Ex-Brabham Bathurst car goes under the hammer in Australia

| 27 Jun 2013

A Ford Falcon that was used by Sir Jack Brabham in 1977’s Australian Touring Car Championship is expected to make $330-360,000 at auction.

The car was owned and raced by John Goss, the only man to have won both the Australian GP and the Bathurst 1000, and will be up for grabs at Shannons' 21 July sale in Sydney.

The XB GT was special ordered by Goss for the 1975 ‘Great Race’, but retired after 10 laps with a blown engine.

The following year, the car was loaned to Allan Moffat – after his own machine was destroyed by fire in transit – and he guided it to victory in Round Six of the ATCC.

First and second places in the Ford at the following two rounds would help Moffat to win the ATCC that year.

For ’77, Goss recruited triple F1 World Champion Brabham and his son, Geoff – who would later be a Le Mans winner – to drive the XB GT at Bathurst.

They were comfortably in the top five when mechanical trouble forced them down to 18th.

Goss sold the car the following year to expert and restorer Kerry Turley, who returned the Ford to its original specification and into what Shannons calls ‘the finest Group C Falcon Hardtop available today’.

Another piece of Australian racing heritage comes in the form of a wankel-engined Mazda RX-3 Coupé that carries a guide price of $80-100,000.

It’s the only surviving car of its type in Aus and won its class at the 1975 Bathurst, finishing an impressive fifth behind four V8 Torana L34s.

The car passed through a number of hands after that, at one point even being road registered, before being bought by Mazda rotary enthusiast Zyg Ryter in the mid-’90s.

He has meticulously maintained the Mazda since, never racing it and treating the 1146cc 12A twin-rotor engine to a rebuild in 2012, courtesy of marque specialist Matt Russell Race Engines.

Shannons’ national auction manager Christophe Boribon said: “The resurgent interest in Group C and A racing that is now producing large grids of the actual cars that raced in the 1970s and ’80s has made them increasingly collectable and valuable.”

Road cars will also feature at the sale with a brace of Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T coupes being particularly sought-after.

Most desirable is a 1971 E38 R/T Bathurst coupe that has been valued at $80-90,000.

It is one of just 316 built and is powered by a 280bhp triple Weber carburettor 265cu in straight-six.

A time warp 1971 Valiant R/T 2 Barrel 265cu is the second option.

Valued at $42-48,000, it is one of 1300 R/T models built and is thought to be one of the best examples available.

You can view the full lot list on Shannons’ website.