Princess Diana died at the age of 36 after a car accident in Paris.
London:
A sporty Ford Escort that was once Princess Diana’s nuptials sold at auction for £737,000 on Saturday, just days before the 25th anniversary of her death.
The modest car, clocking in at only 24,961 miles (40,000 km), went under the hammer at the Silverstone auction in Warwickshire in central England.
Bidders from Dubai, the United States and Britain waged a heated bidding war for a one-of-a-kind model, resulting in a sale to a buyer in Alderly’s Edge, an upmarket village in northern England that was home to several Premier League footballers. Is. ,
The equivalent sale price of about $866,000 comes as interest in Diana’s life is enormous, inspired by the success of the Netflix series “The Crown” a quarter century after her death.
Auctioneers said the sale attracted “the highest amount of global press and publicity interest”.
The car was sold without a reserve price, with bids starting at £100,000. It sold at a buyer’s premium of over £650,000.
According to the lot description, the black Ford Escort RS Turbo S1 with a blue stripe was driven by Diana between 1985 and 1988, as she preferred to have her own car rather than the royal family’s plush Rolls-Royce and Daimler.
Auctioneers said the unique Ford Escort remains “the most daring choice” of a car by any member of the royal family.
According to the Auto Express website, the Escort was not a luxury vehicle, but one of the UK’s best-selling cars, with total sales of over 4.1 million.
Similar cars of lesser-known origins can be found in classified ads in the UK for around £10,000.
However, the car was built by Ford to the specifications of the Dyna and is believed to be the only black-painted version of this model, according to auctioneers.
Diana was often photographed at the wheel visiting shops and restaurants in London. Prince William was also photographed sitting in the back.
The Princess drove the car with a royal spy in the passenger’s seat and it was customized with features such as a second rear view mirror and a radio in the glove box.
The vehicle was previously owned by a collector of Ford cars.
Last year another Ford Escort, formerly owned by Diana, a 1981 silver 1.6L Ghia saloon that was Prince Charles’ engagement, sold in London for £52,640 including sales tax and buyer’s premium.
The buyer of the car was called a museum in South America. It was previously owned by an American museum.
Saturday’s sale comes ahead of the Wednesday anniversary of Diana’s death at 36 after a car accident in Paris.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)