New 2024 Ford Capri: electric crossover spotted for the first time

Importantly, he said, Ford’s redeploying of historic names does not herald the advent of nostalgic styling cues: “Retro designs aren’t moving us forward. It’s always about totally new interpretation: that’s what makes it interesting.”

What happened when we had a go at resurrecting the legend? Back by popular demand: reinventing the Ford Capri

The Explorer, for example, is an entirely different proposition from its much larger US-market namesake but, highlighted Leenarts, has been designed with the same focus on active customers and functionality. “It’s not a surprise that that is the first car in our Adventurous Spirit range,” he said.

He did not offer any hints as to which other Ford names are up for revival, nor did he indicate what qualifies an old badge for a comeback, but he revels in “the tension between something that’s got the equity of an older name and the new interpretation”.

It’s a topic that will have been debated hotly in Ford’s customer focus groups over the past few years, since the firm reused the names Puma for a crossover and Mustang for an electric family SUV.

Ultimately, thinks Leenarts, “the public loves that we’re bringing nameplates to new territories”, because they tap into a “unique perspective that nobody else has”.

While the names may be familiar, though, the designs really won’t be. As the first of a new breed of Fords conceived under the Adventurous Spirit banner, the Explorer sets the tone for every bespoke EV that will follow it over the coming years. Direct references to previous Ford models are few and far between, both inside and out.

Likewise, the new-generation Capri will (as hinted in preview images) be a higher-riding proposition, and will gain a pair of extra doors in line with its family crossover billing. Specifications will no doubt be broadly identical to the Explorer, which offers up to 335bhp and a maximum range of more than 300 miles. 

Leenarts explained that the onset of electrification provided an opportunity to cater to evolving customer requirements with what’s arguably the biggest shift in Ford design since the New Edge ethos of the late 1990s: “We started researching first: how do customers look at us? I felt personally that we were looking too positively on our own brand; we needed a health check on where we really were. And that’s whywe did work with the customers.

“What was really hurting me was them saying we were boring. And that was the part I got really engaged in. I said: ‘Okay, we have to come up with unique proposals: car designs that are clearly differentiated, that offer a unique perspective that nobody else has.’”