Photo: NCA NewsWire / David Corp Australialing / News Coprs
Who doesn’t love a happy-ending story? If you’re among those few who maybe muttered to themselves “I don’t,” chances are you’ll probably love this one: it includes a rare Holden being reunited with its owner after nearly 3 decades, rally racing and lots of pink. No glitter, though.
“Sexy Lexy” is a 1973 Holden Torana GTR XU-1 decked in glorious hot pink, that used to rally race way back in the day. Also then, her rightful owner, Carol Richards, was young. Today, Richards is 71 and, finally reunited with Lexy, is making plans of racing again.
Richards bought Lexy in 1973 and owned it until 1992, when it went missing from her driveway, News.com.au reports. Since then, she never lost hope she might be reunited with the car but, let’s face it, with each passing year, she was probably losing all faith that it would happen.
A breakthrough in the case came in 2016, when a police detective tracked down a stolen car reselling ring that was cloning vehicles with new serial numbers, and selling them to unsuspecting clients. It turns out, “Sexy Lexy” suffered the same fate and, after going through several pairs of hands, it ended up with a Holden collector.
Police arrested the bad guys and, just recently, the ringleader was ordered to pay retribution (probably with damages) to the new owner of the hot pink Torana – the equivalent of $400,000. Once the payment went through, Lexy went back to Richards – and you can see how that played out in the video at the bottom of the page.
Richards says in the video that Lexy was the car she’d taught her son to drive in, and now, he can do the same with his son. But that won’t happen before she races it again.
Because it’s a rare Holden that’s been fully restored and maintained in excellent condition, “Sexy Lexy” is now worth about $90,000. Richards would make a killing if she decided to sell it, especially since she paid some $1,000 for it when she bought it. She has no intention to do so, though – or, as she puts it, “Over my dead body.”
Richards bought Lexy in 1973 and owned it until 1992, when it went missing from her driveway, News.com.au reports. Since then, she never lost hope she might be reunited with the car but, let’s face it, with each passing year, she was probably losing all faith that it would happen.
A breakthrough in the case came in 2016, when a police detective tracked down a stolen car reselling ring that was cloning vehicles with new serial numbers, and selling them to unsuspecting clients. It turns out, “Sexy Lexy” suffered the same fate and, after going through several pairs of hands, it ended up with a Holden collector.
Police arrested the bad guys and, just recently, the ringleader was ordered to pay retribution (probably with damages) to the new owner of the hot pink Torana – the equivalent of $400,000. Once the payment went through, Lexy went back to Richards – and you can see how that played out in the video at the bottom of the page.
Richards says in the video that Lexy was the car she’d taught her son to drive in, and now, he can do the same with his son. But that won’t happen before she races it again.
Because it’s a rare Holden that’s been fully restored and maintained in excellent condition, “Sexy Lexy” is now worth about $90,000. Richards would make a killing if she decided to sell it, especially since she paid some $1,000 for it when she bought it. She has no intention to do so, though – or, as she puts it, “Over my dead body.”
A rare pink Holden Torana stolen from a Burwood driveway in 1992 has been returned to its owner almost three decades later.
— 9News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) October 27, 2020
Carol Richards is now in her 70s but is more determined than ever to hit the race track. #9News | Nightly at 6.00pm pic.twitter.com/zrcsEi35DK
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