Forget Rolls-Royce or Daimler - Princess Di's Ford Escort sells for £650,000 at auction
01 September 2022 While the Royal Mews provided a selection of Rolls-Royces and Daimlers, the late Diana, Princess of Wales far preferred to be at the wheel of her own car, albeit with a detective in the passenger seat, a member of The Royalty Protection Command SO14.
A 1985 Ford Escort RS Turbo S1 owned by Princess Diana - hammer price of £650,000 at Silverstone Auctions.
Princess Diana was a city girl at heart and nipping to the shops or meeting girlfriends for lunch, at the wheel of her own car was perhaps seen as a welcome break away from the police outriders flanking an armoured Rolls-Royce, and the attention it drew.
One of her unobtrusive, modest vehicles of choice was the 1985 Ford Escort RS Turbo S1 which was offered at specialist Silverstone Auctions on August 26 and, offered with no reserve, made a hammer price of £650,000 (£722,500 with buyer’s premium included).
A 1985 Ford Escort RS Turbo S1 owned by Princess Diana - hammer price of £650,000 at Silverstone Auctions.
It's said that the Ford Escort 1.6i Cabriolet in Red, that was to be Princess Diana's second Escort, was deemed to be unsuitable by SO14, as the manual canvas roof offered little privacy in a hurry and zero protection.
Encouraging the purchase of a stealthier car, Her Royal Highness was insistent on the new Escort Turbo RS, and the Ford PR department suggested making a black RS Turbo the first example of the then current range of all-white cars on sale. The car is believed to be unique as the first and only black RS Turbo Series 1.
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.
A 1985 Ford Escort RS Turbo S1 owned by Princess Diana - hammer price of £650,000 at Silverstone Auctions.
Registered on August 23, 1985, this RS Turbo Series 1 and its famous driver were to be extensively photographed outside the boutiques of Chelsea and the restaurants of Kensington over the next few years. One press photo shows Prince William sat in the back with his mother smiling at the wheel.
Following the car’s return to the Ford Motor Company in May 1988 with some 6800 miles on the odometer, it was sold internally to Geoff King, the manager of the company’s Government Sales department, for his wife’s use.
The car was later used as part of a promotional giveaway by Kiss FM in September 1993 and won by a Miss Jones of Essex with a then odometer reading of some 12,000 miles. In 2008, the car caught the eye of the custodian of one of the best Ford RS collections in the country who purchased it from the appropriately named Mr Windsor, who had owned the car since November 1, 1994.
Engagement present
A 1981 Ford Escort 1.6 Ghia believed to have been given by The Prince of Wales to his fiancée Diana as an engagement present in May 1981, two months before the Royal Wedding and used by the princess until August 1982 - hammer price of £47,000 at Reeman Dansie.
Last year Colchester auction house Reeman Dansie sold a 1981 Ford Escort 1.6 Ghia believed to have been given by The Prince of Wales to his fiancée as an engagement present in May 1981, two months before the Royal Wedding and used by the princess until August 1982.
It came complete with a silver frog mascot on the bonnet, a copy of a gift from Diana's sister, Lady Sarah Spencer, to remind her of the fairy tale of a beautiful girl whose kiss turns a frog into a Prince. princess Diana was regularly photographed driving this vehicle and even watched her husband play polo while sitting in it.
The car, with approximately 83,000 miles on the speedometer and carefully stored for a number of years by a lady owner who had possessed it for 20 years, sold for £47,000 (plus 12% buyer’s premium).
