Colin McRae is easily one of the most iconic rally drivers to grace the sport having won 25 events and 460 stages in his career together with a championship in 1995. He became the champion during his tenure with Subaru but when he joined Ford in 1999, his success didn't come to an end. Granted, there were no more championship titles added to his name but while piloting the M-Sport Focus, he claimed the win for both the Safari Rally, Rally Portugal and more.

Last week it was revealed that his 2001 rally car would be going under the hammer via the Silverstone Auctions Season Opener at the RAF Museum in London. It was understood that the organization expected that this special car would fetch well over $400,000.

It has now been revealed that the Ford Focus WRC accomplished a final bid of £423,300 which is just over $555,000. That's pretty much in line with what you'd spend on an all-new Ford GT. This astronomical figure shows just how revered the late British rally driver is in the sport these days. Back in 2018, his 1999 Ford Focus WRC went under the block with a maximum estimated bidding price of $199,000 but that model landed up not being sold.

With this confirmed final bid, the 2001 Ford Focus WRC has become the highest-selling car to be driven by McRae. It certainly bests the $360,000 tag attached to the Impreza that was auctioned last year. The love for McRae is so great at the moment that Silverstone Auctions confirms even the racing suit that he wore while driving the 2001 Focus fetched an impressive £16,560 (approximately $21,700).

What makes this particular McRae Focus so special? Silverstone Auction notes that there was already quite a buzz surrounding the car before the auction took place last weekend. This particular model was put together for the 7th round of the 2001 WRC at the Acropolis Rally. Together with co-pilot Nicky Grist, this would be McRae's maiden win for the season.

After this McRae was on track to win the championship but during the super stage event in Rhonda, he miscalculated a corner and sent his Focus into a catastrophic crash. The wreckage was salvaged by M-Sport and continued to compete in the WRC with a relative amount of success before it was transitioned into a collectible. This must be one of the most expensive accident-damaged cars to ever be sold.

Overall, the Season Opener was a successful weekend for Silverstone Auctions as it managed to achieve a total bidding amount of over $6.5 million. Other competition rally cars that were placed on the lot included the 1985 Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2 Hannu Mikkola-Group B Homage which fetched £292,500 (approximately $383,800) and the international-spec 1988 Rover Metro 6R4 with a final bid of £196,875 (approximately $258,300).

Notable classics that were auctioned during the event include an X300-generation 1995 Daimler Six with just 1,512 original miles on the clock and a 1963 Jenson CV8. These cars sold for approximately $48,000 and $88,500, respectively. Silverstone Auctions also confirms that not all of its sales were for profit. Of the total $6.5 million in sales, it was able to raise just over $20,000 for charity.