Ford Capri 2.8 injection vs Renault Fuego Turbo vs Lancia HPE Volumex: a question of aspiration

By Simon Hucknall

| 21 Mar 2023

Classic & Sports Car – Ford Capri 2.8 Injection vs Renault Fuego Turbo vs Lancia HPE Volumex: a question of aspiration

The word ‘turbo’ epitomised the thrusting, go-getting ’80s better than almost any other.

Whether it was the Fabergé turbo cologne that ‘delivers’, Turbosound’s ear-ripping speaker systems or Judas Priest’s epic rock anthem Turbo Lover (‘You won’t hear me, but you’ll feel me…’), the descriptor of an engine’s exhaust-gas-powered forced-induction device had been serially hijacked by those wanting to, literally, boost their image, sales or impact.

In the UK’s mainstream car world 40 years ago, though, turbocharging was still in its relative infancy.

The Ford Capri starts to feel its age through the corners

Setting aside BMW’s brief flirtation with its 2002 turbo, Saab had been first off the block with its 99 turbo of 1978, but the technology was by no means fully resolved and had yet to become the default answer to drawing extra performance from a cooking engine.

In 1983, if you were in the market for a rakish, sporting four-seat coupé for less than £10,000, the trio you see here from Renault, Lancia and Ford each offered markedly different powertrain solutions.

There was turbocharging, as well as supercharging and atmospheric power, the latter with simply more cubic inches and cylinders added.

This classic Ford’s dashboard is simple but neatly arranged

And it was Ford that chose that route for its Capri. ‘The car you always promised yourself’ had popularised mass-market coupés since it was launched in 1969.

Its shape, penned by Philip Thomas Clark, a designer for Ford’s special projects division, belied the utter conventionality of its underpinnings, and gave buyers the sense that they’d look at home in Cannes, even if they seldom travelled further than Canvey Island.

For those who craved more go with the show, Ford’s Essex 3-litre V6 had been the range-topping engine through the model’s first two iterations, but by the time the Mk3 Capri appeared in 1978, tightening emissions had started to sound its death knell.

This very original 1984 Special Capri has half-leather Recaro seats

Ford of Europe’s cleaner Cologne V6 replaced the British engine in 2792cc form and, at a stroke, the 3.0S (so beloved of The Professionals fans) and the 3.0 Ghia were replaced by the 160bhp 2.8 injection in 1981.

You may wonder why, when the UK was facing an onslaught of highly sophisticated hot-hatch offerings at the time, there was still a business case for a rear-wheel-drive car with a live axle suspended by cart springs, and powered by an aged V6 motor using a single central camshaft and pushrod-operated overhead valves.

But Britain had a unique affinity with the Capri.

This well-maintained Capri feels taut and is the most comfortable of our trio

Its combination of decent build quality – all 2.8is were produced in Germany at Ford’s Cologne plant – strong performance (0-60mph in 8.2 secs and 133mph according to Motor) and traditional handling qualities endeared it to enthusiast buyers.

So much so that from 1984 until production ended in 1986, the Capri 2.8 injection was built only in right-hand drive for this market.

With a 1227cc deficit in engine capacity and two fewer cylinders versus the Capri, Renault’s Fuego Turbo was a perfect illustration of a manufacturer mixing the improved fuel economy and emissions of a smaller engine with the performance of a big one.

A fuel-injected Cologne V6 powers the Ford Capri 2.8 injection

The range-topping Fuego took the 1565cc, overhead-valve A5L derivative of the Renault’s Cléon-Alu engine family, and added a Garrett TO3 turbocharger mated to a small intercooler to give an output of 132bhp at 5500rpm and 148lb ft of torque.

Mounted longitudinally, the unit delivered drive to the front axle via a five-speed manual ’box. In essence, it was a similar set-up to that of the Renault 18 Turbo, which had already been around for three years, but with a lower compression ratio of 8:1 to allow up to 11psi of boost pressure.

All Fuegos shared the R18’s platform (with R20/30 influence at the front), but even the Turbo’s suspension was unchanged from lesser models.

Dressed in ’80s garb, this was the classic Ford Capri’s final form

Visually, though, there was no doubting that this was the daddy of all Fuegos.

Robert Opron’s sleek, avant-garde design had already won plaudits for its aerodynamic efficiency (it was the first mass-market four-door sports coupé to be wind-tunnel-tested).

To underscore the Turbo’s potency, on went a smart set of BBS alloys, a deep chin spoiler inset with yellow-lensed foglights and a pair of blatant ‘TURBO’ graphics along its lower flanks.

Neutral handling makes the Lancia HPE Volumex a hoot to drive

You’d have to look closely at the Lancia to spot any suggestion of enhanced performance.

Its elegant, in-house-drawn, quasi-estate looks (penned by Piero Castagnero, designer of the Fulvia, and on the team for the Beta saloon and Coupé) give little away, save some discreet ‘VX’ badging, front and rear spoilers and a subtle offset bonnet bulge.

The second-oldest design of our trio, the regular HPE arrived in March 1975 and was based on the longer, 8ft 4in wheelbase of the Beta Berlina.

Inside, this classic Lancia has a long-armed and short-legged driving position

Known simply as HPE (for High Performance Estate, then latterly Executive) from 1979, the Volumex was introduced in 1983, with a crankshaft-driven supercharger raising the standard Fiat-derived, Lancia-modified 2-litre, fuel-injected twin-cam engine’s output from 122bhp to 135bhp, but more significantly its torque from 129lb ft to 152lb ft.

Lancia’s rationale for going down the supercharger route was sound: doing away with a turbo’s inherent lag, the HPE’s light and compact compressor absorbed less energy than a typical air-conditioning unit, yet its greater flexibility at all engine speeds enabled higher gears to be used (via a different final-drive ratio), giving improved fuel consumption as well as bolstering performance versus the atmospheric version.

Fiat influence is clear in the colourful dials and angular lines inside this Lancia

To the standard HPE’s arrangement of MacPherson struts all round, rack-and-pinion steering and a clever set-up at the rear that used the anti-roll bar for fore-aft location alongside twin transverse links, only stiffer springs were added for the VX.

We’re about to find out exactly how effective that set-up is, as we approach Jai Sharma’s immaculate and painstakingly restored 1984 model.

Of the three cars parked outside the Luton Hoo Country Club, the Lancia is the least showy and possesses the most cultured lines, with only its deep black front spoiler threatening any aggression.

The Lancia HPE Volumex makes the most of its long wheelbase with a spacious interior

Inside, the Fiat influence is clear in the design of the colourful Veglia Borletti instruments, framed by the wide, angular control panel next to the (aftermarket) stereo and pleasingly effective heater controls and air vents.

But out on the road, this isn’t the car I thought it would be. The driving position is long-armed and short-legged, conforming to stereotype, but not markedly so.

You immediately notice the ultra-sharp throttle response, giving the HPE a pleasing eagerness from the off. The power steering is quite weighty at lower speeds, but as your pace builds, while not entirely linear in the first half-turn of lock, it does reward with the kind of crisp, detailed feedback you’d expect from a front-driver.

Quick responses and great feedback make the Lancia just as entertaining today

The HPE always feels fast, too: as revs rise (it redlines at 6200rpm) there’s no accompanying scream from the supercharger, which you’d perhaps expect were it an aftermarket installation, but from 1500rpm you can dive deep into that well of torque on tap.

It makes overtaking a cinch and reduces the need for constant gearchanges on twisty roads (a boon, because the shift is probably in need of some realignment, post-restoration).

It also means that forays toward the redline aren’t always needed, avoiding the engine’s coarseness above 5000rpm.

A supercharger sits ahead of the Lancia HPE Volumex’s twin-cam engine

I’m not sure that Lancia ever took into account our uniquely poor road surfaces (only 186 right-hookers made it here out of the 2370 produced), but today the HPE feels over-sprung and under-damped on fast, undulating roads, with an abrupt secondary ride, while having insufficient body control over larger-frequency vertical movements as you gather speed.

The saving grace, though, is its balance, which offers a surprisingly playful rear bias through corners, despite the longish wheelbase.

Viewed next to the HPE, Michael Thurston’s Capri really does look like a warmed-over design from the 1960s, though in a quite endearing way.

The over-sprung Lancia struggles on broken British roads

This smart and very original 1984 car is a Special, so wears seven-spoke RS alloys (as opposed to the Wolfrace-made ‘pepperpot’ items) and is equipped with a limited-slip differential plus, inside, half-leather trim.

Drop into the supportive and low-set Recaro driver’s seat and, for me at least, the ergonomic stars align.

A near-vertical, relatively small and chunky three-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel faces you, behind which six instruments – two main, four supplementary – are set into a large slab of a binnacle, the design of which changed little through the Capri’s three generations.

The Renault Fuego Turbo is swift if slightly soft transport

By the simple expedient of replacing the suspension bushes, Thurston’s car feels taut and well screwed together, with not a squeak or rattle to be heard.

Out on the road, the Capri has the least wind noise and the most forgiving ride. But take to the twisties, and the contrasts with the Lancia (and, as it will turn out, the Renault) are felt straight away through the steering wheel.

Where the front-wheel-drive cars provide bite and precision, the Capri’s steering, while nicely weighted and linear, betrays its old-school, rear-drive roots with a vagueness that’s exacerbated further through poorly surfaced bends by the rear suspension’s relative lack of control.

The Renault has a well-equipped cabin

The brakes, too, demand a concerted shove from high speeds for meaningful action, although they’re always progressive and pedal spacing is comfortable for heel-and-toeing.

And then there’s that V6 engine: despite producing 25bhp more than the Lancia’s blown twin-cam, it needs to be worked hard beyond 4000rpm to locate those extra horses, though I’d imagine many drivers would willingly trade its mellifluous exhaust note for the lack of low-down urgency.

Which brings us back to turbocharging and the Renault. Whatever your thoughts are about the Fuego’s styling, it’s demonstrably the most modern-looking car here, with Mark Powling’s 1985 example more akin to a ’90s coupé than one launched in 1980.

There’s only a faint whistle from the Renault’s turbo, which comes in above 3000rpm

It was also the world’s first car to have remote central locking.

Invented by Frenchman Paul Lipschutz (hence being known as the ‘PLIP’ system), the device still works today – though you have to be next to the car for it to function.

Once ensconced in the squishy embrace of the Renault’s contoured driver’s seat, you’re presented with a well-laid-out fascia, a dished four-spoke steering wheel and, of all things, a multi-function trip computer screen set into the centre stack; heady stuff back in ’85.

A Garrett turbocharger meets a Solex carburettor in the Fuego

Move away, though, and that low compression ratio equates to tepid acceleration until the engine is well into its stride at more than 3000rpm, after which performance is brisk, if never breathtaking.

In fourth gear, from 30-50mph, Motor recorded a time of 7.7 secs for the Fuego Turbo, versus 8.5 for the Ford and 6.4 for the Lancia, and this still feels about right today.

Strangely, you only hear a faint whistle from the turbo at urban speeds, but, again, this all speaks of a system designed to be refined and efficient, rather than to set your trousers on fire.

The turbocharged Renault was ahead of the game

That said, the Renault handles competently and has the strongest brakes of the three (discs all round, vented up front), even though its pillowy ride and lack of body control even beside the HPE seem at odds with its assertive aesthetic.

The fact that today almost all mainstream cars use some form of turbocharging proves that Renault backed the winning horse four decades ago, with both supercharging and multi-cylinder atmo engines falling foul of increasingly punitive emission regulations.

But of our three, it’s the cars powered by these near-obsolete technologies that are the most engaging today, and while the surprisingly urbane Capri is perhaps the best resolved overall, only the supercharged Lancia will have you grinning like a madman.

Images: Max Edleston

Thanks to: Luton Hoo Hotel

Aston adds fire to the Ford Capri

Among other modifications, Aston Martin Tickford bolted a turbocharger to the 2.8 injection’s standard engine to create the 205bhp Tickford Capri

While the 2.8 injection’s engine remained atmospheric until production stopped in 1986, Aston Martin Tickford – AM’s special projects wing – had other ideas.

In 1982, it took a standard Capri 2.8 injection and added an IHI turbocharger and a Garrett intercooler, boosting power and torque to 205bhp and 260lb ft respectively.

Designer Simon Saunders (of Aerial Atom fame) created a radical, aero-efficient bodykit, and Tickford trimmed the cabin in a sumptuous mix of walnut and leather.

Alas, at £14,985 – twice the price of the regular 2.8i – sales never took off, and only 85 are thought to have been built.

Factfiles

Ford Capri 2.8 injection

Sold/number built 1981-’86/91,349 (all Capri Mk3s)
Construction steel unitary
Engine all-iron, ohv 2792cc V6, Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection
Max power 158bhp @ 5600rpm
Max torque 157lb ft @ 4000rpm
Transmission five-speed manual, RWD
Suspension: front independent, by MacPherson struts rear live axle, leaf springs, radius rods, telescopic dampers; anti-roll bar f/r
Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
Brakes discs front, drums rear, with servo
Length 14ft 4½in (4380mm)
Width 5ft 7in (1700mm)
Height 4ft 4in (1320mm)
Wheelbase 7ft 2½in (2197mm)
Weight 2576lb (1168kg)
0-60mph 8.2 secs
Top speed 133mph
Mpg 22.5
Price new £8125 (1983)
Price now £11-25,000*

Renault Fuego Turbo

Sold/number built 1983-’86/265,367 (all Fuegos)
Construction steel unitary
Engine all-alloy, sohc 1565cc ‘four’, Solex carburettor and Garrett TO3 turbocharger
Max power 132bhp @ 5500rpm
Max torque 148lb ft @ 3000rpm
Transmission five-speed manual, FWD
Suspension independent, at front by MacPherson struts, lower lateral link rear wishbones, trailing arms, coil springs, telescopic dampers; anti-roll bar f/r
Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
Brakes discs, with servo
Length 14ft 4in (4368mm)
Width 5ft 6½in (1692mm)
Height 5ft 8in (1727mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 2in (2489mm)
Weight 2381lb (920kg)
0-60mph 8.4 secs
Top speed 121mph
Mpg 24.6
Price new £8700 (1983)
Price now £4-10,000*

Lancia HPE Volumex

Sold/number built 1983-‘84/2370
Construction steel unitary
Engine iron-block, alloy-head, dohc 1995cc ‘four’, twin-choke Weber carburettor and Roots-type supercharger
Max power 135bhp @ 5500rpm
Max torque 152lb ft @ 3000rpm
Transmission five-speed manual, FWD
Suspension independent, by MacPherson struts, anti-roll bar f/r
Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
Brakes discs, with servo
Length 14ft 7in (4285mm)
Width 5ft 5in (1650mm)
Height 4ft 3½in (1310mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 4in (2540mm)
Weight 2486lb (1128kg)
0-60mph 9.2 secs
Top speed 122mph
Mpg 22
Price new £8500 (1983)
Price now £10-20,000*