Escort RSs and Sierra Cosworths headline £1m Ford sale at Practical Classics show

If you ever needed proof that classic Fords have become proper collector cars, this might be it. More than 50 examples from across the Blue Oval’s back catalogue are heading to Iconic Auctioneers’ Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show sale at the NEC on 21–22 March. 

Together they’re estimated at over £1 million, and the line-up reads like a greatest hits album of Ford’s performance past and daily-driver heyday.

Leading the charge is a 1988 Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth, number 54 of the famous 500-car homologation run. With just under 36,000 miles on the clock and a thick history file that stretches back decades, it’s estimated at £80,000–£100,000. Not bad for a car that once spent its weekends dominating touring car grids and its weekdays ferrying bank robbers and ram raiders from one job to the next!

If that’s a little rich, there’s plenty more RS-badged temptation, with no fewer than 14 RS models featured in the catalogue. The list underlines just how desirable Ford’s performance division has become with collectors.

One of the most interesting is an early 1992 Ford Escort RS Cosworth finished in Mallard Green. It’s one of the original ‘Big Turbo’ homologation cars built to support Ford’s rally programme, complete with the dramatic whale-tail rear wing that made it instantly recognisable in the 1990s. The example here has spent nearly two decades with one owner and had a full engine rebuild in 2021. The estimate on the bonnet for that is between £60,000 and £70,000 – or a two-bedroom terraced house in Hull!

At the opposite end of the RS timeline sits a 2018 Ford Focus RS Heritage Edition. With just 71 miles from new, it’s effectively still in delivery condition. One of only 50 UK cars built to mark 50 years of Ford’s RS badge, the Tief Orange special is expected to fetch £80,000 to £90,000, and it sits as a reminder that even modern Fords are already entering the collector space.

But the sale isn’t just about headline performance cars, as some of the most interesting lots are the everyday models that have quietly become desirable.

Take the 1983 Ford Fiesta XR2, for example, which was once a common sight on British roads. Good ones are now hard to find, and the drivers who owned/crashed/sold their cars back in the day want to get them back. This largely original two-owner car with just 42,000 miles is estimated at £22,000 to £26,000. A decade ago, that would have seemed ambitious. Today it feels about right.

Even the humble stuff is getting attention. A 1994 Ford Fiesta 1.3 Finesse with just 888 miles from new, essentially a time-warp supermini, is expected to make £8,000 to £10,000.

Then there are the slightly more unusual pieces of Ford history. A restored 1968 Escort Mk1 1600GT, believed to have connections with Ford’s Aveley facility and possibly early RS development work, is tipped at £40,000 to £50,000, while a selection of Escort Mexicos and RS2000s reinforces the appeal of the blue oval’s rally-bred heritage.

Look down the full catalogue, and it’s clear how deep the Blue Oval’s appeal runs. Cortinas, Capris, Granadas and even a Transit minibus all make an appearance, alongside the performance icons.

If you grew up with Fords, this sale might be nostalgic. If you bought one years ago and kept it, it might also look like a very smart investment.

You can check out the full auction catalogue on the official website.