Ford put 51 second-hand cars up for sale

On June 16th 2002, Ford put 51 second-hand cars up for sale. They couldn’t be driven on the road and some of them didn’t even have engines, yet they raised more than $4 million for charity.

The vehicles were a collection of concept cars from 1960 through to 2000, which were auctioned by Christie's at Ford's product development centre in Dearborn, Michigan.

The concepts no longer had a practical purpose, but collectors valued them for their exclusivity and history, and were prepared to pay through the nose for them.

Pre-sale estimates were smashed on some of the more desirable cars; a Mustang Mach III Concept more than doubled its estimate to make $491,500, while a concept from Ford’s sister company Mercury, the MC4, was estimated to fetch between $60,000 - $120,000, but actually raised $645,500.

However, the most impressive price was reserved for the stunning Ghia Focus Concept pictured above; expected to reach between $100,000 - $200,000 it actually realised a whopping $1,107,500.

In total, the auction raised $4,365,972, which was donated to the Ford Fund and distributed to more than 1,000 U.S. charities.

See more Ford heritage stories.

Follow @FordEU