Yes, you can have that gorgeous shade of Ford GT Blue

"quite98" (quite98)
10/24/2016 at 17:00 • Filed to: None

103

A couple of months ago I was searching sites on the Internet for either a decently priced new or used Fiesta ST. One Thursday evening I was curious about a 2015 ST that was in my extended ‘too far but would consider the drive” search area, located in Nashville. This vehicle had only 57 miles on the clock and was about 2 grand under the price of a new ST with incentives: not a bad deal.

The dealership photos were not particularly good quality, but showed a car that was apparently Performance Blue. Not my favourite colour, but one that I would consider.

What piqued my interest, though, were the seats: white and black leather Recaro with black inserts.

They don’t make anything like that for the ST. The choices for Recaro seats are either orange and black or grey and black. I thought that perhaps someone had put Focus ST seats in the car, but an image search showed that those didn’t exist either in this particular colour combination. In fact, I was not finding anything that looked like the seats in this car.

Then I noticed that the steering wheel in the dealership pictures also seemed slightly unusual. Leather and something else - perhaps suede/alcantara - but with contrasting white stitching. That’s different, too. It was an image search for “2015 fiesta st steering wheel stitching” that provided the answer. In amongst the many pictures of steering wheels there were two pictures of a bright blue car. One of these pictures showed the car interior; it had the white and black leather Recaro seats.

Photo credit - J_Westy @ fiestastforum.com

This picture was from a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on one of the Fiesta ST forums discussing a car shown at the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan.

At the launch of the Ford GT painted in the new Liquid Blue colour, Ford painted four other vehicles in that Ford Performance signature colour - a Mustang GT350R, a F150 Raptor, a Focus ST, and a Fiesta ST. Patrick George wrote an article on it here:

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

It was looking like this Nashville car could very well be the auto show car. Aside from the obvious unique physical aspects of the interior of the vehicle, the build date shown on the VIN plate in the dealer photo matched up, the CARFAX suggested Ford corporate ownership, and delivery mileage on the 18 month old car indicated a vehicle that was only ever trailered around to auto shows across the nation.

Although the pictures on the dealer website did not suggest the unique colour that articles from the auto show were depicting, the price was right, and I already had funds lined up. I emailed the dealer first thing the next day, got a phone call about an hour later, and discussed the vehicle over the phone. One point made was that the vehicle was already heading back to a dealer auction - so if I wanted it, I would have to move quickly.

The salesman sent me a link which had some much more detailed pictures of the car. It looked amazing.

Unfortunately I was not quick enough to make a decision on the vehicle. The deal fell through, and the vehicle headed back to the auction house.

I looked at other cars over the next few weeks but none stood out like this car. I would have purchased a Molten Orange ST for the right price, but there were none on any of the dealer lots in my area and the alternatives were not that appealing to me. I resolved to either wait for a good deal on a colour that I didn’t particularly care for, or to order a Molten Orange. Time passed. I still checked the VIN of the blue car occasionally to see if it would show up elsewhere. At one point the CARFAX hinted that it might show up at a dealer in Dallas, Texas. I checked their website for a couple of weeks, but ultimately that lead amounted to nothing.

Finally a couple of weeks ago I heard that, lucky for me, the car was acquired by a local Ford dealership only ten miles from my house. I headed there as soon as I had found out, ready to see the car and hopefully make a deal.

I don’t normally get excited, but on the drive to the dealership I was very much excited and likely willing to overpay for this car. When I arrived, the car was right there in the parking lot. It looked incredible in the sunlight and even better than in the auto show pictures: Liquid Blue is a very unique colour. I spent a few minutes looking over the car and knew that I was going to buy it, cost be damned.

As I discussed the car with the salesman I certainly had to temper my enthusiasm. The dealership employees had no idea that this was a special vehicle or really anything other than a regular Fiesta ST, but they for sure were not going to let the vehicle go for a cheap price. However, I was there, ready to buy and provide them with an immediate profit on a vehicle that had only just arrived. Within ten minutes I had made the deal, and the next day I drove the car home. The car is great, and I plan to drive the tits off it.

So, that’s how I ended up with a one-off Fiesta ST. Apparently you can have that gorgeous shade of Ford GT Blue.

DISCUSSION (100)

bob and john > quite98
10/24/2016 at 17:04

VERY nice find.

Judging from what i hear about ford paint, I’d get a clear wrap over it PRONTO.

For Sweden > quite98
10/24/2016 at 17:07

So Patrick was wrong this is my shocked face

S65 > quite98
10/24/2016 at 17:07

HOLY SHIT

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > quite98
10/24/2016 at 17:10

Nice find!!

citizennick > bob and john
10/24/2016 at 17:14

This. Rail dust comes standard on Ford vehicles.

Jonee > quite98
10/24/2016 at 17:14

Wow, that is amazing. Congrats. I’m kind of astonished that that’s where this car ended up, but I guess Ford had no more use for it, so kudos to them for releasing it into the wild. I’m glad one of us got it.

CompactLuxuryFan > quite98
10/24/2016 at 17:14

Amazing!!!!

quite98 > Jonee
10/24/2016 at 17:15

Thank you!

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > quite98
10/24/2016 at 17:15

I am incredibly jealous.

I would pretty much 100% trade-in my FR-S for a FiST with that color combination.

You should email Ford’s PR department and see if you can get any sort of official documentation or written proof of the car’s background.

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > quite98
10/24/2016 at 17:15

What part of Nashville are you from?

Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy > quite98
10/24/2016 at 17:16

Kinja'd!!!

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > quite98
10/24/2016 at 17:19

I like my molten orange with white wheels, but....

Kinja'd!!!

Holycrap. Thats gorgeous.

quite98 > bob and john
10/24/2016 at 17:19

Thanks. Unfortunately a clear bra/wrap is a no-go. The installer was concerned that the stress of installing the film could lift the paint.

bob and john > quite98
10/24/2016 at 17:20

jesus. is ford paint really THAT shitty?!?!

Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy > quite98
10/24/2016 at 17:21

Words cannot express my jealousy right now. A factory 1 of 1 FiST, made specifically for NAIS and the launch of the new GT? I commend you on your purchase good sir. Glad that car went to an Oppo’s home.

LongbowMkII > Jonee
10/24/2016 at 17:24

I always thought these got crushed.

LongbowMkII > For Sweden
10/24/2016 at 17:25

P George just got ashed grayer than my Jalopnik comments.

quite98 > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
10/24/2016 at 17:25

Good idea. I wanted to get a picture of the original title when doing the paperwork at the dealership but they wouldn’t allow it (fair enough, I suppose).

crowmolly > quite98
10/24/2016 at 17:25

Amazing!

See if you can get some official documentation for it!

quite98 > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy
10/24/2016 at 17:25

Thank you!

LongbowMkII > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
10/24/2016 at 17:26

+1 Jackson Barrett flip

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > LongbowMkII
10/24/2016 at 17:31

Pretty much my thought. lol

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > quite98
10/24/2016 at 17:32

See what it’ll go for at Barrett Jackson and buy yourself a couple of FiSTs! ;)

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > quite98
10/24/2016 at 17:34

You should talk to Ford to try to see if you can get some official documentation on the car. You should also ask them for a replacement prototype vehicle window sticker because it is cool. Then you do what you can to protect that paint and drive the hell out of it.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > quite98
10/24/2016 at 17:38

thicker clearcoat?

Jonee > LongbowMkII
10/24/2016 at 17:44

Yeah, or scurried away in a warehouse somewhere. But, I guess this one is like any other production car except for the appearance stuff.

revrseat70 > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
10/24/2016 at 17:48

This! Get some kind of 1 of 1 documentation and flip it. Or hold on to it for about 30 years..

quite98 > Jonee
10/24/2016 at 17:56

Yep, the changes are appearance items only. It’s exactly the same as any other ST other than paint, steering wheel, seats, floor mats and I think the gear-shift gaiter. It was built as a regular Oxford White ST with base seats (at least that’s what the window sticker says).

macshome > quite98
10/24/2016 at 18:08

I wish that the RS came with that center exhaust like the ST has.

MrH4242 > bob and john
10/24/2016 at 18:17

What about Opticoat then? Protect it somehow!

Shoop > quite98
10/24/2016 at 18:20

MOAR PHOTOS

Future next gen S2000 owner > quite98
10/24/2016 at 18:21

Kinja'd!!!

vondon302 > quite98
10/24/2016 at 18:21

Nice one and I’m so jealous.

Well bought enjoy!

quite98 > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
10/24/2016 at 18:29

Thank you!

quite98 > vondon302
10/24/2016 at 18:29

I will do that - it’s a great car.

AkursedX > quite98
10/24/2016 at 18:30

Wow, that is a very cool story. Congrats on your good fortune and your persistence! Like mentioned before, I would try to contact Ford and see if they can provide some documentation on this one of a kind find.

jkm7680 > quite98
10/24/2016 at 18:32

I don’t even like the FiST to be honest, but that’s pretty awesome!

quite98 > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
10/24/2016 at 18:33

I like your wheels. Sparco?

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > quite98
10/24/2016 at 18:36

yup. Asetto Gara, 15".

gawdzillla > quite98
10/24/2016 at 18:39

please share that paint code

LOL

quite98 > gawdzillla
10/24/2016 at 18:43

Ha. The paint code on the build sticker is YZ - “oxford white”. Not quite what you’re looking for, I’m sure!

quite98 > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
10/24/2016 at 18:48

Very nice.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > quite98
10/24/2016 at 18:50

thanks, I enjoy it a lot, but I’m still jealous ;)

Jonee > quite98
10/24/2016 at 19:05

I’d like to see more. You should post photos of all the special stuff.

quite98 > Jonee
10/24/2016 at 19:32

Here you go, a couple pictures of the interior.

Kinja'd!!!

Dlite > bob and john
10/24/2016 at 19:44

It is just a resprayed car for a photo and car show. The OEM paint on these cars is kinda touchy but not bad enough that a bra would lift the paint. Remember these are 14 thousand dollar cars with a bunch of OEM go fast bits, not a 60 thousand dollar sports car.

That said I love my FiST.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > quite98
10/24/2016 at 20:00

Is there any white on the car (door jambs, under the carpet, undercarriage, other hidden locations)? That will tell you if it was originally GT Blue or if it was resprayed.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
10/24/2016 at 20:00

How are the Garras? I am considering a 15" Black set for snow tires on the Mini.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
10/24/2016 at 20:09

Nice finish, very light, so far so good on the durability front. They’ve survived 7 months on Vermont roads with no ill effects yet.

66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash > quite98
10/24/2016 at 20:14

That’s pretty cool, something a little special! Even in your pic the paint looks nice and somewhat unique. Congrats!

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
10/24/2016 at 20:25

I am debating different ways to retire my snow rims as I do not like them. The options currently are 17" Oz Superturismo GTs for summer rims and mounting snows on my 16"s or keep the summers on the 16"s and get 15" Garas with snows.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > quite98
10/24/2016 at 20:33

AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!

I LOVE THIS CAR AND I HATE YOU BUT I LOVE YOU TOO!!!!!

I have a performance blue fiesta ST but I would kill for this color. It looks so sick.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > quite98
10/24/2016 at 21:39

MORE PICTURES ARE REQUIRED!!!

And Congrats! :)

quite98 > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
10/24/2016 at 22:16

Thank you! I added a couple more pictures to the post.

quite98 > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
10/24/2016 at 22:28

Door jambs, inside of doors and hood are all blue. VIN/build sticker is on top of the blue. Haven’t looked under the carpet or underneath the car yet.

Charles Spratlin > quite98
10/24/2016 at 23:01

ok im curious as to what the walkout price for this hot monster was, because that looks like it could be one HELL of a steal!

keep the paperwork, down the road that sucker might turn a profit at some point!

The World of Vee > quite98
10/25/2016 at 00:44

WHAAATTT!!! And here I was smarting about picking up my black ST and you have a Liquid Blue one?! Nice! Where are you located?

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > quite98
10/25/2016 at 01:55

This is excellent, excellent Oppo.

Congrats! That’s a special car, please keep us posted on your adventures.

Spasoje > quite98
10/25/2016 at 01:56

Fantastic story and fantastic car! I’ll admit, my heart sunk when you wrote you weren’t quick enough and the deal fell through...

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > quite98
10/25/2016 at 08:39

Holy shit!!!! Nice find! That color looked great at the show, but looks better in the sun. Well done!

gawdzillla > quite98
10/25/2016 at 10:08

someone repainted it !!!! loljk

Etniesld311 > quite98
10/25/2016 at 10:16

Wow. I found this car at wholesale Inc as well and on the same day as you. I actually posted a very similar story to yours on fiestast.org, only mine didn’t have the happy ending. I called t he nashville dealer the same say as you only to not pull the trigger and have it disappear. I actually had slowed down on how often I would search the Vin as I had started to give up hope. Very happy to see it wound up in the hands of someone who also appreciates the rare factor of this Fiesta ST. I had actually had thoughts of making a post on the forums with an almost identical title as yours because I read that jalopnik article man times thinking about how cool it would be to own such a gem. Great work, it certainly paid off. And glad to hear you plan in driving it the way it should be driven

Etniesld311 > quite98
10/25/2016 at 10:29

http://www.fiestastforum.com/forum/threads/11126-So-close-to-a-super-rare-st

asenna > quite98
10/25/2016 at 10:33

wonder where the other cars are

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > quite98
10/25/2016 at 12:04

Good God man what a find. You truly have a special special. (Sorry I’ve been watching a lot of Thomas the tank engine with my son)

Sam > quite98
10/25/2016 at 12:04

That means I’ve actually seen your car in person before, in Indianapolis. Hah.

ElDiabloBlanco > quite98
10/25/2016 at 12:59

BRB. Internet stalking the Raptor with this paint.

Justin Hughes > quite98
10/25/2016 at 14:29

Well, YOU can have that gorgeous shade of Ford GT blue. But WE can’t.

Congrats! That’s a helluva find!

quite98 > Etniesld311
10/25/2016 at 19:03

Oh wow. I figured that there was no way that I could be the only person tracking that car. I had almost given up on it too, actually, it was a stroke of luck that I happened to check again when I did. And thank you! I definitely appreciate how unusual this car is - it’s going to be taken care of, for sure, but at the same time enjoyed exactly as it is supposed to be.

quite98 > Justin Hughes
10/25/2016 at 19:05

Lol, sorry.

Thank you! Indeed it is.

quite98 > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
10/25/2016 at 19:06

Thanks. I like Thomas the Tank Engine too :-)

quite98 > Spasoje
10/25/2016 at 19:07

Thank you! Yeah, I was kicking myself when I thought I had lost it, back in August.

quite98 > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny
10/25/2016 at 19:11

Thanks. I’ll try! The car passed the 300 mile mark today, so I’m starting to explore its capabilities a little more. It’s quick.

quite98 > The World of Vee
10/25/2016 at 19:12

Black is a great colour though... I’m in SE Michigan.

quite98 > Charles Spratlin
10/25/2016 at 19:14

I’ll do that. I don’t really know the value of this. A colleague at work reckoned it would be worth some serious cash but I’m not so sure. Also I like having the car, I guess it’s worth more to me because I wanted it for so long, if that makes sense.

Charles Spratlin > quite98
10/25/2016 at 19:35

well, given the unique color thats gotta be worth something, not to mention the colored interior and the fact it was a show car, its probably not worth MUCH more than a comparable one but still some.

seriously man, im hellaciously jealous. i was in the market for one myself and would have sold what i needed to finance that one.

71MGBGT Likes Subarus of Unusual Colors > quite98
10/26/2016 at 00:01

Wow, that’s spectacular. I love seeing vehicular detective work like that, one of my favorite things in the world both to do and to see other people do. Congrats on the purchase and have fun with it!

Frank Grimes > quite98
10/26/2016 at 02:44

Uh your title is stupid. cuz if there is one in that color we cant have that color.

quite98 > 71MGBGT Likes Subarus of Unusual Colors
10/26/2016 at 04:43

Thank you!

JeepJeremy > quite98
10/26/2016 at 10:04

This is great Oppo!

The World of Vee > quite98
10/26/2016 at 13:10

it is! but it’s no LIQUID BLUE

Chris Perkins > quite98
10/26/2016 at 13:30

Hey there! Chris with R&T here. Would love to feature an image or two of this if I have your permission.

GTiceman > quite98
10/26/2016 at 14:13

Excellent find and glad it all worked out in the end. That is a beautiful car. It will surely be worth something as it was a one off for promotions.

quite98 > Chris Perkins
10/26/2016 at 16:52

Sure, no problem. I just sent you an email.

quite98 > GTiceman
10/26/2016 at 16:53

Thank you!

flyingmetalbird > quite98
10/26/2016 at 17:42

That’s awesome! Super cool car with a super cool story. She’s definitely a keeper

quite98 > flyingmetalbird
10/26/2016 at 22:07

Thank you. Yep, not planning to let this go any time soon, that’s for sure.

hgrunt > quite98
10/26/2016 at 23:11

Awesome story! Happy to hear the car didn’t pop up too far away from you. By chance, I’m also in the market for a FiST, so this is encouraging

inlinesexzylinder > quite98
10/27/2016 at 06:43

Woah, that is a nice find, and a nice spec for sure. I have seen a few cars from autoshows for sale at dealers, but they are rare and ask higher prices if they know what it is.

Congrats and enjoy.

Garrett Davis > quite98
10/27/2016 at 10:34

God damn roller coaster of emotions up in here!

DJFord > quite98
10/27/2016 at 12:56

Hi, Dan here from Ford’s PR department. Lovely car and background story - if you want to get in touch my email is djone602@ford.com. thanks!

LedRobster > quite98
10/27/2016 at 14:21

Forum guys have many questions for you. =)

http://www.fiestastforum.com/forum/threads/11126-So-close-to-a-super-rare-st/

Connor > quite98
10/27/2016 at 14:24

Oh my god. That is gorgeous. I’m so jealous! I’d totally trade you a kidney for it if you need one.

Bug S Bunny > quite98
10/27/2016 at 15:09

You bought the car on the far left here:

Kinja'd!!!

Bug S Bunny > hgrunt
10/27/2016 at 15:13

I just traded my Molten Orange ‘15 model. It might still be on the dealer’s lot.

quite98 > Bug S Bunny
10/27/2016 at 16:20

yup!

quite98 > Connor
10/27/2016 at 16:20

Ha, I’ll bear that in mind . Thanks :-)

quite98 > DJFord
10/27/2016 at 16:21

Thanks for reaching out. I sent you an email.

quite98 > inlinesexzylinder
10/27/2016 at 16:23

Thank you. Now that I think about it there was another part to the story that I missed. The CARFAX (and some cached dealer ads) said that, before I saw it, the car had sat at a dealer in North Carolina for about 6 weeks with no sale, from June to early August. So maybe they were asking too high a price?

quite98 > hgrunt
10/27/2016 at 16:25

Thank you for the nice words. There are some deals out there. At least in SE Michigan, there are about $2,500 in incentives offered on new STs.