FOR SALE: One of our nation’s most iconic race cars, from our most iconic driver
We recently reported that Peter Champion’s historic collection of Peter Brock race cars will head to auction, available individually after initially expressing his desire to see the collection kept together.
The collection spanning upwards of 25 cars is headlined by Brock’s own Group C VK “Big Banger”, which is anticipated to shatter Australian records with an expected sale price in excess of $2 million dollars at the upcoming auction in Bathurst.
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The auction, a one-off event featuring an unprecedented amount of Brock-connected cars, has been confirmed to go ahead on this year’s Bathurst race weekend, October 6.
The Day-Glo “Big Banger” Group C Commodore was the car in which Brock won the James Hardie 1000 at Bathurst, Sandown 500 and surfers Paradise 300.
It is arguably the centrepiece of the Champion collection which will embark on a tour through New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria to be displayed as a collection one last time, before returning to their spiritual home at Bathurst to be auctioned.
Peter Champion, owner of HDT and the historic Brock collection spoke of the iconic Commodore: “I’ve raced the “Big Banger” around the track several times, she still goes like a beauty and that’s what this entire collection is about – enjoying the cars is what Peter would have wanted”.
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“This car has a lot of great history and even better stories that come along with it. This is not just an ordinary car – it’s a very special piece of history” Champion contunues.
The sale is a unique piece of Australia’s motoring history, as these heroic cars seek to go home to a new generation of custodians.
Investment interest in classic Australian cars is currently at an all-time high, with the recent sale of “Big Red” – a Phase III GTHO owned by Jeff Thompson to the tune of $1 million dollars saw our once niche community elevated to new heights.
Who knows how much Brock’s “Big Banger” will ultimately go for, but the auctioneers are confident it will fetch a princely sum.
Lloyds Head Auctioneer Bill Freeman said that the Commodore “has already had enormous interest – we’ve had thousands of enquiries every day since the collection has been announced including enquiries from overseas.”
“We expect it to sell in excess of $2 million which will break all Australian records”.
The Collection will be sold via Lloyds auction house, and take place on October 6 in Bathurst.
Editor’s note: There has long been a controversy over whether the Group C car in the former Champion collection is in fact the Brock machine or that driven by team-mate John Harvey. The evidence suggests it is in fact the Brock machine, while the other – which is displayed at the Bathurst museum – is Harvey’s.
As with many of these debates, incontrovertible evidence is difficult to find. However a letter believed to be from Brock was published some time ago, confirming the Champion car as the real thing.