Classics by Century is run by successful racing driver and Century Motorsport team owner Nathan Freke. Over the past 25 years, the Warwickshire based team has won many championships, starting out in karting, eventually moving up into UK and Worldwide GT series. During that time, a wealth of knowledge has been accumulated, aiding the team’s entry into the historic and classic car building, preparation and racing arena. Setting sights high as always, Century has started off with a challenging project – a recreation of a 1973 ETCC RS2600 Cologne Capri.

An original road-going Ford Capri RS2600 was sourced to recreate the FIA Group 2 Appendix K racer. Unlike a lot of replicas, this road car will give originality to the huge undertaking on our part, as we want the recreation to be as close to the original as possible.

An enormous amount of time has gone into the research, including sourcing vintage books and sifting through hundreds of pages of data to ensure that the vehicle will be built to the exact specifications of the historic touring car homologation for that period.

The selected car was in a good drivable condition and after some initial research, it was stripped down to a bare shell (see photo above) and was then acid dipped and etch primed. Rust and corroded areas were identified at this point and these areas were restored back to factory standard, with a lot of panels being made by hand and in house. Next, we started on the fabrication work. In-depth accuracy is required in order to get the car looking as it would have originally.

A huge amount of work has been carried out on the car so far – a roll cage has been fitted, modifications have been made to suspension and supports, coach work has been crafted in house (construction and fabrication of a complete body kit to homologated form and dimensions).

Apart from the roll cage, every bit of work on this car has been carried out in house, from the making of the inner rear arches, the building of the engine and the manufacturing of the body kit.

This unique and challenging project involved intense research, but we have made a great amount of progress and we are looking forward with excitement to see the finished project and to go racing once it is complete!

​We are currently seeking similar projects to bring our expertise to bear upon. Interested clients with historic / classic projects / vehicles who want a quality restoration or rebuild should contact us to discuss. We believe and have proven from our 25 years of race engineering and racing, that we are successful in all our endeavours because we care and provide a top quality service, with the will to win.