What made Princess Diana’s one-off Escort RS Turbo so special?

Can a Ford Escort possibly be worth £722,500 (including auction fees)? When it’s a unique RS Turbo previously owned by the late Diana, Princess of Wales, it surely can.

The record price was achieved by Silverstone Auctions, which sold the hot hatchback in 2022. A spokesman said: “Parallels could be drawn with the RS Turbo’s reputation as the People’s Sports Car and the honorific of ‘People’s Princess’ bestowed by the British public on Princess Diana”. A little tenuous, perhaps, but he had a point.

Driven personally by Diana, and the last Ford Escort she owned before moving onto more exotic (mostly German) cars, the RS Turbo represents a remarkable piece of motoring history. So what sets it apart?

By royal appointment

Diana had previously owned an Escort Cabriolet, but the SO14 police officers in charge of protecting her requested a stealthier and less vulnerable vehicle. 

As a Ford Escort fan, Her Royal Highness insisted on the flagship RS Turbo, with Ford’s PR department suggesting it be painted black. All the other 8,603 examples of the Series 1 RS Turbo were Diamond White, making this car instantly unique.

Other changes included a normal five-slat Escort front grille (rather than the three-slat item usually reserved for the RS Turbo), plus an additional rear-view mirror for the protection officer. A police radio was fitted in the glove box, with the cables for this still present today. The standard big-bolstered Recaro seats scarcely look worn either.

One of a kind

The Escort was used extensively by Princess Diana, and frequently photographed outside boutique shops in Kensington and Chelsea. Her young sons, William and Harry, often rode in the back seats. It was returned to Ford in 1988, with a new number plate then assigned. 

Sold internally by Ford, the Escort was subsequently given away in a promotion by radio station Kiss FM. It later entered the hands of a Ford RS collector, who has preserved the car in remarkable condition. 

DVLA documents show the Escort now wears its original number plate again, while an extensive history file documented just 24,961 miles at the time of the auction. It was sold with Ford Motor Company internal memos, newspaper clippings and photographs of Diana using the car.

Painting it black

The Escort was sold alongside several other special vehicles, including a Mercedes-Benz 230 SL formerly owned by Sir Stirling Moss. 

Its celebrity status certainly helped in this case, but desirable fast Fords often achieve high prices at auction. Last year, a low-mileage 1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 sold for an astonishing £596,250 at the Silverstone Auctions Race Retro sale. 

Photo of Diana, Princess of Wales, by Brendan Beirne/Shutterstock

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