1986 Mercury Capri (RS, 5.0 and special editions)

1986 was the Capri's final year. Eighties Cars lists the GS at $8,331 and the 5.0L at $10,950, the latter with a 200 bhp sequential-fuel-injection 302 V8 and a 5-speed overdrive manual standard. Classic Industries gives 115 ASC McLaren coupes and 194 convertibles for 1986 specifically, while the same source's combined 1984-1986 ASC McLaren total, 847 (290 coupes plus 557 convertibles), still does not match Wikipedia's own ASC McLaren table figure of 874; this record carries both totals without correcting either, since it is not established which, if any, contains a transposed digit.^1,2,3

The 2.3 SOHC four was standard on the GS, with a 4-speed manual or 3-speed SelectShift automatic, and not available on the 5.0L at all. A 3.8 V6 with electronic fuel injection was optional on the GS with the 3-speed automatic, also not offered on the 5.0L. A 5.0 High-Output V8 with a 4-speed overdrive automatic was optional on both the GS and the 5.0L. The 5.0L's own standard engine, the Windsor 4.9-liter (302 cid) V8 with sequential fuel injection, was rated 200 hp SAE net and came paired with a 5-speed overdrive manual as standard equipment, distinct from the optional 5.0 H.O. available on either model.¹

The 5.0L carried its own standard equipment bundle not offered on the GS: a handling suspension with nitrogen shocks and a quad-shock rear, quick-ratio steering, a Traction-Lok axle, a front air dam with fog lamps, a sport-tuned dual exhaust, a charcoal lower-bodyside Tu-Tone treatment, and P225/60VR15 tires on 15x7 performance aluminum wheels. The GS instead could add optional wire-styled wheel covers or polycast wheels, neither offered on the 5.0L; a T-roof or flip-up open-air roof, air conditioning, a power door lock group, speed control, an AM/FM stereo cassette, and a Premium Sound system were common options across both models.

Twelve exterior colors were charted, from Black and Oxford White through Sand Beige, Dark Sage, Bright Red, Silver Metallic, Smoke Metallic, Dark Clove Brown Metallic, Dark Slate Metallic, Light Regatta Blue Metallic, Shadow Blue Metallic, and Medium Canyon Red Metallic, without a stated GS/5.0L restriction on any of them in the source excerpted here. Interior colors differed by model: the GS offered Charcoal, Sand Beige, Regatta Blue, and Canyon Red, while the 5.0L's narrower set of Charcoal, Sand Beige, and Canyon Red (no Regatta Blue) came with Tu-Tone articulated front sport seats specifically.

The Capri measured 179.3 in overall on a 100.5-inch wheelbase, 69.1 in wide and 52.1 in tall, with 32.5 cu ft of cargo volume with the rear seats folded and a 15.4-gallon fuel tank. Turning diameter ran 37.4 ft generally but 39.0 ft with the 5.0L specifically, and curb weight is given as 2,872 lb for the GS with the four-speed automatic against 3,210 lb for the 5.0L with the five-speed manual, the two figures printed together in the brochure rather than as a single "as-tested" weight for the range. No separate performance figures (acceleration, braking, or skidpad) and no identification or data-plate decoding detail were found in an accessible documented source for the final model year, so neither section is populated in this record.