- A car that used to be driven by Diana, Princess of Wales, has sold for £650,000 ($763,716).
- The black Ford Escort RS Turbo was sold at Silverstone Auctions on August 27.
A modest car once owned by Diana, Princess of Wales, has sold for £650,000 ($763,716) at auction.
The black Ford Escort RS Turbo, driven by the late mother of Prince Harry and Prince William from August 23, 1985, to May 1, 1988, was sold at Silverstone Auctions on August 27.
According to the auction site, Diana would not allow anyone to drive her Ford Escort and instead opted to have her guards sit by her in the passenger seat.
Not only does the history make the vehicle unique, but the car is believed to be the only black RS Turbo Series 1 produced, instead of the only-white manufactured model, Silverstone Auctions said.
For the protection of the princess, the car has been fitted out with a police radio in the glove box and a secondary rear-view mirror for the use of a royal protection officer.
Arwel Richards, the classic car specialist at Silverstone Auctions, said that "The car exceeded all expectations," adding that "The selling price of £650,000 plus 12.5% buyer's premium shows that a unique Ford can sell for supercar money," The Guardian reports.
The auction house website explains that the car was a very modest choice for the daughter-in-law of the Queen, saying "perhaps parallels could be drawn with the RS Turbo's reputation as the People's Sports Car and the honorific of People's Princess bestowed by the British public on Princess Diana."
Indeed, the keenly-priced Escort RS brought driving performance to the masses. The model owned by Princess Diana accelerated from 0-60 mph in 8.7 seconds, with a maximum speed of 128 mph.
Following Princess Diana's use of the car, it was sold for £2,638 ($3,100) to a manager at Ford Motor Company for his wife's use. Thirty-seven years after the iconic princess drove it, the Escort still only had 24,961 miles on the clock.
Princess Diana died on August 31, 1997, in a car crash in Paris. Her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, and her driver, Henri Paul, were also killed in the accident.