/2018/06/18/
The Capri Mk III had become bigger and stronger. The power came from the German 2,9 liter V6. But even then there were people who thought 'more' was not enough. (Lotus) Test driver and car journalist John Miles was one of them. He took his idea to Tickford, a company that belonged to Aston Martin at the time and also did things for Ford. His idea was to develop a Capri +. That company dropped out due to internal management hassle at Ford. But Miles and Tickford understood each other. The Tickford Capri Turbo was fully tested on the MIRA test track in England and in the wind tunnel, nor did it escape the crash test to get it officially registered as Aston Martin Tickford.
The intention was to make 250 Tickford Capri Turbos. That was adjusted to 100 units. In the end 85 were delivered complete and 15 left in the standard version, but with Tickford chassis numbers. One year after the production stop, 1 or 2 were made from the remaining items from the corner of the shed. One of which went in any case for the boxing (as in 'fist fighting') manager Barry Hear. We understand that. Jensen Interceptors were also so popular in the bling bling corner of the sporting event. Because excess is never enough.
The Tickford Ford Capri Turbo, also known as Aston Martin Tickford Capri, would not only have more power than the original
The birth of such an exotic started with the transport of the Capri's from Germany to Tickford in England. The cars were completely stripped there. Because the campaign was carried out according to the best British tradition in a very cumbersome and traditional way, that alone doubled the investment in the donor car. For example, Tickford's craftsmen lost six hours per bonnet to fit them nicely on the dense front that gave the car its distinctive face. It was of course also because they had chosen the hard way at Tickford. The turbo, an IHi that was noticeably smaller, and therefore accelerated more quickly than the Garrets often used in turbo builders' circles, was not simply screwed into the exhaust system.
Tickford opted for a mounting that was placed far to the front, where the standard Capri had the radiator. This not only required a lot more pipe length, but also the structural adjustment of the engine compartment. All in all, the turbo came in a cool place and the long inlet pipes provide a kind of pressure buffer effect, so that the dreaded turbo hole hardly ever occurred. And that gave the driver of this Aston Martin / Ford / Tickford the feeling that he was on the road with a car with a normal, atmospheric engine with a significantly larger displacement.
All in all, the Tickford Ford Capri was a commercial flop. Probably also because the Sierra RS Cosworth was too fierce in-house competition. It was cheaper and faster than the Tickford. But its rarity now makes the tickford extra valuable. The intention was to build 400 units, but due to the high price (14000 pounds against 8000 for a standard 2.8 injection) and labor (hand-built) only 100 units Capri injections were supplied by Ford to Aston and the 100 units approximately 85 converted into Aston Martin Tickford.
Of the 85 units built today, only 45 are left, of which 2 are in the Netherlands.
Source: https://amklassiek.nl/en/the-tickford-capri-turbo/2018/06/18/