If Australians would broaden their view of automotive desirability and start buying iconic cars again, our display days and club runs would again be populated by some truly fabulous motor vehicles.
Look back 60 to 70 years to a time when D-Type Jaguars, Maseratis and Ferraris raced competitively and Ron Thorp’s fearsome Cobra was setting hill climb records instead of sitting in a shed surrounded by other rarely seen gems.
Back then we could hear and see some of the world’s great cars doing what they were built to do. Now, almost all of them have disappeared back overseas.
Plenty of these cars still exist globally and are regularly sold in places more fortunate than this. Each week my news feed delivers lists of cars scheduled for sale via high-profile auction houses throughout the world and lists of those recently sold as well.
While not a potential buyer of anything these particular sites might offer – except perhaps some well-priced die-cast toys – I enjoy comparing what’s hot and what’s not in other places, particularly at a time when local sales are undergoing a bit of a slump.
While mainstream sports and prestige cars in the UK market become increasingly worthless, there were plenty of buyers for the collectible rarities offered by RM Sotheby’s at a sale held late last year in London.
A bunch of lower-value Ferraris strangely didn’t sell but the F40, 275GTB and 250GT Lusso all cruised past one million UK Pounds, with the F40 almost making two million. That is indeed a lot of money, but when you consider the right to display certain registration plates in this country can sell for much more, the relativities move to favour the cars.
Staring next at the high-end catalogue produced by RM-Sotheby’s to promote its upcoming sales in Paris and Stuttgart and the expectations swiftly grab another gear.
Topping the Parisian estimates was a Le Mans winning Ferrari 250GT, a car not seen for sale in 55 years, with a guide price of €25,000,000 or around A$42,000,000 at current exchange rates.
Should that not be enough, RM Sotheby’s is offering in Germany a Streamliner-bodied Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix car, as driven in the 1950s by Moss and Fangio. It, like the Ferrari is being sold on behalf of the USA-based Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum and expected to realise €50,000,000 or about A$85 million.
Here, as the local auction scene cranked back into life after New Year, we saw Porsches and other overseas brands seeking homes via the online sales site Collecting Cars.
Several on offer did sell, with prices including $142,000* for an early left-hand drive 911E 2.4 and $320,000 which bought a low-kilometre GT2.
Move to Melbourne for the first onsite sale of the year occurring on January 19 and we find not one representative of the German brand. Not much British or Japanese product either, but a swag of USA and Australian cars, plenty of which sold even if they couldn’t match the money they were making three months ago.
Burns & Co’s headline car, in the eyes of most punters, would have been the ex-Kym Aunger XW GT-HO Phase II, which disgraced itself at Bathurst in 1970 by lasting just 18 laps.
All the warpaint was still intact and verification supplied, and five years ago it could have managed $450K. On that day in a tough market it was fair to expect bids to get serious from $250K and finish in a sale somewhere beyond $300,000. In a subdued salesroom none of that happened and the car was pushed away once again when the offers stopped at $205,000.
Glamour Of The Day was Chev vs Ford contest between a 427-engined Corvette C2 Roadster and equally stunning 1934 Ford Five Window Street Rod. Both looked ready to take trophies at the new owner’s first show, but only the Ford with its LS3 V8 would find a new owner after receiving a $156,000 bid.
The ’Vette not long ago could have marched past $200,000, but on the day the bidders baled at an unrealistic $152,500.
Further indicators of a changing market included the $78,000 successfully bid for a near perfect and extremely rare HR Premier with the 186S engine and genuine four-speed manual gearbox.
Four years ago at another Burns & Co sale, a less glamorous example of the same model, one previously owned by tuning shop legend ‘Dyno’ Dave Bennett, sparked a bidding duel that ended in a record-setting $115,000.
Also noted by our T-Bird obsessed Editor was the ’61 Convertible which had been knocked down at Burns in December for $37,500 but was back in January and making $4000 less.
Strap in folks, there are bargains to be had during 2025.
LEYLAND P76 1973-74
No car in Australian automotive history was launched with such high expectations and disappeared in such ignominy.
The P76 was almost a parody of the Great Australian Family Car. It was long and wide, with a huge boot. Notionally it would be powered by a traditional six-cylinder engine, but that engine was dwarfed by an under-bonnet area so cavernous it obliged people buying a P76 to more often than not choose a V8.
While that V8 was an outstanding power unit, it was strangled by a tiny two-barrel carburettor and single exhaust limiting performance, while doing nothing to improve fuel economy.
Three trim levels – Deluxe, Super and Executive – were initially offered and all were available with the 4.4-litre V8. All but the Executive could be optioned with the manual transmission, helping to liberate some of the bigger engine’s performance.
Late in the P76’s brief lifespan came a Targa Florio version with alloy wheels, the V8 as standard and automatic transmission. These were available only during 1974 and today are generally more expensive than other types.
Popular as well and now heading for $30,000 are V8-engined Supers with four-speed manual gearbox. Not many of these remain in showroom stock form though, due to owners discovering the range of quite simple modifications (larger carburettors, dual exhausts, cylinder-head enhancement) that can send output to around 200kW.
Most common in the current market and likely to remain that way are Super V8s with automatic transmission.
Figures contained in P76 enthusiast Hal Moloney’s Definitive Guide To Australia’s Most Controversial Car show that some 3290 V8 auto Supers were built prior to March 1974, plus 1735 automatics in Executive trim and only 659 V8 Super four-speeds.
Six-cylinder cars, especially manuals, aren’t common but aren’t expensive either with $15,000 a likely limit for the Super Six.
That is the level at which well-kept V8 automatics become available, with excellent 4.4-litre Supers able to exceed $20,000 and the Executive sometimes exceeding $25,000. Scarce Targa Florios will typically cost more than $30,000, with rare colours (Nutmeg and Aspen Green) increasing Targa values.
Parts for a car that ceased production over 50 years ago might be presumed scarce, but Owners Clubs across the country have combined to source and preserve available spares. Where an item vital to the cars’ survival became unavailable, moves were made to have replacements purpose made or parts from other vehicles adapted to satisfy the need.
HOW THE PRICES MOVED
2010
P76 Deluxe/Super Six 1973-74: $1000-$3800-$6200
P76 Super V8 1973-74: $2400-$5500-$8000
P76 Super V8 Manual 1973-74: $3300-$7000-$9500
P76 Executive 1973-74: $2500-$5700-$8500
P76 Targa Florio 1974: $4500-$10,000-$15,500
2019
P76 Deluxe/Super Six 1973-74: $1500-$5000-$9500
P76 Deluxe V8 1973-74: $2200-$6500-$11,000
P76 Super V8 1973-74: $2800-$8000-$13,000
P76 Super V8 Manual 1973-74: $4500-$11,500-$18,500
P76 Executive V8 1973-74: $2800-$10,000-$16,000
P76 Targa Florio 1974: I/D-$16,000-$24,500
2025
P76 Deluxe/Super Six 1973-74: $2500-$9000-$14,500
P76 Deluxe V8 1973-74: $3500-$11,500-$17,000
P76 Super V8 1973-74: $6500-$14,000-$22,000
P76 Super V8 Manual 1973-74: $8000-$18,500-$29,500
P76 Executive V8 1973-74: $8000-$14,000-$24,500
P76 Targa Florio 1974: I/D-$25,000-$36,500
CHEVROLET C2 CORVETTE 1963-67
Two years after Jaguar made every other sports car obsolete with its E-Type, Chevrolet went a step further with its radical Corvette Sting Ray.
The shape was based on a General Motors show car from 1958 and under the radical fibreglass body was an enlarged, 5.3-litre version of Chevrolet’s small-block V8.
Cars with that engine and a single carburettor would reach 195km/h and run 0-400 metres in 14.8 seconds. Corvettes built from 1963 all featured full independent suspension and various types of wheels, but they came initially with all-drum brakes and no opportunity to specify discs.
Four-wheel discs became standard in 1964 but those cars also saw the distinctive split rear window that had characterised the ’63 Corvette coupe replaced by a single slab of curved glass.
What the change of window didn’t do was improve access to the luggage platform. The C2 and later C3 designs didn’t provide external ‘trunk’ access, so retrieving your luggage involved crawling behind the seats.
Finding more power wasn’t a problem, however. Early cars had, as an option, Chevrolet’s fuel-injected small-block V8, followed in 1965 by a 6.6-litre 396 cubic inch V8. A year later, came the legendary 7.0-litre ‘427’ motor with 435bhp (318kW) and was said to run a standing quarter mile in 13.3 seconds on street tyres.
Most cars we see are automatic but the C2’s stock transmission was a three-speed manual, with four speeds a US$188 option.
Early C2s that came to Australia were required to be converted to right-hand drive – a source of problems with big-block cars and one reason why we saw few of those when new. More recent imports can be left untouched, which maintains their value as well.
Convertibles with big and small block engines are less common here than coupes; surprising given that only 45,549 fixed-roof C2s were built as opposed to over 72,000 convertibles.
Most C2s in the local market will be original LHD cars and comparable with similar vehicles in the USA market. Over there, excellent 5.3-litre convertibles or early coupes with the distinctive split rear window will sell at US$65-95,000, which makes sourcing a car from the USA less attractive than buying one that’s already here.
Prices sought and being paid locally have dropped significantly since their peak in 2021-22, making C2s an attractive prospect until values begin to climb again.
HOW THE PRICES MOVED
2011
Corvette Roadster 1963-67: $32,000-$60,000-$85,000
Corvette `Big Block’ Conv. 1965-67: $50,000-$85,000-$120,000
Corvette Coupe 1963-67: $35,000-$57,000-$72,000
Corvette ‘Big Block’ Coupe 1965-67: $50,000-$78,000-$110,000
2016
Corvette Roadster 1963-67: $32,000-$60,000-$90,000
Corvette `Big Block’ Conv. 1965-67: $50,000-$100,000-$140,000
Corvette Coupe 1963-67: $35,000-$62,000-$88,000
Corvette ‘Big Block’ Coupe 1965-67: $40,000-$90,000-$125,000
2019
Corvette Roadster 1963-67: I/D-$120,000-$175,000
Corvette ‘Big Block’ Conv. 1965-67: I/D-$165,000-$225,000
Corvette Coupe 1963-67: $35,000-$62,000-$88,000
‘Big Block’ Coupe 1965-67: $45,000-$95,000-$135,000
2025
Corvette Roadster 1963-67: I/D-$90,000-$135,000
Corvette ‘Big Block’ Conv. 1965-67: I/D-$165,000-$220,000
Corvette Coupe 1963-67: $35,000-$75,000-$110,000
‘Big Block’ Coupe 1965-67: I/D-$145,000-$200,000
FEROCIOUS FOREST RACERS OF THE GROUP B ERA
A few issues ago we looked at rule changes that saw Mazda join the world rally scene. Changes made necessary by the fearsome cars known to rally enthusiasts during the 1980s as ‘Group B Beasts’.
These were prodigiously fast and not especially sophisticated vehicles that placed extraordinary demands on competitor concentration and fitness. Within just a few years, rallying would turn a test of navigational skills and durability in to one of the most physically challenging of all sporting spectacles.
Group B cars were the super-maxis of World Championship rallying. To receive Homologation approval, they had to be based on a production model and a production engine, but that was pretty much where the eligibility rules stepped aside.
Audi went first with its five-cylinder, All-Wheel Drive Quattro, winning World titles in 1982 and 1984, ngers were by then, coming from everywhere.
Renault built its rear-engined R5 and Peugeot a fearsome version of its friendly 205GTi. MG and Ford brought Britain in to the fray, but it was Lancia with its Delta S4 that would produce the fastest forest racer there is ever likely to be.
All of these models are superstars of the collector market too. The year 2022 saw the 1986 Monte Carlo-winning Lancia Delta S4 make ¤1.63 million (around A$2.7 million) when auctioned and Hannu Mikkola’s 1985 WRC Audi Quattro Sport, also during 2022, reached an extraordinary £1.805 million (A$3.53 million).
AUDI QUATTRO SPORT S1
Audi started the stampede in 1980 with its turbo-engined Quattro and extended its capabilities as more sophisticated rivals joined the World Rally fray.
By the time works driver Walter Rohrl set a sub 11-minute run on USA’s Pikes Peak in 1987, his short wheelbase Quattro Sport E2 weighed under 1000kg and was producing around 450kW. However, that isn’t the way the Quattro was configured before the team withdrew from WRC events midway through 1986.
In 1984, Audi’s solution was to build 200 road-going Quattro Sports with a shorter wheelbase and amended weight distribution. Changes included deletion of the central differential and mounting the radiators behind the cabin where they were fed by side and roof-mounted ducts.
E2 versions of the Sport were said to be the most powerful of the homologated Group B cars but difficult to handle even for Audi’s ‘dream team’ of drivers. The Quattro with its front-engined design struggled against mid-engined rivals from Lancia and Peugeot and demanded special driving techniques to remain competitive on sinuous rally roads.
Gravel and especially ice saw the Quattros understeer endemically and require drivers to balance their cars on the brake pedal while simultaneously juggling the throttle, sequential gearshift and handbrake.
LANCIA DELTA S4
As speeds rose and demands on crew members intensified, a major rally accident was inevitable, and in May 1986 it happened. On a mountainside stage of the Tour de Corse (Corsica) an S4 crewed by Henri Toivonen/Sergio Cresta left the road while leading the event, landing upside down and catching fire.
Both occupants were killed, resulting in Audi and Ford withdrawing from the year’s remaining events and the sport’s governing body ending Group B eligibility.
Before the tragic crash, Lancia’s Delta-based S4 showed its ability to challenge the dominant Peugeots. With the S4, Lancia scored a first-up win in 1985 and three more during 1986. Despite the fatal Toivonen crash, it would still earn a second-place finish in the Manufacturers’ title.
The S4’s heritage and Lancia’s rally dominance dated back to the 1960s via the front-wheel drive Fulvia HF. Then in 1973 arrived the radical Stratos coupe which ranks as the world’s first purpose-built rally car. Delta S4s rallied during 1985/86 had a 1.75-litre mid-mounted engine with a turbocharger and supercharger working in sequence.
Output during events like the Monte Carlo would be around 330kW but the engine was capable of producing over 600kW at maximum boost. Top speed was 220km/h, with 0-60mph (0-97km/h) on gravel taking 2.8 seconds.
PEUGEOT 205 T16
Once Audi’s Quattro had reached the peak of its development, Peugeot came from the shadows with a car that threatened both Audi and the forthcoming Lancia S4.
By 1985, with virtually any modification acceptable under Group B rules, Peugeot’s Evolution 2 version of its T16 was introduced, looking similar to the production car but with a space frame supporting the rear-mounted engine. These cars were 70kg lighter than earlier versions, with 335kW available from 1.8 litres when running 2.6 bar of turbo boost or 37.7psi.
In that form, the T16 won four World Rally events during 1985, followed by six in 1986 including the fateful Tour de Corse. These wins gave Peugeot the Drivers and Constructors titles for both years, although the 1986 Championship rang somewhat hollow due to depleted fields. Peugeot shared with Audi a desire to impress in the North American market and challenged the mighty Quattro Sport E2 in a match race on the daunting Pikes Peak.
Climbing more than 2800 metres in 11 minutes on a mix of paved road and gravel, Pikes Peak was the equal of any WRC Special Stage and although the Peugeot with its array of aerodynamic devices was fast, the 1.8-litre T16 lost out to Audi in its first and only attempt at Pikes.
FORD RS200
Ford came late to the Group B party, using a purpose-built derivative of the 3rd Generation Escort with a mid-mount engine and All-Wheel Drive technology.
A road-spec version experienced by Unique Cars on a race circuit wasn’t running anywhere near the same boost or the gearing used for WRC events but still recorded a 0-60mph (0-97km/h) time of 2.4 seconds on the bitumen of Queensland Raceway. At best it would do 1.8 seconds.
Another purpose-built design with its engine behind the cabin, the RS200 used a derivative of Ford’s famed 1.8-litre BDA four-cylinder. Upgraded and turbocharged, the engine in road specification produced 186kW, with up to 336kW used during WRC events.
The RS200’s Group B career was brief with minimal success before two tragic events saw the cars withdrawn from WRC events. Prior to the fatal crash involving Lancia’s S4 there had been an incident at the Portuguese round of the 1986 WRC.
There, on roads lined by unrestrained spectators, the driver of a locally entered RS200 tried to avoid a spectator standing on the road, lost control and crashed into the crowd. Three were killed and 32 injured but the rally organisers elected to let the event continue.
RENAULT 5 TURBO
Some time back we took a look at one of these, albeit in far less ferocious form than versions that contested rallies in Group B form.
Under early Group B rules, the 5 Turbo had to be production based and 400 needed to be sold to qualify for international rally events. The rules didn’t mention where the engine could be located, so ripping the back seat out of a production 5 and installing a 1.4-litre turbo with technical backing from the people who built Renault’s Formula One engines was easy.
Renault’s radical design brought immediate success, with a Five Turbo winning the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally. That was it for a while though, as competition from All-Wheel Drive Audis and Lancias forced Renault to wait until the French round of the 1982 World Rally Championship for its next win.
Traction with rear-wheel drive only would always put the compact Renault at a disadvantage, with the powerful 5 Maxi versions struggling especially in snow and on gravel.
However, where an event was held somewhere other than icy Scandinavian roads and on tarmac, the 258kW Maxi was in its element. The Tour de Corse (Corsica) was such an event and there in 1985, Renault finished a massive 12 minutes ahead of the second-placed Peugeot 205.