Allan Moffat's Cologne RS3100 - Australia's wildest V6 Capri

MarkOastler

08 March 2013

Allan Moffat’s RS 3100 Capri was the ultimate V6 Capri to compete in Australia. Despite having about half the engine capacity of the top V8 sports sedans, Moffat had numerous giant-killing wins in this remarkable car. (Image from: autopics.com.au)

Multiple Bathurst 1000 and ATCC winner Allan Moffat needs no introduction to Australian motor sport fans. And for a good chunk of his celebrated racing career, he clearly enjoyed an equally high profile within the Ford Motor Company on a global scale.

For it was only through his solid company connections that Moffat was able to get his hands on one of a mere handful of Mustang Boss 302 factory race cars when they were being built for the 1969 Trans-Am wars in the US and ship it back to Australia to race.

And in 1974 it was also through those channels - this time in Europe - that Moffat was able to secure one of the equally rare RS 3100 ‘Cologne’ Capri factory-built race cars fresh from battle with BMW in the 1974 European Touring Car Championship (ETCC).

Moffat was given direct access to the exotic Cosworth-powered racer straight after Ford had shut down its German-based competition department in Cologne at the end of the 1974 season, due to the global energy crisis that put the squeeze on many factory-backed racing programs.

He figured it would be just the right weapon to tackle Australia’s booming sports sedan category, which by 1975 was prompting race promoters in various states to offer big prize money and appearance fees to lure the best cars and drivers in the country.

Fortunately Moffat had ruled out radical modification of his ageing Trans-Am Mustang to keep pace with the latest sports sedans, preferring to gracefully retire such a rare jewel and tackle the top guns head on in 1975 with his new European weapon.