You can own one of Colin McRae’s cars

This is a rare opportunity

Always spectacular and a huge favourite with fans for his hard-charging style, Colin McRae’s fame went far beyond the stages of the rallying world. Whatever car he was driving, it would be flat-out.

Now you have the opportunity to own some of his most-loved cars: a Chrysler Sunbeam Ti, two Subarus and the last car Colin McRae competed in – a Mk2 Ford Escort.

All four classic cars are being sold by Silverstone Auctions on 25-26 August 2023 at The Classic Sale at the Silverstone Festival.

Join us as we find out more about them.

Where it started

This Chrysler Sunbeam Ti was the first rally car bought and prepared by Colin McRae.

He got a taste for rallying in a borrowed Hillman Avenger in 1985 and sold his autocross Mini to fund this Sunbeam.

The car was ready in time to compete in the Galloway Hills Rally at the end of 1985, though this ended with a crash into a tree.

Over the winter, the car was repaired and a new engine fitted in preparation for the following season.

A successful first season

The Snowman Rally was the first event in the 1986 Scottish Rally Championship and saw Colin McRae and his Sunbeam finish a very creditable 27th out of 68 finishers.

McRae’s co-driver was Ian Grindrod in this first event, and he went on to enter a further seven rallies with Nick Jack reading the maps.

Colin and his Sunbeam Ti finished 18th in the championship and he was awarded the Jaggy Bunnet Flying Brick for ‘hardest trier’ that year – something that he became famous for.

Return to original form

At the turn of the millennium, Colin McRae decided to rebuild his Sunbeam Ti to the exact specification it was when he first rallied it.

Barry Lochhead, who built the car originally with Colin, was charged with restoring and rebuilding the car.

A new bodyshell was needed, but every detail of the car from 1985 has been replicated and the car retains its Group A identity from when Colin competed in the Scottish Rally Championship.

Period perfect

Colin McRae’s insistence the Sunbeam Ti was restored to original specification extended right down to using period equipment for the seats, belts and fire extinguisher.

This means the car is not prepared to use in historic rallies in its current condition, but it has been checked by Ian Gwynne of BGM Sport and pronounced fit.

A model car

The fame of this particular Sunbeam Ti extends beyond being the first rally car owned by Colin McRae.

It was also used by Corgi as part of its Colin McRae Tribute Collection.

As well as the Corgi model, the Sunbeam Ti was turned into a scale slot car by Scalextric-Passion.

A firm favourite

The Chrysler Sunbeam Ti always had a special place in Colin McRae’s affections as the first rally car he bought, worked on and competed in.

The car where his legendary reputation began is being offered direct from the McRae family with an estimate of £80-100,000 at the Silverstone Auctions sale this August.

A new Subaru

After winning the British Rally Championship in 1991, Colin McRae and co-driver Derek Ringer were given a brand new Subaru Legacy RS for the 1992 season.

Built to full International Group A specification, this car came with 350bhp and a Prodrive-designed six-speed gearbox.

A clean sweep

Colin McRae, Derek Ringer and their Subaru Legacy RS dominated the 1992 British Rally Championship with six wins out of six rallies.

This was the first time anyone had won the championship with a clean sweep.

Even though McRae only needed to finish second in the final rally of the season, he made a charge on the last stage to beat Tommi Mäkinen by 2 secs to take victory.

Attention to detail

This Subaru Legacy RS was restored in the early 2000s to how it was when McRae rallied it in 1992.

It has seen very little use since it was restored and is presented in its original livery – all the details are period correct.

The car is not ready to be used in competition, because safety items such as the seatbelts and fire extinguishers are right for the 1992 specification, not current regulations.

However, that has little bearing on the auction estimate of £380-450,000 for this piece of Colin McRae history.

A unique Impreza

Colin McRae was at the peak of his career in 1998 when Subaru gifted him one of three prototype 22B STi road cars.

Built to mark Subaru’s 40th anniversary and a third-in-a-row World Rally Championship, only 399 customer 22Bs were made.

However, Subaru created three others with 000/400 plaques for Colin McRae, his co-driver Nicky Grist and Prodrive team Technical Director David Lapworth.

As close to a rally car as possible

Subaru made its 22B STi to be as close to a production version of its World Rally Championship car as possible.

Its two-door shell made it stiffer than the four-door model, while an 80mm wider front and rear track improved handling.

The ‘B’ in the name denoted Bilstein suspension, while the ‘22’ referred to the 2.2-litre flat-four engine with a claimed 276bhp. However, it’s widely reckoned the motor easily produced more than 300bhp.

“Gets you into bother”

Colin McRae cited the Subaru 22B STi as one of his favourite road cars, even if he also admitted its character could “get you into bother”.

Although it was assumed Subaru had gifted the car to McRae, he said he had to buy his, which “hurt as a Scotsman”.

Still, the £40,000 the car cost new is dwarfed by its auction estimate now, which is £400-500,000.

As good as it gets

Colin McRae’s Subaru Impreza 22B STi was sold in 2008 to its second owner, who is now putting it on the market for the first time since then.

The 22B is in full Japanese domestic specification, which means a 4.444 final drive for even quicker acceleration than the 16 UK-supplied customer cars.

It has covered under 12,000km (7500 miles) from new and even comes with its original tyres.

The ultimate Ford Escort Mk2

Inspired by his dad Jimmy McRae’s rally career, Colin wanted to build the ultimate Mk2 Ford Escort.

He said: “The Mk2 is the rally car of all time. When my father started rallying, these were the type of rear-wheel-drive cars that were at the top level of the sport.

“I remember watching in the forests and they always sounded the best and looked the most spectacular – sideways. Ever since then, they have stuck in my mind.”

A long time in the making

Colin McRae’s quest to create the ultimate Ford Escort Mk2 rally car started in 2002. He commissioned Dave Plant of DJM to build it.

The development of the car took two years to bring it to the point where Colin was satisfied.

It became the final rally car of his career and one he enjoyed on many events with his long-time co-driver Nicky Grist.

Revised rear suspension

Part of Colin McRae’s brief to build his ultimate Escort Mk2 rally car was to use independent rear suspension in place of the car’s original live rear axle.

This led to the car being fitted with a semi-spaceframe rear end to locate the differential and offer the ultra-long wheel travel needed for a gravel rally car.

The design was completed with Group A Ford Escort Cosworth uprights.

Full power

Colin McRae was never going to be happy with any old Ford Pinto engine in his Escort Mk2 ‘toy’.

What he got was a 330bhp Millington Diamond engine with fuel injection and a 16-valve cylinder head.

Mounted as low and far back in the engine bay as possible, this potent motor drives through a bespoke sequential manual gearbox with carbonfibre shifter.

There’s more of this lightweight material throughout the car, which keeps the overall weight down to 930kg (2050lb).

Having fun

When Colin McRae’s ultimate Escort was ready, it was not about to lead a pampered life.

It was put to use on many rallies, including the Scottish and Pirelli events, and the Killarney Rally of the Lakes in 2005.

Just as Colin remembered the Escort as the rally car of all time going sideways, he endeared himself to the crowds all over again in his Escort Mk2 with amazing car control and stage times.

Modelling job

As with many other of Colin McRae’s rally cars, his Mk2 Ford Escort registered ONM 804V has been turned into a scale model.

Corgi used the car as part of its Vanguard Tribute Collection, and Trofeu Models made a 1/43 version of the car as it appeared at the 2007 International Manx Rally.

It could rally again

Whoever is fortunate enough to buy Colin McRae’s ultimate Ford Escort Mk2 rally car could enjoy using it again, even if it does come with an auction estimate of £125-150,000.

The car has a 2005 RAC Logbook and comes in superb order. All a new owner would have to do to take to the stages would be to replace critical safety items such as the seats, belts and fire extinguishers to enjoy the same experience as Colin McRae.

These classic cars and many more are going under the hammer with Silverstone Auctions at its The Classic Sale at Silverstone Festival on 25-26 August 2023 – see the full catalogue here.