A HOT hatchback formerly owned by Jeremy Clarkson that he dubbed “one of my all-time favourite cars” has sold for an eye-watering price.
The car was actually given away in a Top Gear competition at one point, but returned to the small screen years later under the star’s ownership.
The 1992 Ford Escort RS Cosworth, affectionately known by petrol heads as a cossie, is a true icon of what many consider the golden age of the hot hatch.
Like many Fast Fords in its day, it was only put into production to qualify the model to enter the World Rally Championship between 1993 and 1998.
Under WRC rules, 2,500 identical examples of the car had to be produced for road use across the course of 12 consecutive months to allow a modified version to race.
Using the fifth-generation Escort as a base, the beloved motor was taken to a new level of performance by Ford’s favourite tuners, Cosworth.
It is rumoured that each one cost the two firms a whopping £250,000 to produce, which is equivalent to over £530,000 today.
Despite that, they were sold off at around £21,000 each and 7,145 were made after huge consumer demand for them prompted Ford to start a full production run.
This specific cossie is one of just three “pre-production” models and was snapped up by Clarkson in the early years of his TV career.
It would go on to be given away by Top Gear Magazine in a competition, but the presenter would get his hands on it once more for an episode of Clarkson’s Car Years.
During the show, Clarkson took the cossie on a trip through the Yorkshire Dales and remarked: “One of my all-time favourite roads meets one of my all-time favourite cars, the cossie.”
Nearly 25 years later, it went under the hammer at Iconic Auctioneers’ Silverstone auction on August 24.
The motor had undergone an extensive restoration under the bonnet, while leaving it’s Mallard Green bodywork in authentic shape.
Inside, it features a Raven Hide black leather interior, with some minor improvement work carried out, as well as an unmolested original dashboard, boasting analogue dials and the exclusive Cosworth badge.
Following a long bidding war, it was eventually sold for a whopping £67,500.
It comes after an urban explorer found the “holy grail of car graveyards” packed with rare motors worth thousands.
