2001 Ford Focus WRC. Ex-Colin McRae

• Freshly built for the Acropolis Rally, Round 7 of the 2001 World Rally Championship, Ford Focus RS #Y4 FMC took Colin McRae and Nicky Grist to a maiden win
• A closely fought contest at Round 10 in New Zealand resulted in Colin and Nicky taking Y4 FMC to 2nd overall and still within sight of the 2001 World Championship
• With Colin enjoying the lead in his home rally, the Network Q Rally of Great Britain, Y4 FMC was launched into a spectacular series of rolls on SS4 (Rhonda 1) costing him his second World Championship and handing the title to the late Richard Burns
• The car was subsequently rebuilt by M-Sport and went onto further rallying success before being retired and returned to its iconic 2001 livery for posterity
• Recently returned from a top rally specialist who has gone through the Focus from top to bottom
• Historically important, this special rally car forms a part of the story of one of Britain's most talented and much loved rally drivers  

The legendary Colin McRae came from a family dedicated to rallying and who collectively have achieved many outright rally wins and rally championship wins at all levels. Son of five times British rally champion Jimmy, and brother to rally driver, Alistair, Colin went on to win the British rally championship in 1991 and 1992 before being signed by Prodrive to spearhead their challenge in the World Rally Championship from 1993. He was amazingly successful at this senior level going on to win the World Rally Championship outright in 1995 for Subaru and Prodrive.

Always known for his fully committed approach, he was a risk taker and a superb driver to watch. No less so than in 2001, when driving this actual car for the official Ford World Rally team, he won the Argentina, Cyprus and the Greek Acropolis rallies with Nicky Grist co-driving. By the end of that season, following a strong second place in New Zealand, they were both poised to win the World Championship again. It was a real head to head with his arch rival, Richard Burns, driving for Subaru and Colin in this car representing Ford in the 2001 British round of the WRC, the 'Network Q' Rally of Great Britain.

Never one to consider championship caution, Colin drove Y4 FMC flat out and heading Richard and leading the rally outright as they went in to SS4 (Rhonda 1). Unfortunately, such was his pace that he was launched in to a spectacular series of barrel roles (sufficiently impressive to make the 9 o’clock news that night!) and handed both the rally and overall championship win to his arch rival Richard Burns.(Colin was pipped for the championship by just two points by Richard)

The car was then totally rebuilt by the factory M-Sport Ford team and used again in selected rounds of the 2002 WRC, prior to being sold and then used for several years in the British BTRDA stage rally championship by well known national protagonists. The comprehensive owner's file contains lots of information about the car's history, both pre and post the WRC, press articles, the official FIA Passport Technique, a full set of the specific Holomologation papers for this particular car, as well as detailed set-up information from M-Sport and a full start up and user guide.

As well as being highly collectable, V4 FMC is eminently useable, particularly in prestigious events like the Goodwood Festival of Speed where it will maintain the legend of Colin and evoke memories of his awesome style. It's also remarkably easy to drive and use without the need for sophisticated back up technology, although still offering 4-wheel drive,  a sequential gearbox and WRC-spec suspension and brakes.

An amazing opportunity and surely a significant investment for the future.