1990 Ford Escort XR3i Cabriolet *Sold £9,100*

Description

• A stunning original example
• Just 36,000 miles
• Collectors Dream
• Only 3 previous owners, two Ford dealerships

Where does one even begin to describe the Ford Escort? As British as a Cream Tea and as synonymous with the UK’s motoring history as the Mini. It was a universal success story from start to finish and production figures from every generation of Escort ran into numbers that were the envy of all other motor manufacturers.

There can’t be many people out there that have not had their lives touched in some way by a Ford Escort.  Our vendor certainly was and has found himself with one too many in his collection so is regrettably letting this stunning “collectors condition” example of the MK4 cabriolet go.  With an extremely interesting history that explains its originality and VERY low mileage you will get a picture of how special this open top XR3i really is.

Our vendor has shared that this XR3i Cabriolet started life on the Isle of Man back in 1990. It was actually owned by Ocean Ford, who are still trading today, as a hire/demo car and as such was used sparingly across the relatively small land mass that the Island holds. After a few months it was transferred to Peter Clark Autos Skipton Ford Main dealers in Skipton which was all part of the same group. It was used as a demo with the dealer principles secretary having the pleasure of using it personally whenever the need arose.  The perks of the job hey! The car comes with the original Peter Clark Auto Key Ring

It was then purchased by the last previous owner who for some unknown reason kept it garaged for longish periods only showing it daylight now and again. This goes someway to explain why the mileage was and still is so meagre.

Our vendor purchased it 13 years ago with the mileage at 23,000.  Now sitting at 36k miles, averaging close to 1000 miles a year in his stewardship you can understand why it is such a stand out example, in fact the last 6 MOTs show just 2000 miles added to the odometer.  This being another reason our vendor has decided to let someone else have the pleasure of owning this XR3i.  Being such an original car, we fully expect that a collector will snap this up.

The XR3i Cabriolet will be supplied with the relevant V5, both keys including the original torch key, remarkably the torch light still works, and all the MOT’s and history from the current ownership.

This genuine open top four-seater is a real retro Ford gem that really will be a challenge to replicate the originality and condition, OK you may be able to find one that has been restored to an inch of its life but like we have stated, try and find one in this spectacular condition that is truly original.  We wish you luck.

Exterior

The original version stood out thanks to its eye-catching ‘cloverleaf’ alloy wheels and large black spoilers front and rear.  The facelifted car we have here gained smoother lines, black stripes and a more luxurious interior.  This exceptional example is probably the pinnacle of originality, the bodywork is unbelievably original without the usual rust and with literally no damage or scuffs anywhere.  Our vendor states that when he purchased the car thirteen years ago, he knew he had bought a stonkingly good example, OK it had been sat for a while so the paintwork had gone pink but that was nothing a good professional polish and wax treatment could not sort, admittedly the mirrors and bumpers were repainted, have you ever tried to polish plastics back to their original colour?  The vendor shared that the Bodyshop that was commissioned to repaint the plastics did such a great job of bringing the bodywork back to its original shade that even they were surprised to see how well it came up.

The only thing that they could find of note was a two-millimetre area that is unseen behind the fuel cap that had the slightest of surface rust, probably caused from a previous careless fill up, it was suggested that it should be left as is so as not to affect the originality of the bodywork, although it was dabbed with the relevant rust treatment pen, either way it is unseen with the cap in place.

Our vendor also took the decision to have the roof material professionally replaced and thirteen years later you would be hard pushed to find any issues with that, whether it be up or down.  As you can see from the images the car will be supplied with the rear seat wind breaker in place, not original but can be removed should you choose to.  Our vendor has shared that the underside is also in fantastic condition as in some point in its life, presumably when it was at Ocean Ford it was treated with some sort of waxoil or underseal, either way it did its job fantastically well leaving the 32 year old car with no welding whatsoever.

We genuinely cannot state enough how such an original car can be in such a great condition, labelling this XR3i as a “collectors condition” example is truly an understatement.

Interior

The interior is beautifully clean and in very good order.  The seat facings are fully intact with no rips or sunlight damage and the rear sets are pristine.  The Recaro seats hug you in all the right places and are a joy to be seated in.  The door pads are in perfectly clean condition with only the usual wear in the drivers side arm rest, if it wasn’t for that they would be described as perfect.  Remarkably the dashboard which almost always go brittle and crack in the sunlight has benefitted from being in the previous owners’ garage so long and is in perfect condition, a massive bonus in our opinion as you would be hard pushed to find a replacement, and the originality would be affected to boot.  Our vendor states that everything works as it should with all the switches operating correctly, he even went on to say that the original radio still operates the electric aerial as it should.   A wonderful example of these open top classics.

Engine

Fitted with the EFI (Electronically Fuel Injected) 1.6 CVH engine, 108bhp in a car weighing just 980kg and that unmistakable XR3i rasp through the stainless steel exhaust fitment, makes this car a real smile on your face experience.  As you will undoubtedly notice from the images the engine bay is spotless with all the original fitments still in place and none of the usual rust around the battery tray, in fact there is none to be seen anywhere under the bonnet.  A true testament to the cleanliness, originality and low mileage that this wonderful example has.  The 5-speed transmission is light, precise and effortless with no issues or strange noises whatsoever.  All in all, a remarkably taut and smooth drive from a fantastic example that is going to be hard to replicate.

Wheels Tyres Suspension and other

Standard fitment on 90 spec XR3i Cabriolet wheels were the 6 x 14 in Lattice alloy wheels which are in pristine condition due to a recent refurbishment.  Matching premium and original fitment Pirelli P6000 185/40 R15 tyres show ample tread and the spare wheel, still in place within the boot recess, looks unused.  Another nod to the unbelievable originality of the spectacular example.  The brake drums and disks, including shoes and pads, were replaced with OEM parts and work perfectly, as you would expect, there are no knocks, rattles or squeaks present with the XR3i driving true and correct.

We’ve been advised that the car has just had a new tinted green heated windscreen fitted by Pilkington Auto glass as the original windscreen had a small crack in it and had started to de-laminate at the bottom.  A tinted green heated windscreen was originally fitted . Our vendor also shared that, at purchase and to the tune of nearly £1000, a full stainless steel exhaust was fitted, predominantly due to the original exhaust losing all the integrity of the baffle material, either way it does nothing to detract from such an honest car.

Our view

If you are a stickler for originality then you have found the perfect example of the wonderful XR3i Cabriolet, with so many of the tin tops being ragged, crashed or enhanced it has become extremely hard to find good examples, with this XR3i benefitting from that open top experience and having none of the above afflictions we expect it will be snapped up quickly by a collector.

Would it be a shame for it to be bought by a collector, who are we to answer that question? Whether it does end up in a collection with very little use is the buyers prerogative, all we know is that very rarely does such an original car in near perfect condition come to market, especially in this “90s Hot Hatch” sector of the classic car market.

A true collectors retro Ford open top classic that is not to missed..

Vehicle Location: Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 – it’s the responsibility of the winning bidder to make collection / transportation arrangements directly with the vendor.

Have a question about this XR3i Cabriolet? Please contact the Evoke team at auction@evoke-classics.com and we will speak to the vendor on your behalf.

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