By David Ellis.
A 1978 Ford Fiesta MkI that’s never been registered and has racked-up all of 141 miles (227km) in a 41-year lifetime, has just sold through online auction in the UK for 14,950 pounds – a believed world record for the model, and the equivalent of AU$27,338.
Said to be still “just like new” today, the time-warp little hatchback had gone brand-new to a London dealership which had not even got around to registering it, when the city’s Science Museum bought it all those years ago for its Glimpses of Medical History diorama, a showcase of technology the Museum was developing to help the elderly get into and out of a car more easily.
It remained at the Museum until earlier this year when the floor housing it was closed for refurbishment, and it was decided to put the hatchback up for sale at somewhere between 6,500 pounds sterling and 8,500 pounds – even the Museum somewhat bowled-over when it was knocked-down through online auction house H&H Classics for that amazing 14,950 pounds.
H&H Head of Sales, Damian Jones said the car’s remarkable condition when it went to auction was doubtless due to it having been displayed within The Science Museum for all those 41 years. “It is a highly original and authentic Fiesta – go see if you could find another like this one,” he said.
“It is perhaps the lowest mileage Ford Fiesta MKI in existence,” Mr Jones added, with the 227km on its speedo in over four decades unlikely to be challenged in a hurry.
STILL “just like new,” this time-warp little 1978 Ford Fiesta MkI has just sold through online auction in the UK for 14,950 pounds (the equivalent of AU$27,338) after 41 years on display at London’s Science Museum, and with a meagre 227km on its speedo over all that time.
