1983 Mercury Capri Black Magic Edition

In our windup to Halloween, we’re featuring some spooky conveyances that fit right into the spirit of things.

First up is the 1983 Mercury Capri Black Magic, a special edition that featured all black paint with gold pinstripes, fifteen inch gold-colored aluminum wheels, gold badges and black seats with gold cloth inserts…none of which were actual gold but there was also an upgraded suspension. Is that compensation or is that just excessive bling-bling? Only you can decide.

The Black Magic was initially offered in 1981 and 1982. 1983 was the final year, special because it had a compound curved rear window, which is referred to as being a bubbleback. This design feature was shared with the rest of the line and was not unique to the Black Magic but that doesn’t take away the coolness value of it.

At heart, this was the second generation of the Fox-based car and just like the nearly identical Mustang it could be had with a variety of engines. First up was the naturally aspirated four cylinder that sported 90 horsepower and 122 foot-pounds of torque for $8,629 (MSRP). You could have a turbocharged version of that motor, which pumped out 142 horsepower and 172 foot-pounds of torque for $8,629 (MSRP). A 92 horsepower V6 could be had for just $309 more than the naturally aspirated four-cylinder. That may not seem like any improvement over the naturally aspirated engine but the difference of 34 foot-pounds of torque was somewhat noticeable during driving, plus the engine was smoother and better sounding. Top of the range was the 175hp, 245 foot-pounds of torque V8, which added $866 to the price of the V6.

An interesting side note is that it was apparently mandatory that you ordered an automatic with the V6. There were no V6s with a manual transmission. I don't know if the t-tops were mandatory or an option.

Weight for the four cylinder model was just under 2,600 pounds, the V6 added just over 100 pounds to that total and a V8 Black Magic weighed around 2,900 pounds. The turbo didn’t really save you many pounds over the V8. For comparison, similar Mustang models weighed about the same.

Performance ranged from 0-60 in 14.3 seconds and a top speed of 103 mph for a four-cylinder automatic all the way down to a 0-60 in 7.5 and 130 mph top speed for the V8 with a 5-speed. I've been unable to find out what the specs are for a turbo Black Magic but surely they are very similar to the 1984 Mustang SVO, which could go 0-60 in 7.5 seconds and had a top speed of 134 mph. So, quite similar to the V8 performance-wise but by all accounts even more money.

Exact production breakdown by engine and options is unknown at this time but only 469 Black Magic Edition Mercury Capris were produced in 1983. The only rarer Capri in that year was the RS Turbo, with only 381 produced.

Don’t cross this cat; it’s truly Black Magic!