1986 Tickford Capri - 205 HP, 140 MPH, Rare As All Heck.

This is really interesting...

This is being advertised as an "Aston Martin Tickford Turbo Capri." Officially, these cars are Tickford Capris, but Aston Martin was involved with Tickford for awhile, so you'll often see owners of the cars using the Aston Martin name.

Tickford's origins go back to the 1820s. By the late 1890s it was already developing coachbuilt cars. In 1955, Aston Martin owner, David Brown, bought the company. He eventually move Aston Martin into the Tickford building. In the early 1980s Aston Martin created a separate engineering company and called it Aston Martin Tickford. This was soon purchased by CH Industrials, who ran it until 1990. Several owners and name changes later, Tickford (now called Tickford Powertrain Test) is still in business.

OK, back to the Capri... The history of it is a little blurry, but it appears that Tickford, who had been building turbocharged MG Metros, decided the Capri, being more upscale than the Metro, would be a good car to re-engineer for performance and luxury.

Ford, while not "officially" involved (one website refers to it as a semi-official Ford car), provided support and allowed the Tickford Capri to be sold at its dealerships.

The Tickford Capri's performance is stunning. The Tickford turbocharged 2.8 liter Cologne engine produced 205 hp. It hit 60 MPH in 6.7 seconds. Its top speed was 140 MPH. The brakes and suspension were upgraded to cope with the extra performance.

The Ticford Capri exterior included a large rear spoiler, a body colored front grille, unique bumpers and an exclusive bodykit designed by Simon Saunders, who most recently was involved in the design of the Ariel Atom.

Tickford gave the Capri's interior a luxury treatment, with Wilton wool carpeting, a veneer dash and other luxury touches.

Around 100 Tickford Capris were built. It was essentially hand built and it is said that each car took 200 man hours. It sold for double the price of a V6 Ford Capri.

To the best of my knowledge, the Tickford Capri was never offered outside of the UK and all are right-hand drive.

The seller says that this is Tickford #98. It has some unique features not found on the standard Tickford Capri. It has 3900 miles on it. The asking price is $55,000.00.

Located in Amherstburg, ON, Canada, click here to see the eBay listing.