Ford has produced 5,000 Escort RS Turbo cars for Great Britain, but this specific example was custom-ordered by the late Princess Diana in 1985 and has a couple of unique features. It will go on sale in late August, and the starting price has not been announced yet.
The black exterior is perhaps the most striking visual difference, as the first generation of the RS Turbo was all finished in white. Some suggest that this was done to disguise the car in the traffic, a theory reinforced by the fact that it also has the standard Escort grille instead of RS Turbo.
The rest of the modifications are largely security-focused and include a radio station and an extra mirror installed at the front passenger’s seat where Diana’s guard usually sat.
The vehicle was returned to the manufacturer in 1988 and resold multiple times since then. It landed in a private collection of Ford sports cars 14 years ago and is now heading to the auction from that collection with a touch over 40,000 kilometers (25,000 miles) on its clock.
Powering the classic hatchback is a 1.6-liter turbo engine rated at 130 PS (128 hp / 96 kW) and capable of taking it from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) in around eight seconds.
