Princess Diana’s iconic Ford Escort RS Turbo Series 1 is set to be auctioned off Aug. 27.
The Escort has a five-speed manual transmission, a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine with a 130 horsepower rating, bucket seats, and a standard Escort grille. It is also believed by Silverstone Auctions to be the only model of its kind painted black. Most were known for their white coloring.
“The Special Vehicle Engineering department was tasked to paint the car and fitted a regular five-slat front grille to assist in the stealth makeover and a secondary rear view mirror for the protection officer with a radio in the glove box, the cable for which is still visible today,” its auction lot reads.
HITLER’S WATCH AUCTIONED OFF FOR WELL BELOW ASKING PRICE
Diana only kept the car from 1985-1988, ultimately returning it to Ford with about 6,800 miles on the odometer. Kiss FM held a contest for the car in September 1993 and it was won by a Jones of Essex with an odometer reading of about 12,000 miles. From there, a person named Windsor owned the car from Nov. 1, 1994, until he sold it to one of the best Ford RS collections in the country in 2008. The current mileage is 24,961.
The standing record for a 1985 Escort RS Turbo sale was $130,000 in 2015. It was a standard white model with a 5,568 mileage.
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The Ford Escort Ghia Prince Charles gifted to Diana in 1981 was sold for $56,993 last year. The auction house expects this latest lot to go for over $120,000.
