Million-dollar muscle cars: New auction price records for Aussie V8s

As Australia approaches the four-year anniversary of the end of local car manufacturing, high-peformance Holdens and Fords continue to fetch million-dollar prices at auction.

A yellow 1971 Ford Falcon with a beige vinyl roof sold for a staggering $1.3 million over the weekend – not including an additional 7.5 per cent auction fee – which is the highest documented price paid for an Australian-made road car.

Only 300 showroom versions of the 1971 Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III were made to meet motor racing regulations of the era, and the example sold online at Lloyds Auction over the weekend was one of 12 finished in “Yellow Glo” paintwork.

The fully-restored vehicle has won numerous car show awards and is widely regarded by collectors as one of the best examples of the breed.

In the week leading up to the online auction, bidding for the 1971 Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III in “Yellow Glo” with a beige vinyl roof reached $805,000.

However, once bidding recommenced on the weekend, buyers bidding online and over the phone pushed the price hammer price to $1.3 million after a relatively short 20-minute rally.

The Ford Falcon’s hammer price of $1.3 million eclipses the previous auction record for an Australian-made road car, set earlier this year.

In February 2021, an art collector paid $1.15 million at auction (excluding additional fees) for a pristine blue example of a 1971 Ford Falcon XY GTHO Phase III sedan (pictured below).

In March 2021 the same $1.15 million price was reportedly paid for a rare Holden ute – a red 2017 HSV GTSR W1 Maloo, one of four built – which changed hands privately.

The unofficial record price paid for an Australian-made road car is believed to be $1.75 million for a 1972 Ford Falcon XA GTHO Phase IV road car (one of just four built, pictured below), though this figure cannot be verified as it was a private sale.

The selling agent – Australian Muscle Car Sales – said that vehicle sold for “just under $2 million”, but people close to the negotiations say the price was closer to $1.75 million.

Meanwhile, more records were broken at the Lloyds Auction over the weekend.

A pale yellow 1996 Holden Commodore HSV GTSR sedan – number one of 85 built with just 86km on the odometer and with pre-delivery stickers intact – sold for $1 million (plus an additional 7.5 per cent auction fee).

It is one of the highest documented prices paid for a Holden, not far behind a 1985 Holden Commodore VK SS Group A (number 05 of 500 and Brock’s daily driver, pictured below) which sold at auction for $1.057 million in May 2021.

Bidding for the 1996 Holden Commodore HSV GTSR sedan (pictured below) started at $410,000 but climbed to the hammer price of $1 million after a half-hour battle between bidders over the phone and online.

A 2017 Holden Commodore HSV GTSR W1 sedan – with just 16km on the odometer, number 17 of 300 built, and the only one completed in the same pale yellow paint as its 1996 namesake – sold for $750,000 not including the 7.5 per cent auction fee.

Bidding for that car started at $475,000 and the auction call stopped after just 10 minutes – at $600,000 – before negotiations behind the scenes saw it reportedly sell for $750,000 not including an additional 7.5 per cent auction fee.

Another rare treat: a one-off Holden Monaro concept car from the 2004 Sydney Motor Show – a HSV GTSR Coupe (pictured below) – went under the hammer for $580,000 (not including the 7.5 per cent auction fee) after a 20-minute rally from a starting bid of $285,000.

Racing champion and Bathurst winner, Mark Skaife, is said to have completed five laps in anger in the concept car.

Other than this outing, the vehicle has barely turned a wheel.

One car expected to fetch big dollars but passed in – with negotiations reportedly continuing behind the scenes – was one of four 2017 HSV GTSR W1 Maloo utes ever built.

Bidding for the pale yellow example (pictured below) with just 19km on the odometer started at $845,000 and stopped at $1.15 million after a 15-minute battle between buyers online and on the phone.

A gold example of a 2017 HSV GTSR W1 Maloo ute sold at auction in February 2021 for $1.05 million (not including auction fees), while a red example reportedly changed hands private in March 2021 for $1.15 million, though the selling price not was documented publicly.

In a media statement, the head of Lloyds Auctions, Lee Hames said: “Holdens and Fords continue to appreciate in value, anything of a limited build, celebrity affiliation, significant history, or chrome bumpers just keeps going up in value and we urge any Holden or Ford enthusiast looking for advice to give us a call right now.”

Meanwhile, as reported earlier, 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.

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