Capri XR2 (the FWD anti-Miata) - any fun to be had?

Since I am selling the VW and Subaru I am looking for a fun little drop-top for the summer months. Obviously it is not the best time of year to buy a convertible, but there are deals to be gotten. I might luck out and find the right Miata, but these Capri XR2s intrigue me, mostly because they always sell for bargain basement prices...sure they're FWD, but the B6T seems like it would keep things entertaining enough. Anyone messed with these before? Is it possible to make one handle?

I mean, I guess this doesn't look too bad.

I'm curious about this as well. I'm not buying one but I'd like to hear why the GRM collective doesn't like them much.

did we just voted it be one of the worst "sporty car" in another thread?

it's basically a topless turbo 323 right?

my friends mom had one of those when they first came out. occasionally he would borrow it and beat the hell out of it(we were in our late teens) and it seemed pretty quick and spry.

though one time we used it to drive to Connecticut and were stuck in traffic in the Bronx and it was kind of embarrassing being in a fruity teal colored convertible chick car.

It's a girlie car and none of us wants to be seen in a girlie car.

In reply to DeadSkunk:

Unlike the freaking Miata?

And honestly I could care less about that kind of noise.

What blows me away is the pricing. You can find NICE sub-$2k XR2s all day long, even now in convertible season. NOBODY seems to want the things. Which is why I'm all the more surprised that even GRM hates them, I mean there would seem to be no cheaper way to get into a B6T, period. Sure the styling sucks, but a convertible 323 can only be so bad...right?

I wouldn't choose one over a Miata, but I am also curious to hear the reasons why they are dreadful... aside from styling which is subjective, I am at a loss.

i test drove one new back to back against a miata....i went miata and never looked back. to sum it up, it was souless and appliance-like. it was decently quick, but had a lot of tourqe steer, and i found the interior bland. anyway, in my opinion it wasn't much fun, at least in my application.

by contrast the miata was everything a sports car should be. it was a real sports car where the capri was for teenage girls that wanted to look good driving to the mall....

After a little more research, I am even more confused about why everyone hates these. H&R makes springs, so does ST, there are even sway bar options from ST and Addco. Poly bushings are available and of course the B6T needs no introduction. It is basically a convertible 323 GT under there. With an available aftermarket like that it could only be so hard to put some soul in...maybe I've found my next project car.

I'm not contesting that the Miata is not a significantly better car (it clearly is, especially comparing new for new). But considering the prices that each trade hands for, it seems like you could build the crap out of one of these for the price of a decent stock Miata.

I would think that the Capri would be better at fitting taller/larger occupants vs. the MX-5.

I do have an ingrained fear of FWD Mazda transmissions breaking when adding power, though, so there is that to consider.

That said, either the B6T or a Zetec swap from a ZX2 should make for something quick, and like you noticed there are suspension parts both in the junkyards as well as from aftermarket suppliers new. I wonder how flexible these cars are... I'm betting they're not great in that department as sold new.

If the Capri had only looked more like the Barchetta concept car from 1983 and had beaten the Miata to the market....

Wow I don't know any thing about these but there is a nice one on my local cl for 2000$ as well as about 4 others. And it seems like almost there are more that are turbo than are not available. Also it looks like some had a hardtop is that a factory option?

DeadSkunk wrote: It's a girlie car and none of us wants to be seen in a girlie car.

I'm not a huge fan of the Capri; my female roommate in college had one, automatic, and it was appliance-like to drive, except on nice days when you put the top down it was "acceptable". Then again I drove a Triumph GT6 at the time some most things felt like an appliance compared to that. That said, she had lousy cheapo tires on it, bad alignment, and didn't take care of the car at all...

....and when she finally got rid of it, she bought a Miata. And she was a girly girl for sure.

I think it's funny that people here call out the Capri as a "chick car" though....yet they rave about the Miata or Honda Fit or Fiat 500.....all of which are more "chick cars" to the great majority of the populace than a Capri. YMMV.

Plenty of fun to be had- just drive it backwards!

There was just one featured on justacargeek.com

Somebody must like them because every time one turns up in the junk yard I pull on the useable pieces on them and they sell immediately. Granted most of the parts seem to head back to Australia but I think they could be a fairly nice bit of kit with just a few upgrades. Come on GRM..............make the unloved and unwanted FWD Capri a project car. It might be nice.

I was funnin' , guys. Look at my car list in my signature.

Buy one. Then see if you can figure out how to live the rest of your life with the knowledge that nicksta43 from the GRM forums thinks you are a girl.

Bob Hall said something positive about them once, in the miata forum Ask Bwob column. IIRC, it was something to the effect that they were well executed for what they were.

Why do people like the Miata more? Because the Miata is a better car. Better handling, better built, better styled. The Capri is the height of late 80's styling and a convertible, and that's about all you can say about it.

A factory B6T is nothing to get too excited about, the engine management is archaic, power is low and the things are amazingly gutless if you let them fall off boost. These aspects could be ignored in the 323 GTX because it was a homologation AWD rally weapon so the engine was just a starting point in stock form.

If the Miata wasn't around, I can see how the car might be appealing given the super-cheap price. But the fact of the matter is that the Miata IS around. The market made its preference clear back when both were available new, and the reasoning hasn't changed.

I always seem to post this about orphan cars...but OH MY GOD does Ford ever stop supporting these type of things in a hurry. Want a turn signal switch for a Festiva? Junkyard, or figure out which Mazda uses the same part. Same story with Probe, Courier...You would think, with Ford of Australia building the bloody things, they could at least sell you some of the important stuff. We had one of the Cougars from Oz in a couple of months ago. Brake hose? Nope, sorry. See if you can modify one off a Contour.

Now, I know you guys generally dismiss this argument, because you are working on your own junk, and are more than happy to cobble E36 M3 together. Its another story when you are trying to do it on a customers car. Oh sure, we'll tie up a hoist for a week while we figure out which clutch fits this pile...

FWD can be fun when a big rear bar is installed.