Henry Ford II’s Ford Escort RS2000 up for grabs

A MK2 Ford Escort RS2000, built for the personal use of Henry Ford II, is up for grabs with a guide price of £50,000 to £60,000.

It’s not long ago that fast Fords from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s headed for the scrapyard as you couldn’t give them away. But things have changed.

No longer consigned to the scrapyard, those fast Fords have become goldmines as those who were children when classic fast Fords were the stuff of dreams are now all grown-up and deep-pocketed and want to realise their youthful lusts.

We’ve seen truly bonkers sale prices recently with a 1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 selling for an incredible £596,250 last year and plenty of other Cosworths hitting six figures. We’ve even seen a MK2 Escort RS2000 sell for almost £100k.

All of this would make you think that a Ford Escort MK2 RS2000 with a unique provenance would smash the price paid for that RS2000 in 2017. But maybe not.

Iconic Auctioneers have a unique MK2 RS2000 crossing the block at their Silverstone auction, an RS2000 built for the personal use of Henry Ford II but only reckoned to sell for £50-60,000.

In the 1970s, having turned Ford back into a powerhouse, Henry Ford was spending a lot of time in the UK and wanted a daily driver to suit his needs. Something a bit special.

So Henry Ford tasked Walter Hayes – then President of Ford of Europe – and the result was this, an RS2000 in Roman Bronxe, de-badged to keep it under the radar and fitted with an auto-box because Ford preferred it, lush leather interior and deep-pile carpets

Off the radar for years – and restored to ‘Show standard’ in 2002 – the Roman Bronze Henry Ford RS2000 will cross the block on 24 August at 1pm.

Surely it’ll pass the pre-auction estimate?