A fast Ford Escort that Princess Diana used to drive sold at auction on Saturday for £737,000, just a few days before the 25th anniversary of her death.
The tiny car had only 24,961 miles (40,000 km) on it when it went up for auction at Silverstone Auctions in Warwickshire, England.
After a bidding war between people from Dubai, the US, and Britain, the one-of-a-kind model was sold to a buyer from Alderley Edge, a wealthy town in northern England where many Premier League stars live.
The price, which is about $866,000, comes at a time when interest in Diana’s life is still very high, even 25 years after she died. This is largely because of how popular “The Crown” Netflix show is.
The auctioneers said that there was “a superlative level of press and public interest” in the sale.
The car was sold for a starting offer of £10,000, since there was no set reserve price. It sold for £650,00, which includes the buyer’s premium.
The lot description says that Diana drove the black Ford Escort RS Turbo S1 with a blue stripe between 1985 and 1988 because she liked having her own car more than the big Rolls-Royces and Daimlers that the royal family had.
Auctioneers say that the unique Ford Escort is still the “most daring choice” of car that any member of the Royal Family has ever made.
The Auto Express website says that even though the Escort wasn’t a luxury car, it was one of the best-selling cars in the UK at the time, with more than 4.1 million sales.
In UK classified ads, you can buy similar cars with less interesting histories for about $10,000.
But Ford made this car to Diana’s specifications, and the auctioneers think it’s the only one of this model that’s painted black.
Diana was often seen driving by shops and restaurants in London. Prince William was also seen sitting in the back.
The car was modified with extras like a second rearview mirror and a radio in the glove box. A royal detective sat in the passenger seat while the princess drove.
The car had been owned by a collector of Fords before.
Prince Charles gave Diana a 1981 silver 1.6L Ghia saloon as a wedding gift. It was sold in London last year for £52,640, which included the buyer’s premium and sales tax.
The car was thought to have been bought by a museum in South America. It used to belong to a US museum.
Diana died in a car accident in Paris when she was 36 years old. Her death will be remembered on Wednesday, which is the anniversary of the accident.
