Ford Transit “Spy Van” sold by Manheim for record breaking amount

1988 Ford Transit Mark 3 “Spy Van” sold by Manheim for record-breaking price of £10,300 following restoration.

Manheim has sold a 1988 Ford Transit Mark 3 for what it understands to be a record breaking price of £10,300. The transit was converted to operate as a covert surveillance vehicle. The vehicles registration records link it to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, with a Cougar radio system suggesting that the van was operated by the Security Services.

Director of Commercial Vehicles at Manheim, James Davis, purchased the 48,000-mile van in 2014 and worked with C Walton Ltd in Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire, to restore the van to its original specification, including fitting the van with 30 year old surveillance equipment.

Davis said: “The Spy Van project has been an amazing journey. I decided to auction the van off in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society, with the entire sale price being donated to the charity. Along with other donations, the total we’ve raised stands at nearly £13,000. A huge thanks to everyone involved over the last couple of years.”

On the 22 May, the vehicle went up for auction, with a starting bid of £5,000. Mark Scott of Premier Van Sales, won with a bid which more than doubled the starting price, and is thought to be the highest amount of money paid for a Mark 3 Transit.

Scott said: “I really liked the approach to the restoration and I followed it on Facebook from the start. The posts from James about the deadly Alzheimer’s disease and his father touched me deeply, and I set my heart on buying the Spy Van to support the fundraising effort, which I’m very happy I did, as I’m over the moon to be its new owner.”

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