1971 Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III poised to set new auction record

An immaculately restored, award-winning 1971 Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III – one of 12 built in “Yellow Glo” paint – is poised to set a new auction record for an Australian-made road car.

However, establishing which price records might be broken requires some analysis.

With two days remaining in the auction – with the hammer due to fall this weekend – registered bids for the yellow 1971 Ford Falcon XY GTHO Phase III have passed $760,000.

Lloyds auction house believes the vehicle – with yellow bodywork with a beige vinyl roof – could sell for between $1 million and $1.5 million, not including the 7.5 per cent auction fee.

“We expect this car to break Australian classic car records ... we expect it to reach anywhere between $1 million and $1.5 million come auction day,” Lloyds chief executive officer, Lee Hames, said in a media statement.

The vehicle needs to sell north of $1.15 million to set a new auction price record for an Australian-made road car, and sell for more than $1.75 million to surpass the price paid privately for another iconic Australian muscle car.

The highest price reportedly paid for an Australian-made road car applies to a 1972 Ford Falcon XA GTHO Phase IV (pictured above) which changed hands privately for $1.75 million last month via Australian Muscle Car Sales.

The selling agent declined to nominate an exact sale price, but in a statement said the vehicle sold for “just under $2 million” which is “believed this to be the highest … price ever paid for an Australian-made road car.” However, those with knowledge of the deal told Drive the car changed hands for $1.75 million.

Meanwhile, the highest documented price paid at auction for an Australian-made road car to date was for the immaculate blue 1971 Ford Falcon XY GTHO Phase III (pictured below) sold to an art collector in February 2021 for $1.15 million.

This is the same price – $1.15 million – reportedly paid for a red Holden Special Vehicles Maloo GTSR W1 ute – one of four built – in a private sale in March 2021.

Another HSV Maloo GTSR W1 ute – finished in orange/gold paintwork – went under the hammer in February 2021 for $1.05 million, not including the 7.5 per cent auction fee.

In May 2021, a 1985 Holden Commodore VK SS Group A “Blue Meanie” – number 05 of 500 built and once the daily driver of motor racing legend Peter Brock, who put his name to the special series of road cars – went under the hammer for $1.057 million, setting a new auction record for an Australian road-going Holden.

The highest documented price paid for an Australian-made race car was $2.1 million – not including auction fees – for the Holden Commodore that won the Bathurst 1000 in 1982 and 1983 in the hands of Peter Brock. That car went under the hammer on the eve of the Bathurst 1000 race in 2018.

Earlier that year, in June 2018, the 1971 Ford Falcon XY GTHO Phase III road car once owned by Australian fast bowler Jeff Thomson sold at auction for $1.03 million, not including auction fees.

This weekend’s Lloyds sale could establish a new auction price record for an Australian-made Ford road car, if the 1971 Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III with yellow bodywork and beige vinyl roof meets bidding expectations.

And Lloyds could also establish a new auction price record for an Australian-made Holden road car, as another one of four HSV Maloo GTSR W1 utes – finished in pale yellow, the same as the original GTSR sedan from 1996, which also happens to be Melbourne taxi yellow – goes under the hammer.

The pale yellow ute is being sold alongside an immaculate pale yellow HSV GTSR W1 sedan, and an immaculate low-kilometre example of the 1996 HSV GTSR sedan.

Prices above sourced by Drive, and do not include auction fees or buyer premiums.