https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/1985-ford-escort-rs-turbo-

All blokes of a certain age have a soft spot for these but would you consider paying this kind of money?

crazy money, even with the low miles.

less than 6k on the clock and completely original. I guess if you have the money and need it for your collection…

Kept in that condition it’s not going to go down in value, so arguably much less silly than spending the same dough on a brand new car.

well, yes apart from you wouldn’t be able to use it as a daily driver

..and it’s still a Ford Escort!

Guy pulled into the local tip in one on weds with a trailer attached.
On a B reg too.

I drove one of those when it was new. It torque steered, span it’s wheels and was reluctant to go in the direction steered. Horrible then, horrible now. The Renault 5 GT turbo on the other hand… .

I’m guessing it’s benefiting from the collectability of other fast Fords. Then again, there does seem to be a degree of obfuscation between old and classic when it comes to cars these days. Irrefutable evidence of this would be old Nova 1.2’s going for 2,3,4,5 thousand…. 🙄

If I had that kind of money to spend on a garage queen/investment I’d be looking at a Ferrari 355 or 308, or 550 Maranello or 612 Scaglietti’s which absolutely will go up in value seemingly with no ceiling.

Actually I think this defines “silly money”.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/lionel-messi-to-manchester-city-barcelona-800000-a-week-premier-league-pep-guardiola-a6750936.html

That’s madness. With fees the buyer has paid close to £70k

@kenneth I am not sure you are right about never going down, it’s not a quality marque is it ?

I had an XR3i from that era.
It remains the biggest POS I’ve ever owned.
Truly crap.
Had a 2.8i Capri, that was nice, but Ford were truly shit for build & reliability back then.
VW were way better. I’d probably pay that for a Mk1 1.8 or “big bumper” Golf GTi.

Amazing price for what was a mediocre Ford…

had that kind of money to spend on a garage queen/investment I’d be looking at a Ferrari 355 or 308, or 550 Maranello or 612 Scaglietti’s which absolutely will go up in value seemingly with no ceiling.

The buyer probably already has ’em.

Anyone else getting an untrusted connection warning from the original link?

kenneththecurtain – Member
Kept in that condition it’s not going to go down in value, so arguably much less silly than spending the same dough on a brand new car.

Unless the buyer has simply gotten caught up in ‘the bubble’ and paid wildly over the odds for a very average vehicle. There’s a huge difference between a car rare with this mileage and in this condition and a true classic.

having said that it was an auction so what do I know. This is what happens when cars become investments. 🙄

Edukator
I drove one of those when it was new. It torque steered, span it’s wheels and was reluctant to go in the direction steered. Horrible then, horrible now. The Renault 5 GT turbo on the other hand… .

Spot on & the 5 Maxi Turbo a friend had was just bonkers fast

Yes I know the 5 Turbo is a completely different animal from the 5 GT but both were a hoot

Based on how much folk pay for +100k miles Transporters, never surprised by most things.

Kept in that condition it’s not going to go down in value,

It will only appreciate if demand for mediocre 80s Ford exceeds supply – which isn’t a sure thing as there can’t be that many rich fans of crap 80s cars…..

TBH who ever brought it probably doesn’t need or will not miss the £60k so each to there own…there are people on the breadline that’s mouth would hit the floor if they knew the like of STW members were dropping £3k plus on multiple push bikes!

The Renault 5 GT turbo on the other hand

…..fell apart quicker than it drove.

E30 M3 – £70,000 anyone?

USP – it’s not a ford escort.

Sadly, the number plate isn’t included.

White Escort RS have and always will be a bit naff. I assume the sun shade with Kevin & Tracey on it will be added shortly.

From the same auction, for less, you could have had this

https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/1973-porsche-911-t-targa-24

I know which I’d have.

I prefer this one

I sold my concours condition S2 sub 40k miles tweaked to about 180bhp a few years ago for £4k chavvy perhaps but it was flawless.

^^ TBH, that’s nice for £4k.

Sierra Cossie for me though, in grey 🙂

I got another concours RS after the S2 a sub 40k Fiesta. Sad but true:) if I count the money I spent on daft cars I could have a nice Mk 11 RS1800 by now 🙂

All blokes of a certain age have a soft spot for these but would you consider paying this kind of money?

No I don’t and no I wouldn’t – you could get something really classy for that amount of money…

For a car it’s silly money and unjustifiable – but these things are bought as investments. It’s not going to be driven (probably) and will just sit in a garage and sold on for a profit at some point in the future. It’ll probably make more money for the investor than any ISA around at the moment. If you’re the sort of person with £60k burning a hole in your pocket looking to invest are you going to stick it in an ISA or buy an appreciating car with it?

Also some people just enjoy owning something and not necessarily using it. A guy at work buys expensive cars (new ones) and just doesn’t drive them. He’ll buy a car, only clock up a few hundred miles a hear in it and sell it on a couple of years later. He gets his wife to drive him around. Weird. I couldn’t resist the temptation to drive something like this -it wouldn’t remain in as good condition for long. Things like the torque steer I would quite enjoy – modern cars or even cars of similar vintage might have been better – but sometimes better = boring.

Clearly you’re one of those with a soft spot – mediocre is being quite generous

Though as others have pointed out, how it drives appears to be completely irrelevant as it’s not going to be driven.

Nope, I wouldn’t buy them when they couldn’t give them away in the 90’s, so I certainly wouldn’t spend RS6 money on one.

It’s not even a ‘car’ anymore is it, it’s an ornament you can’t really drive it because most of its value is that it’s not been driven much – madness.

I drove one of those when it was new. It torque steered, span it’s wheels and was reluctant to go in the direction steered. Horrible then, horrible now. The Renault 5 GT turbo on the other hand… .

A mate who I worked part-time with had one, had no end of problems with the bloody thing too; front disks were replaced several times because they kept warping, front shocks replaced several times, other niggling issues…
Coming back from a hifi trade show in London one night, four-up, we were ‘pressing-on’ through Savernake Forest, where there’s a bit of a dip in the road at one point, car bottomed out at 70, there was a hell of a bang, and a huge shower of sparks that lit up a car going in the opposite direction like a flashgun, we could clearly see the open-mouthed expression of shock on their faces!
Subsequent close investigation showed it was the bottom of the fuel pump that hit the Tarmac, the deep gouges in it gave the game away… 😯

😯

At least you lived to tell the tale

I thought the RS may belong to this guy but his had a different reg.

Would still prefer a 2.8 Brooklands Capri , sideways smiles

831 miles from new? Can somebody please explain the point to me?

That RS was a bargain

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111829198629

Gordini’s make rocking horse shit look common though.

🙁 – I always think of those R5s as having been really pretty. Thanks for ruining EVERYTHING !!

Like it or not, consider it mediocre if you want, but there is no denying that the Mk1 RS Turbo is an icon in that it represented the “golden era” of the hot hatch. If that is your thing that an unmolested example is the pinnacle. With 99.9% of them chipped and body kitted into oblivion you aren’t just going to find another. I wouldn’t spend £5k on it personally but I can see why somebody might go mad for it.
When I think of the bikes I liked in the 90s they all look like horrible gates now. The RST still looks alright.