Strike me pink! Torana XU-1 sells for $194,000

Thursday, 2 May 2019

When buying a classic car you have to consider exactly what value you place on things like it being in a rare colour, a very early production example or even having a documented racing history.

Or in the case of 1972 Holden Torana that sold at auction in Australia recently, all three.

The answer in this case was a surprising AU$183,000 (NZ$194,000), or about double what pre-auction forecasts thought it was worth. Although, it has to be said that it was a rather special Torana.

The first recorded production example of the LJ Torana XU-1 attracted big money at the auction. And it was very pink too.

The bright pink 1972 LJ Torana GTR XU-1 with a period race history had been stored for 24 years before it was offered with no reserve at Shannons Melbourne Autumn Classic Auction on April 29, with its hefty price for the Torana being achieved after a 'prolonged duel' between two determined enthusiasts bidding online and by phone.

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A gorgeous Ford Falcon XK windowless panel van also sold for double its expected value at the auction.

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* Would you pay $48,000 for a bog-standard 1979 Ford Falcon?

The biggest sale of the auction was this vintage number plate that attracted more than half a million dollars.

* Rare Holden Torana racer may sell for $1m**

Pushing its value was not only its racing life as a Sports Sedan in Western Australia and its wild 'Strike me Pink' official factory colour, but also the fact that it was the first documented LJ-model XU-1 produced at GM-H's Elizabeth plant.

Although the XU-1 model debuted in the previous-generation LC Torana, the LJ XU-1 was the car that finally defeated the dominant Ford Falcon GT-HO at Bathurst in the hands of Peter Brock, kicking off the''Peter Perfect'/Torana legend with the first of five Bathurst wins for the Torana in its colourful 10-year career at the legendary race.

Shannons say that the result for the XU-1 was 'indicative of the high demand for Australian classics at the auction', which grossed AU$3.3 million (NZ$3.5 million) in total sales, with 90 per cent of all lots sold on the hammer.

Two other Aussie icons that went for big money were a beautifully-presented 1969 Holden HT Monaro uprated with a 383ci V8 engine and corresponding mechanical and cosmetic upgrades that sold for AU$107,000 (NZ$113,000) and a restored 1962 Ford Falcon XK windowless panel van that went for AU$50,000 (NZ$53,000), also comfortably above its pre-auction high estimate.

Other highlights of the auction included a two-tone 1960 Holden FB Holden special sedan in original condition that sold for AU$26,000 (NZ$27,500), a right hand drive 1956 Ford F100 Side-Step pick-up for AU$45,000 (NZ$47,700) and a 1982 Toyota Land-Cruiser HJ47 that sold for AU$29,000 (NZ$30,700).

Fans of European sports car were also catered for with a pair of classic Porsche 911s attracting a lot of attention, with a special order Baltic Blue Metallic 1989 930 Turbo selling for AU$160,000 (NZ$169,500) and a Pewter Metallic 1983 911SC Cabriolet attracting AU$75,000 (NZ$79,500).

But the biggest sale of the event wasn't a car, with black and white 'heritage' Victorian number plates continuing their inexplicably strong performance at auctions around Australia of late with the highly-anticipated sale of a very early issue plate '59' held for many years by the same family, producing the top sale of the night of a colossal AU$535,000 (NZ$566,600).