It doesn’t happen very often, but every once in a while, we come across a cool Ford product from other parts of the world that’s been imported into the U.S. and sold. This happened back in October 2022, when we saw a 1997 Ford Freda minivan – essenitally a rebadged Mazda Bongo sold in Japan – pop up for auction. Now, it’s happening yet again, as this very cool 1998 Ford Telstar wagon is currently up for grabs at Cars & Bids.
Like the Freda, the Ford Telstar was built by Mazda in Japan, in this case for the Asian, African, and Australian markets, and was never sold in North America. This particular model is a wagon with just under 30k miles on the odometer as well, though it’s currently registered in Quebec, Canada. Regardless, this Telstar originally hailed from Japan and it’s one of the very last few built, as production ceased in 1999 following five generations.
Aside from a few scratches, a little interior wear, and a non-functioning stereo head unit, this Ford Telstar remains in pretty stellar condition, too. It’s finished in red on the outside with a black cloth interior, along with amenities such as a power sunroof, faux wood interior trim, automatic climate control, and power mirrors, windows, and door locks.
Power for this 1998 Ford Telstar wagon comes from Mazda’s 2.5L V6 engine originally rated to generate 197 horsepower and 165 pound-feet of torque, which flows all four wheels via a four-speed automatic transmission. It’s a cool piece of Blue Oval history for certain – and a rather obscure one at that – which figures to attract a lot of attention at cars and coffee events or wherever the new owner decides to take it. However, it’s hard to say just how difficult it’ll be to find or secure parts for such a machine, anyway.
We’ll have more cool auction finds like this to share soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.
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