Time capsule Ford Escort RS Cosworth sells for £91,000: The 21-year-old boy racer with just 837 miles on the clock
- Car believed to be the lowest mileage of all the Ford Escort RS Cosworths built between 1992 and 1996
- It fetched £91,125 in the room at the the Silverstone Auctions NEC Classic Motor Show Sale
- Covering an average of 40 miles a year since it was built, it still has the original tyres and spikes on the rubber
A Ford Escort RS Cosworth dubbed a 'time capsule' car after covering just 837 miles since 1996 has sold for £91,125 at auction.
The rally-influenced Escort RS Cosworth was considered the king of the boy racers in its day and was famous for both its huge wing and immense power.
Now the Escort Cosworth is considered a fully-fledged modern classic car and the two previous owners' decision to forgo driving this one and wrap it in cotton wool instead has been celebrated with the astonishing price fetched at Silverstone Auctions' NEC Classic Motor Show sale.
Timewarp treasure trove: This 1996 Ford Escort RS Cosworth is like new - that's because it has covered less than 1,000 miles in 21 years
The 1996 Ford Escort RS Cosworth had been described by auctioneers as a unique opportunity for a classic car collector.
It said: 'This is without doubt one of the finest Fords Silverstone Auctions has ever offered and this car presents a unique opportunity for an astute buyer to complete the 'full set'. Form an orderly queue here, please.'
We highlighted the incredibly low mileage Escort Cosworth and its £85,000 to £95,000 estimate just over a week ago.
There were just 7,145 examples of the cars built between 1992 and 1996 and many were heavily used, modified and driven hard.
While it might have looked like any normal Escort of the generation - albeit one with a body kit and huge rear wing - the Cosworth was an entirely different beast.
Instead of being based on the family-friendly model it shared its name with, the Escort Cosworth was underpinned by a shortened version of the Sierra RS Cosworth and used the same 2.0-litre turbocharged engine producing a then mind-bending 227bhp that sent this version to 60mph in 6.1 seconds.
This is one of the latter cars to come off the assembly line in February 1996, and is the higher-spec Lux model, featuring upgrades that include Recaro seats, electric windows and mirrors, central locking, a heated rear windscreen and a sunroof.
The Lux was slightly pricier too, retailing at around £1,000 more expensive than the £21,380 standard car just over 20 years ago.
The 90s boy-racer favourite looks like it has been kept in a time capsule since it first came off the production line - even the tyres are original and still have rubber spikes showing their lack of use
Under the bonnet is an incredibly clean 2.0-litre turbocharged engine that produces 227bhp
The Recaro leather seats are barely sat in and that mass of dials and buttons on the dashboard have barely been touched
It was originally supplied by Dees Ford of Croydon in Diamond White with a Raven Black leather interior - the stereotypical Essex Boy's specification. But that's not what makes it so valuable today.
Locked away and barely used, it has covered an average of just under 40 miles each year. Even the original Pirellis it came with are there - and the spikes you get on a fresh set of rubber remain today.
Silverstone Auctions sold the car for £91,125 - that's four times what it was worth new
The auctioneer's description details the 'like-new' condition, saying: 'Open the driver's door and the waft of new car smell still remains, whilst the Recaro seats are in A1 condition and barely look like they've been sat in, which they haven't much.'
To guarantee that the car runs as smoothly as it did when it left the factory 21 years ago, it was fully serviced by a Ford main dealer, with new cambelts and given a new MOT prior to the auction.
The other Fords to sell for staggering fees at the Silverstone Auctions event
A 'showroom fresh' 1980 Mk2 Ford Escort RS2000 in timewarp condition and just 900 miles on the clock sold for a record £97,875.
The only road-going Ford to better it was the 1988 Sierra Cosworth RS500 This is Money featured last month.
It became the second example this year to break into six figures at Silverstone Auctions fetching £112,500 this time, just shy of the previous record set by the auctioneer in July for £114,750 - a British record.
Also making big bucks was a showroom stored 2011 Focus RS with just 18 miles on the clock.
It would have cost around £31,000 new six years ago, but its incredible unused condition meant it had appreciated by more than £10,000 in that time, selling for £43,875.
A 900 mile 1980 Ford Escort Mk2 RS2000 (left) sold for a record £97.875 at the same auction. The 1988 Sierra RS Cosworth (right) was the second car of its type to break £110,000 this year
The Ford Focus RS (left) has covered just 18 miles from new. It sold for a massive £43,875 at the auction. Mike Brewer's XR3i (right) - sold to raise money for charity - reached £22,500
Speaking following the event, Nick Whale, managing director of Silverstone Auctions, said: 'The success of these cars proved once again that exceptional cars sell for exceptional prices.
'These Fords were unique, had fantastic histories and provenance, and really were the finest examples of their respective marques and models. The Mk2 Escort in particular was a simply unrepeatable car – just nothing else like it!'
Wheeler Dealers television stars Mike Brewer and Ant Anstead took over the podium at the start of the two-day sale and raised £50,000 for their charity lots during a raucous auction of their #ClassicRumble entries.
A total of £3.6 million changed hands during the auction with 67 per cent of the lots on offer finding new owners.
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