This is what it sounds like to make a 1.75-L engine put out 600 hp.
Angry. Angry is what it sounds like.
There are definitely some powerful-yet-small engines out there. The Honda Civic Type-R gets 306 ponies from its turbocharged 2.0-L. Mercedes-AMG has a 2.0-L turbo-4 on their GLA 45 that puts out 375 hp. Alfa Romeo’s Giulia Quadrifoglio puts out 505 hp from its 2.7-L twin-turbo engine.
But 600 hp from a 1.75-L? That’s just plain madness.
And yet, that’s exactly what German racing team Zakspeed has done with the Zakspeed Capri.
First, a bit of an introduction for all the non-boomers out there. If you were born in the 1960’s, feel free to skip this bit.
The Capri was made in 1969 as a sort of European version of the Ford Mustang. Ford didn’t think the Mustang’s American-ness would sell well across the pond, so they made the Capri. And it sold well--by the time Ford finally just decided to sell Mustangs everywhere, 1.9 million Capris had been sold.
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Nominally the Capri had an entirely uninteresting V4 or V6 engine, but this particular Capri has been given a highly modified version of the Ford Cosworth BDA. It’s been bored out to 1.75-L (up from 1.4) and then given a pair of turbochargers that get it to 600 hp at 9,000 RPM. Max torque is 482 lb-ft at 6,800 RPM.
It also spits fire.
You might also notice that Zakspeed’s Capri has been lowered in the extreme. This is because most of the Capri’s body has been sheared away--about all that’s left of the car is the roof, pillars, and part of the rear superstructure. Everything else has been replaced by aluminum panels on aluminum tubes.
The final, highly modified Capri is down to just under 2,000 lbs, making it a light, fast, angry-sounding hornet of a car. You can get a real sense of rage coming from under the hood, as though the car is trying to resolve it’s Formula One sound with the fact it’s a car from the 1970s.
Still sounds pretty cool though.