1973 Ford Capri RS3100 Comes to Project Motor Racing

June 05, 2026

The Fast Ford with a Point to Prove

Back in the early ’70s, the Ford Capri had become the aspirational everyman coupé: Ford’s European Mustang, built around mass-market Ford mechanicals, and sold with the famous line, “The car you always promised yourself”.

Then came 1973 and the Ford Capri RS3100. The car Ford built to settle some unfinished business in Group 2. This was a long way from the suburban-driveway Capri of the aspirational sales brochures.

This was the homologation special with its sleeves rolled up.

And rare. Only 250 RS3100 road cars were produced in late 1973 to homologate the bigger-engine Capri for the 1974 racing season. The “3100” in the name referenced the 3100cc Essex V6 engine, while the FIA papers made the intent official: Group 2, six cylinders, rear-wheel drive, and a date with Europe’s toughest touring-car grids.

The RS3100 was still recognisably a Capri. Long bonnet, fastback roofline, compact rear, working-class hero silhouette. But the attitude changed. The spoilers, the stance, the flared intent—this was the Capri after some hard days and nights at bootcamp.

And then came the full race cars.

The Group 2 RS3100s moved well beyond the road-car recipe, with the 3.1L Essex giving way to a stonking 3.4L naturally aspirated Cosworth GAA V6 producing somewhere around 450hp. Add wide arches, aero, and a clear job description—go win Group 2—and the Capri suddenly had the numbers, the noise, and the attitude to become a proper touring-car menace.

At Zandvoort in 1974, Jochen Mass and Rolf Stommelen put the Capri RS3100 on the top step. By then, the message was out. This was no longer just the Capri you always promised yourself. This was the Capri everyone on the grid wished would disappear. A European bruiser of note.

In Project Motor Racing, this is the kind of car you learn to respect because it’s honest. Front engine. Rear drive. Big attitude. No modern excuses. No weird TC-aided vagueness. You trail the brake, feel the nose bite, balance the rear on throttle, and then let the V6 pull you out while the car squats, squirms, and lets everyone know exactly how brave you are. Or aren’t.

Get it right, and the RS3100 promises amazing balance. Light enough to dance, angry enough to bite, but always up for a bit of touring-car nonsense.

Yours to drive as part of the GT Icons Pack coming to Project Motor Racing June 23rd. Enjoy.

Discuss and share your feedback in our community forum or in the official Discord server.