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From the Scotsman
Stevo
$5m price tag on late Pope's Ford Escort
FOR a 30-year-old Ford Escort, the seven-figure price-tag may seem a little steep. But, then, it does have only 60,000 miles on the clock run up by one careful owner: Pope John Paul II.
The car, worth a mere £600 or so were it not for its provenance, is up for sale in the United States, with auctioneers touting it as "the most extraordinary 1975 Ford Escort GL ever to be available to the public".
"It is nearly impossible to determine the value of this legendary Pope’s personal car," they enthuse, suggesting, however, that interested parties may like to think in the region of up to $5 million (£2.6 million).
The light blue Escort was bought by Jim Rich, an Illinois businessman, for $102,000 in 1996, after the Vatican put it up for sale to raise cash for good causes, allegedly disclosing to the auction house owner, Dean Kruse, that the Pope "loved to sneak out dressed in commoner clothes and take hikes and slip away in this car," during his more sprightly years.
Stevo
$5m price tag on late Pope's Ford Escort
FOR a 30-year-old Ford Escort, the seven-figure price-tag may seem a little steep. But, then, it does have only 60,000 miles on the clock run up by one careful owner: Pope John Paul II.
The car, worth a mere £600 or so were it not for its provenance, is up for sale in the United States, with auctioneers touting it as "the most extraordinary 1975 Ford Escort GL ever to be available to the public".
"It is nearly impossible to determine the value of this legendary Pope’s personal car," they enthuse, suggesting, however, that interested parties may like to think in the region of up to $5 million (£2.6 million).
The light blue Escort was bought by Jim Rich, an Illinois businessman, for $102,000 in 1996, after the Vatican put it up for sale to raise cash for good causes, allegedly disclosing to the auction house owner, Dean Kruse, that the Pope "loved to sneak out dressed in commoner clothes and take hikes and slip away in this car," during his more sprightly years.
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