Unique Ford Escort treasure

By: Unique Cars magazine

Date: 30.05.2019

Ford Escort values have skyrocketed in recent years, but this one-off 1:25 scale model, was tipped to set a new benchmark at auction.

Made of gold, diamonds and silver, creator Russell Lord is a professional jeweller, petrol head and Escort devotee, owning 55 full-sized versions over the years.

This labour of love began 25 years ago with Lord pouring thousands of hours into the dazzling model, based on the works rally car driven by Ari Vatanen in the late 1970s.

The body is made of silver and the car features gold brakes and spoiler, 18-carat gold wheels and bonnet hinges, 18-carat white gold front grille, 72-point diamond headlights, sapphire indicators and ruby rear brake lights.

Details include spinning pulleys on the front of the engine, a moving diamond-encrusted platinum gear stick and the glass windows – that involved smashing countless vases to find sections of glass with exactly the right curve.

"It’s been a hobby that I’ve come back to again and again but three years ago I determined to finish it. I know this car inside out – so there were no plans I just built it from the ground up piece by piece," said Lord, from Essex, in the UK.

The tiny Escort went to auction on May 14 at themarket.co.uk and closed at £38,000.00 with the reserve not met. All profits were set to be donated to charity.

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