Demand at Aussie muscle car auction breaks the internet, to restart today
Unexpected demand for iconic Aussie cars has crashed an auction website, forcing a restart this afternoon.
Bidders have been left in a panic as strong demand for Aussie muscle cars crashed an auctioneer's website and clogged phone lines.
Slattery Auctions was holding the online event, comprising mostly Australian-built models – as well as one Japanese wildcard – when its systems began to fail with only three minutes before the auction was due to end at 18:00 last night.
A spokesperson for the auction house told CarAdvice it was unprecedented demand from registered bidders which unexpectedly brought down the site.
The auction will re-open at 16:00 AWST (19:00 AEDT) today, giving buyers a fair opportunity before bidding closes at 18:00 AWST (21:00 AEDT). To ensure a repeat of last night is avoided, the live auction will only be viewable to registered bidders.
Before the website went down, the auction attracted more than $2.6 million, with the minimum price of $150,000 being paid for a locally-built model.
A 1971 Ford XY Falcon GTHO is expected to take the headline result, with a bid of $976,000 recorded at last count.
It was more than double the amount bid for the next vehicle – a 1977 Holden LX Torana A9X, inviting $435,500.
A model that has been in the news recently, a 2017 HSV GTSR W1, was last at $365,500, followed by a 1972 Valiant VH Charger at $312,000, and a 2017 HSV GTSR Maloo at $212,500.
The two cheapest Aussie vehicles at the auction were a 1971 Holden HQ Monaro GTS at $160,000, and a 1972 Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 at $151,000.
Also at the auction was a 1975 Datsun 260Z, sitting with a bid of $101,000.
Buyers have been driving prices for locally-built muscle cars in recent months, with hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent on iconic V8-powered models.