Fast Fords have always been sought-after when it comes to drivers getting their kicks behind the wheel, but these days they’re as likely to prove hot property for financial reasons, with car enthusiasts willing to pay significant sums of money for a slice of Blue Oval nostalgia. Only last month, a low-mileage Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 sold for a record £592,250 – three times the top estimate and over five times the ‘concours’ Hagerty Price Guide value of £115,000.
Which got us thinking; where does the Sierra sit on the list of the most expensive Fords sold at auction this decade? We’re focusing on UK auction houses and websites, but you might be surprised to discover that the RS500 isn’t the most expensive Ford.
The results are presented in ascending order and based on auction houses tracked by Hagerty.
Ford GT
Sale price: £264,500
Date: 2022
Auction: Bonhams
Given its price when new, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to find a good number of GTs in this top 10 list of the most expensive Fords. It’s nearly two decades since the reborn GT supercar was unveiled to the world during a commercial break at Super Bowl XXXVIII. Its 5.4-litre supercharged V8 produced 550bhp and 500lb ft of torque, with Ford quoting figures of 3.8 seconds and 205mph for fans of the Top Trumps card game.
‘GT06 EWH’ was one of only 101 GTs produced for the European market and was ordered through Ford of France for Monaco resident and F1 technical delegate, Gabriel Cadringher. Although delivered new in Switzerland, the car was first registered in the UK in February 2012 and, at the time of the auction, it had covered just 12,700 miles from new.
Ford GT
Sale price: £265,500
Year: 2023
Auction: Silverstone Auctions
Although just 28 cars were officially imported in the UK, this country’s lust for fast Fords has pushed that number well into three figures. Hardly surprising when you consider the GT’s thunderous performance and relatively inexpensive (for a supercar) running costs. Evo magazine named it Car of the Year in 2005, nudging the Ferrari F430 into second place.
‘RX55 ZWK’ went under the hammer alongside the headline-grabbing Sierra, so you might have missed its £265,500 sale price. It was imported into the UK in 2005 by Roush (Mountune), before being treated to a Tubi exhaust system, updated throttle bodies and an uprated pulley. As a result, it now offers around 600bhp.
Ford GT
Sale price: £278,000
Year: 2021
Auction: Collecting Cars
It may have been a homage to the Le Mans-winning legend, but someone at Ford forgot to trademark the GT40 name; it was actually snapped up by a builder of replica GT40s in 1985. Having failed to secure the rights, Ford was forced to use the GT name.
This example was delivered new to Germany before being imported into the UK by supercar dealer Joe Macari in 2015. The BBS alloys were an option when the car was new in 2005, but the rear bumper delete and X-pipe exhaust system are more recent upgrades. At the time of the sale in 2021, the car had covered just 4085 miles.
Ford RS200
Sale price: £292,500
Year: 2022
Auction: Silverstone Auctions
As you’ll know if you’ve read Antony Ingram’s story, the Ford Escort RS1700T was a victim of the rapid changes in rallying regulations. Its demise led to the creation of the RS200, as Ford switched its focus to a new rally car that could satisfy Group B regulations. With styling by Ghia, the RS200 featured a development of the engine found in the RS1700T, producing anything from 250bhp to 500bhp.
Just 144 of the planned 200 cars were built before Group B was banned, 90 of which being the 250bhp road cars. This example was supplied new to the managing director of Auto Windscreens, who boosted the power to 300bhp and treated it to an array of upgrades. Having been exported to Japan, the RS200 arrived back in the UK in 2022.
Ford RS200 S
Sale price: £315,000
Year: 2023
Auction: Silverstone Auctions
Although the road car’s engine produced 250bhp as standard, an additional 100bhp was available via a ‘rally kit’ upgrade. This increased the top speed from 140mph to a reported 180mph, and included a red shift lever for selection of two- or four-wheel drive. Just 20 of these ‘S’ cars were built.
Another car from the Race Retro sale in 2023, this example was first delivered to a dealer in West Germany and is believed to be number 16 of the original 20 rally-spec road cars. Although it arrived in the UK in 2015, the owner never registered here, and it had covered just 1200 miles at the time of the auction.
Ford GT
Sale price: £332,500
Year: 2022
Auction: The Market
The Ford GT buyer’s guide on the Hagerty US website outlines the production figures for the car’s two years of sales. In 2005, a total of 2027 Ford GTs were built, followed by 2011 in 2026. Of these, just 101 were built to European specification, but Ford could have sold significantly more on this side of the Atlantic.
With demand outstripping supply, one enterprising dealer in Spain secured six cars in three different colours and had them converted to 101 EU specification by Roush. The dealer squirrelled them away until 2014, when a Ford GT specialist bought four of them. This 2006 example was one of these cars, but despite having just 43 miles on the clock, the car failed to hit its £345,000 to £400,000 pre-auction estimate.
Ford GT40
Sale price: £338,000
Year: 2020
Auction: Silverstone Auctions
As the sale price suggests, this isn’t the real deal; you’d need to add an extra zero to the figure to be in the right ballpark for an authentic Ford GT40. It was built by the late Terry Drury, an engineer with Ford who was involved with the creation of the GT40 and raced two original cars (1005/1073) in period.
Having collected a huge stash of GT40 spare parts, he created a homage to his former race cars, remanufacturing spare parts to the original specification if they couldn’t be sourced worldwide.
Ford Focus WRC
Sale price: £423,300
Year: 2022
Auction: Silverstone Auctions
For fans of rallying, ‘Y4 FMC’ needs no introduction. Built for the 2001 WRC season, the Focus carried Colin McRae and Nicky Grist to three consecutive victories in Argentina, Cyprus and Greece, setting up a battle royale with fellow Brit Richard Burns. Both drivers were in with a chance of victory going into the final race of the season in Wales.
McRae held a slender single-point lead and looked destined to secure the title when he misjudged a corner, sending the car into a spectacular series of rolls, earning him an unwelcome slot on that evening’s television news. The car was rebuilt and used again in several rounds of the 2002 championship.
Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500
Sale price: £596,250
Year: 2023
Auction: Silverstone Auctions
More than two decades later, this Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 was creating headlines of a different kind, when it sold for a record £592,250 at auction. This raised more than a few eyebrows, even in an age of inflated pre-auction estimates and crazy sale prices.
Hagerty UK Head of Valuations, John Mayhead, said: “A few other Sierras have been estimated at values near £200,000 before, but they have almost all failed to sell at auction, and they have, without exception, been racing cars with significant British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) history. Both bidders were unusually determined, and willing to spend much more than the car would be likely to return should it be sold again tomorrow.”
Ford Escort RS Turbo S1
Sale price: £722,500
Year: 2022
Auction: Silverstone Auctions
Amazing, the RS500 isn’t the most expensive Ford sold at a UK auction this decade. The combination of a connection with one of the most famous women in the world and a rare fast Ford created a perfect storm, which is why the hammer fell at nearly three quarters of a million pounds – significantly more than the typical value of a Mk1 Escort RS Turbo in concours condition.
Following huge interest in the car, Silverstone Auctions said it received its largest number of telephone bids in 12 years. We weren’t entirely surprised, as the Hagerty Power List had revealed that a Princess Diana connection delivers an average 813 per cent increase over a standard car without a link to her. It also helped that her Escort was the only RS Turbo S1 finished in black.
Read more
Market Watch: Blue-collar to blue-chip for Sierra RS500
Book Review: Great Cars, Ford GT40 1075
The Ford GT succeeded after 7 failures to exploit the GT40 legend | Revelations with Jason Cammisa
16/3 23, Does the Mark 1 Ford Puma 1.7 have future potential Values ? Few survive after 2 decades or so since production.
They’re great cars, Peter, created at a time when Ford of Europe was at the top of its game in certain respects. As the supply becomes fewer – whether Pumas are lost to age and wear and tear, or rust – then these delightful little coupes will only become more sought-after, in turn impacting on their values. Where that value may lie is difficult to predict with any certainty, so our advice is always enjoy the car and enjoy the drive. James Mills, Editor.
Princess Diana Escort was almost three quarters of a million