Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Edition

Global Global

Carlos Sainz’s historic Ford Escort WRC expected to fetch £350,000 at auction

The 1997 Ford Escort WRC that Carlos Sainz Sr drove to second place at the Monte Carlo Rally is up for auction

REC15554-2_8.jpg.jfif

The 1997 Ford Escort WRC that carried Carlos Sainz Sr to victory at the Acropolis Rally of Greece, now set to be auctioned at Silverstone

The 1997 Ford Escort WRC that drove Carlos Sainz Sr to second at the Monte Carlo Rally is going under the hammer at Silverstone by Iconic Auctioneers later this month.

The car, chassis #4, was driven by Sainz and Juha Kankkunen after being constructed in 1996 by Ford Motorsport at Boreham. In 1998 it underwent a number of changes as M-Sport gave it their latest chassis and rollcage specifications while keeping the original shell intact. Gordon Vincent of RV Fabrications, one of the people behind these changes, personally confirmed this to the auction company.

1997 saw the car driven by Sainz with co-driver Luis Moya at the Monte Carlo Rally. Finishing in second place, it was later driven by the likes of Kankkunen, Armin Schwarz and Jarmo Kytölehto where it scored a number of podium finishes throughout the season.

The Spaniard claimed M-Sport’s maiden WRC win at the Acropolis Rally Greece driving the sister car, P8 FMC, with Kankkunen finishing second 17 seconds behind. This came after Subaru’s Colin McRae suffered from a broken steering column while the then-world champion Tommi Mäkinen crashed. He would later finish third. 

Malcolm Wilson, team owner at the time, was overwhelmed by the success. 

1997 Ford Escort WRC driven by Carlos Sainz and Luis Moya goes up for auction

1997 Ford Escort WRC driven by Carlos Sainz and Luis Moya goes up for auction

Photo by: Iconic Auctioneers

“I’m totally delighted for the team and everybody. When people know what effort had gone in to get this team this far, it is tremendous amount of satisfaction. There is a lot of emotion now," he said. 

From 1999, the Escort was campaigned by Ford Turkey before it was sold to David Robinson who raced it through to 2015 within the UK. The current owner has enjoyed the car just as much, enjoying the likes of Goodwood Festival of Speed and SpeedWeek where Stig Blomqvist sat behind the wheel. 

Yes - it hasn't exactly been babied. But the car received a like-for-like engine rebuild in 2020 which the auctioneer describes as "comprehensive and costly", and since then, has travelled very little. In fact, it has only seen two Goodwood appearances. Despite this, it's "ready for competition". 

It is eligible for historic rallying and even features its original factory Repsol livery. 

Expected to fetch up to £350,000, it will go up for auction at The Wing, Silverstone Circuit on Friday 22 August at 2pm BST.

In this article
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time news email updates on these topics
Previous article Lewis Hamilton reveals second Dior capsule collection with nods to South Africa and ‘Afrofuturism’

Top Comments

Recommended for you

Denny Hamlin fires back after Mamba Smith's Daytona prank in viral X social media exchange

Denny Hamlin fires back after Mamba Smith's Daytona prank in viral X social media exchange

NASCAR Cup
Daytona II
Denny Hamlin fires back after Mamba Smith's Daytona prank in viral X social media exchange
Ryan Blaney responds to Alex Bowman's promise of "seven million beers" with counter-offer

Ryan Blaney responds to Alex Bowman's promise of "seven million beers" with counter-offer

NASCAR Cup
Daytona II
Ryan Blaney responds to Alex Bowman's promise of "seven million beers" with counter-offer
Leigh Diffey confronts criticism after Daytona regular season finale

Leigh Diffey confronts criticism after Daytona regular season finale

NASCAR Cup
Daytona II
Leigh Diffey confronts criticism after Daytona regular season finale
Alexander Rossi thrilled for ECR’s Milwaukee success after “missed opportunities”

Alexander Rossi thrilled for ECR’s Milwaukee success after “missed opportunities”

IndyCar
Milwaukee
Alexander Rossi thrilled for ECR’s Milwaukee success after “missed opportunities”
Denny Hamlin says Bubba Wallace at fault for pileup crash: "Not clear"

Denny Hamlin says Bubba Wallace at fault for pileup crash: "Not clear"

NASCAR Cup
Daytona II
Denny Hamlin says Bubba Wallace at fault for pileup crash: "Not clear"
Christian Rasmussen steals maiden IndyCar win after late weather caution

Christian Rasmussen steals maiden IndyCar win after late weather caution

IndyCar
Milwaukee
Christian Rasmussen steals maiden IndyCar win after late weather caution
Winners and losers from an unbelievable NASCAR Cup finish at Daytona

Winners and losers from an unbelievable NASCAR Cup finish at Daytona

NASCAR Cup
Daytona II
Winners and losers from an unbelievable NASCAR Cup finish at Daytona
Pedro Acosta owns up to qualifying “mess”, admits need to “cool down”

Pedro Acosta owns up to qualifying “mess”, admits need to “cool down”

MotoGP
Hungarian GP
Pedro Acosta owns up to qualifying “mess”, admits need to “cool down”

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Edition

Global Global
Filters