Cocooned 80s classic: Ford Capri stored in a Canvey Island garage for 36 YEARS which accrued just 585 MILES sells for £71k

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Ford Capris have become supremely collectible in recent years, and one of the lowest-mileage examples in the country has just been sold for an astronomical fee.

The car in question is a 1986 2.8 Injection Special, which cost £11,000 when new but has recently changed hands for almost seven times that original price, selling for a whopping £71,000.

Having been stored in a temperature-regulated garage in Canvey Island, Essex, by its only owner for more than 30 years, it has covered a mere 585 miles and been wonderfully preserved.

Cocooned classic Capri: This 1986 example of the iconic Ford coupe has recently sold for £71,000. It had just 585 miles on the clock - that's an average of just over 16 miles for each year from new

The car was sold earlier this week by Peterborough-based dealership, KGF Classic Cars.

The 2.8 Injection Special is the most expensive Mk3 Capri we know of, with the highest price paid at auction being £55,125 paid for a 1987 280 Brooklands with 14,680 miles from new, which was sold by Silverstone Auctions in 2017. 

The Diamond White example sold by KGF Classic Cars is the epitome of 1980s Essex motoring.  Fitting, then, that it has spent all of its life there.

The Diamond White Capri has been kept in a temperature-regulated and dehumidified garage in Canvey Island by the original owner for 36 years. It was raised off the ground to prevent the tyres sustaining damage from standing for an extensive period

The Capri 2.8 Injection Special had a list price of £11,002 in 1986. However, the original owner, Albert Clarkson, a gas engineer from Essex, used the 'Own-a-Ford' discount scheme available at the time to get it for a reduced £7698

It was built in June 1986 at Ford's Saarlouis factory in Germany, and supplied new to Albert Clarkson - a now-retired gas engineer - by Ford South Essex Motors in Basildon. 

When new, the 2.8 Injection Special had a list price of £11,002, though Albert used the 'Own-a-Ford' purchase scheme that was available, thanks to his father working for the brand at the time. 

Invoices sold with the car reveal that Mr Clarkson paid a discounted price of £7,698.

That means he has sold it for more than nine times what he paid almost four decades ago.

Using This is Money's historic inflation calculator, the £7,698 Albert paid in 1986 translates to £24,880 in today's money, meaning a healthy inflation-adjusted profit of £46,120 - or 185 per cent. 

Mr Clarkson has sold it via Peterborough dealer KGF Classic Cars for more than 9 times what he paid almost four decades ago. The £7,698 in 1986 translates to £24,880 in today's money, meaning a healthy inflation-adjusted profit of £46,120

The Capri 2.8 Injection featured a 2.8-litre V6 petrol engine that was tuned by Ford Dunton's Special Vehicle Engineering division. It added a fuel injection system and an improved radiator to boost power to 158bhp. Top speed new was 131mph

He also paid a further £77.92 for a selection of accessories sold with the Special edition Capris.

These have never been used and are still in their original packaging today.

Albert said he was annoyed with the dealer when he collected the car in 1986 having discovered when resetting the odometer that it had already covered 68 miles.

His intention was to preserve the car and not drive it with the intention of watching its value soar over the years.

It was added to his Ford collection alongside a cherished MK2 Cortina 1600E and a Ford Escort he was using as his daily ride. 

The Capri was placed into the temperature-controlled and dehumidified garage at his home and elevated off the ground to avoid any damage to the tyres. 

Albert admitted in a recent interview with his classic car insurance provider Adrian Flux that he had refused to start the engine for 17 years in his extensive bid to retain its value. 

It was even transported to MOT test centres on the back of a trailer to preserve the mileage, with the local garage some six miles away and Albert not wanting to add to the odometer reading.

Sold with just 585 miles on the clock, it has covered an average of 16 and a quarter miles for each year from new. 

The incredibly preserved condition of the car is plain to see from these images of the interior, with the seats appearing to have been barely sat in

'Special' examples like this one were also fitted with these half‑leather seats and included a limited slip differential, seven‑spoke RS wheels and colour‑coded grille and headlamp surrounds. The suspension was also upgraded

Mr Clarkson recently decided to part with the car after 36 years to concentrate on the upkeep of the Cortina that he still retains today. 

It was sold with an extensive documented history, including the full purchase literature, handbooks, old MOT certificates and SORN documents. 

A full complement of spare keys were also included.

The Capri 2.8 Injection featured a 2.8-litre V6 petrol engine that was tuned by Ford Dunton's Special Vehicle Engineering division. 

It added a fuel injection system and an improved radiator to boost power to 158bhp.

The Capri when new could accelerate from zero to 60mph in eight seconds and had a claimed top speed of 131mph.

'Special' examples like this one were also fitted with half‑leather seats and included a limited slip differential, seven‑spoke RS wheels and colour‑coded grille and headlamp surrounds. The suspension was also upgraded. 

While the £71,000 paid is a huge sum to drop on the modest eighties Ford coupe, it isn't the highest for a Capri.

The record amount paid at auction was achieved in May when a one-of-a-kind 1972 Capri sold for world record £74,250.  Also a one-owner-from-new model, it was the prototype car for the hot RS3100 range.