The small turbo Escort Cosworth Lux this 1:43 Vanguards model represents, was produced at the Karmann factory, Germany, in early 1996. Only 200 were made in this fetching shade; the first 189 of which were produced in 1995, so this is one of the last 11 made after the Christmas break.

It was ordered as a dealer demonstrator by Dagenham Motors Limited, Wintersells Road, West Byfleet, Surrey, who specified a black leather interior and registered it for the road on 20th February 1996. They serviced it on 14th January 1997, just before selling it, at which point it had covered 505 miles, so they were obviously very selective about who they allowed to test drive it.

The car was serviced again in September 1997 after 9,000 miles, then sold to a new owner in August 1998. In 2010 the car was bought by its fourth owner, who kept it for 12 years and lightly modified it.

The current owner, Buckinghamshire-based enthusiast and RSOC member Grant Newell, bought the car from Hendy Performance in June 2022 when it had still only covered 43,000 miles. He had the underside dry ice-blasted, and the engine rebuilt and modified to produce 360bhp by Cambridgeshire-based Cosworth expert Harvey Gibbs. He also installed 6-pot AP Racing brakes with 362mm front discs.

This much-admired, still low-mileage car won Best Classic on the Oval Owners Facebook Group Stand at the 2023 RSOC National Day.

We’ve only made 1,200 of these limited-edition die-cast Ford Escort RS Cosworth models. Secure your classic fast-Ford die-cast model today!

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• Die-Cast Model