Colin McRae’s 2001 Ford Focus world rally car set to fetch huge money at auction

The car the Scottish rally legend famously destroyed in the final rally of the 2001 season has been restored to its original World Rally Championship trim.

The Ford Focus World Rally Car that legendary Scottish driver Colin McRae famously rolled while leading Rally GB – costing him and co-driver Nicky Grist the world championship – is coming up for auction in the UK next month.

It’s expected to sell for £300,000-£350,000 ($AU570,000-$660,000).

McRae joined Ford in 1999, following a successful five-year stint with the Subaru World Rally Team that saw the Scot crowned world champion in 1995.

He followed that title success with one third-place and two second-place finishes in the world championship before accepting a £6 million ($AU11.4 million) offer to join Ford, making him the highest-paid rally driver in history at the time.

While title success eluded McRae at Ford in 1999 and 2000, the following year looked a lot more promising. McRae and Grist won three straight rallies to set up a title showdown with Subaru’s Richard Burns heading into the season-ending Rally Great Britain.

But when McRae spectacularly crashed out of the lead, sending his Focus into a series of rolls from which both he and Grist were lucky to walk away from, the title went to Burns.

The destroyed Focus – registration Y4 FMC – was rebuilt by the Ford factory M-Sport team and used on selected rallies in 2002 before passing into the hands of privateers.

It has now been brought back to life in its period-correct Martini-liveried glory and painstakingly restored to full 2001-era WRC spec – sequential gearbox, four-wheel drive, suspension and brakes.

It also comes with its full documented history, including its all-important official FIA Passport Technique, a full set of the specific homologation papers pertaining to Y4 FMC, and detailed set-up information from M-Sport.