Few cars capture the spirit of 1970s Britain quite like the Mk1 Ford Escort.

Launched in 1968 as a replacement for the Anglia, it quickly became one of the nation's best-loved family cars, while its giant-killing exploits on the world's rally stages, including victory on the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally, earned it a sporting reputation that endures to this day.

Yet for all the Escorts built, finding one in genuinely original, unused condition is now almost impossible. This 1300 XL Saloon is a quite extraordinary exception.

Supplied new by Bristol Street Motors of Birmingham and first registered on 21st August 1972, it has covered just 126 miles from new.

That is effectively its delivery mileage.

Over five decades of careful, correct storage have preserved it in true time-capsule condition, offering a rare glimpse of exactly how an Escort looked when it left the showroom. It is finished in the glorious period shade of Tawny Brown Metallic, a colour that could hardly be mor...