A tiny toy car has sold for a whopping world record amount because it is a rare early version, in the wrong colour.
The 1968 Matchbox Regular Wheels 62c Mercury Cougar went for an eye-watering £22,050.
lt has a pale yellow body, instead of the standard metallic lime green.
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The yellow was a first-issue colour and wasn’t produced in that shade for very long, before being changed.
It also has clear windows without windscreen wipers and without a rearview mirror.
This confirms it is an early casting which was not repainted.
Expert Ian Main said the previous highest amount paid for a Matchbox car was about £13,500.
He did not know how many yellow Mercury Cougars had been produced but estimated it to be in the low hundreds, as reported by What’s The Jam.
He added it was unclear why the colour of the model had changed so quickly after production started, but noted this yellow toy is in particularly good condition.
He said: “Ultimately it was two buyers that kind of broke away from the other bidders and just bid against each other, up to the price that we saw.”
Vectis Auctions in Stockton, County Durham, sold the 1968 yellow Mercury Cougar model for £22,050 to an international buyer.
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