Historic racer expected to fetch big bids
With interest in local touring cars at a peak, it will be facinating to see if the Bob Morris A9X Hatchback being offered by Mossgreen this Sunday, in Sydney, reaches the $850,000-1,050,00 estimate.
This car has a fascinating history over several years of racing, when it competed across a few series and in the hands of several drivers, including Morris.
Mossgreen’s catalogue highlights the history of these days, saying: In order to meet homologation requirements to enable the A9X Toranas to race at Bathurst, it is thought that a total of 500 units (in two and four door form) were built.
The ‘A9X’ code covered, four-wheel disc brakes; Salisbury rear-axle; re-worked front and rear suspension geometry; Borg-Warner T10 gearbox; 5 litre L31 V8 power unit generating 400 hp; larger radiator with an electric fan.
The cost to the public was around A$11,000.
Of the ten bare shells supplied by Holden, Bob Morris is quoted as saying that, “These shells were built as race cars and had all the non-essential items such as rear seat belt mounts, exhaust brackets and sound deadening deleted.” At Bill Patterson Motors, the race-cars then had added wheel-arch flares, air dams and a real bonnet scoop. At the time, even the road going A9Xs were dubbed, “The fastest accelerating cars sold in Australia, and the quickest” by the motoring magazines.
See the full catalogue here.