Photo: Lloyds Auctions
Holden is one of the most famous motor racing names in Australia, with the Torana being the most successful Australian Touring Car. One such Holden, with plenty of history and offered with priceless racing memorabilia, is currently under the hammer.
It’s a 1977 Holden LX Torana previously driven by legendary race driver John Harvey between 1977 and 1979, at the Australian Touring Car Championship. It’s being offered by Lloyds Auctions with a bundle of other racing memorabilia, some of them pretty awesome in their own right. The classic racer is expected to set a new world record as the most expensive Holden ever to cross the auction block.
According to Lloyds Auctions' chief operations officer Lee Hames, the current auction could close at AUD$2 million, which is roughly $1.47 million in U.S. dollars. Speaking of which, the hammer falls on the auction on Saturday, November 28, and bidding is currently at nearly AUD$700,000.
“It is arguably one of the most important pieces of Australian Motor Racing History to go under the hammer in a very long time,” the listing says. “Being presented in the correct HDT Marlboro livery and bearing the #76, this amazing car still runs as good as the days it was thundering around the tracks in the late 70's in the hands of the great John Harvey.”
With the car, the future owner gets racing equipment, three sets of wheels and tires, as well as John Harvey’s racing jacket and boots, helmets, trophies, racing records and “an enormous array” of unspecified pieces of memorabilia. Way to sweeten the pot.
Between 1981 and 2002, this Torana went through several different owners, but was only raced a handful of times. The original livery was painted over by the end of the ‘80s, to a pale blue, but a collector did a full restoration on the car, which included the original livery, by 1993. It’s been with the same owner since 2002, and has been maintained in association with John Harvey, who provides its full racing history with the listing.
“The significance and provenance of this car is paramount to Australian history and is something that is very special and extremely rare, there is no other like this car, it is one of one driven by legendary race car driver John Harvey,” Hames says in a statement to the local media.
As such, he wouldn’t be surprised if it could go on to write history as the most expensive Holden ever.
According to Lloyds Auctions' chief operations officer Lee Hames, the current auction could close at AUD$2 million, which is roughly $1.47 million in U.S. dollars. Speaking of which, the hammer falls on the auction on Saturday, November 28, and bidding is currently at nearly AUD$700,000.
“It is arguably one of the most important pieces of Australian Motor Racing History to go under the hammer in a very long time,” the listing says. “Being presented in the correct HDT Marlboro livery and bearing the #76, this amazing car still runs as good as the days it was thundering around the tracks in the late 70's in the hands of the great John Harvey.”
With the car, the future owner gets racing equipment, three sets of wheels and tires, as well as John Harvey’s racing jacket and boots, helmets, trophies, racing records and “an enormous array” of unspecified pieces of memorabilia. Way to sweeten the pot.
Between 1981 and 2002, this Torana went through several different owners, but was only raced a handful of times. The original livery was painted over by the end of the ‘80s, to a pale blue, but a collector did a full restoration on the car, which included the original livery, by 1993. It’s been with the same owner since 2002, and has been maintained in association with John Harvey, who provides its full racing history with the listing.
“The significance and provenance of this car is paramount to Australian history and is something that is very special and extremely rare, there is no other like this car, it is one of one driven by legendary race car driver John Harvey,” Hames says in a statement to the local media.
As such, he wouldn’t be surprised if it could go on to write history as the most expensive Holden ever.
Google News