came from 950 CC, 1100 CC, and 1300 CC petrol engines. Later there was also a 2000 cc unit which came in the RS2000 performance version and was capable of . It quickly became popular with buyers, outselling key UK competitors from BMC (later British Leyland), Vauxhall (Opel in Germany) and the Rootes Group. The Escort would never achieve such dominance in Europe's largest auto market, but nevertheless took significant market share from the Opel and Volkswagen competitors of the time. Ford Europe's second new car launch was the Capri sporting coupé at the beginning of 1969. Loosely based on Ford UK's rear-wheel drive Mk II Cortina saloon platform, it came with engines ranging from 1300 cc to 3000 cc and was made in Britain and Germany (with a different range of German V4 and V6 engines) and was an instant success, frequently featuring as one of Britain's top 10 best-selling cars and also doing well in most other European markets. August 1970 saw the launch of the British Ford Cortina Mk III and its German cousin, the Taunus (replacing the Taunus 12M & 15M). The British and German models were based on the same platform, but had different sheet metal and used engines from their home countries, though both models could be had with the new German-built 2000cc OHC petrol engine. By 1972, the Cortina was the best-selling car in Britain and would stay at the top spot until 1981, except for 1976 when the smaller Escort was Britain's top-selling car for that year. In March 1972, Ford Europe replaced their executive models from Britain (Zephyr/Zodiac) and Germany (17M/20M/26M) with the Consul and Granada (large saloon, estate and coupé) which was aimed directly at the Opel Rekord, Rover P6, Audi 100 and Triumph 2000. It quickly outsold its rivals in many countries and in 1973 was the tenth best-selling car in Britain. Like the Capri and Cortina/Taunus models, the early Consuls and Granadas were built in both Britain and Germany, each with a unique range of national engines. In the early 1970s, Ford took the decision to enter the growing European supermini market and began to develop a competitor for the well-received new Fiat 127 and Renault 5. A site near Valencia, Spain, was chosen to build a new factory in order to accommodate production for the new car which was scheduled for a mid-1970s launch. 1974–1980: MK 2