Many low-production Australian muscle cars exist because of one race: Bathurst. Several were homologation specials, built in just the numbers needed to qualify a race car. Every car below was built in fewer than 600 examples, and one never got past four.
All prices are in Australian dollars. Production figures come from the Shannons club and auction archive, Retro Rides, Wheels, GoAuto and other marque histories.
1. 1972 Ford Falcon XA GT-HO Phase IV, the Australian muscle car that stopped at four
Ford planned one batch of 200 Phase IVs to qualify the car for the 1972 Bathurst race. Then, on June 25, 1972, the Sydney Sun-Herald ran Evan Green’s front-page story about “160 mph” cars for public sale. According to the marque history site Ate Up With Motor, only four Phase IVs were finished by then. Ford canceled the program, and its works team raced the older Phase III instead.
Of those four, three were race cars and one was a production car, the Shannons club says, which matches Ate Up With Motor’s account. Under the hood was a 351 Cleveland V8 that engine builder Bill Santuccione said was “nudging 400 bhp.” Today the production car and two race cars survive, all privately owned.
2. 1977 Holden Torana A9X hatchback
A9X was a factory option code, not a model name. It added rear disc brakes, a first for any Torana, plus a 10-bolt Salisbury limited-slip differential. According to the Shannons club, the road car used a 5.0-liter V8 rated at 161 kW, or 216 bhp.
Holden built 405 road-going A9Xs, but only 100 were hatchbacks. In addition, it made 33 race-only hatchbacks. An A9X carried Peter Brock and Jim Richards to the 1979 Bathurst win by six laps. For that reason, real road hatches now trade at serious money. According to Retro Rides, some have sold for more than half a million.
3. 2008 HSV W427
The W427 marked 20 years of Holden Special Vehicles. At launch it cost $150,000, which made it the most expensive Holden ever, GoAuto reported in June 2008. Its 7.0-liter LS7 V8 came from the Corvette and made 375 kW. The only gearbox was a six-speed manual.
HSV said it would build 427 cars at six a week. Retro Rides even calls it “very likely the last proper Australian muscle car.” In the end, however, only 137 sedans were made, all documented, according to Retro Rides. HSV chairman Tom Walkinshaw had called it “one of the best four-door performance cars I’ve ever driven.” Retro Rides’ 2024 guide values one at $195,000 to $275,000.
4. 1972 Chrysler Valiant Charger E49
The E49 used a six-cylinder engine, not a V8. Even so, its 4.3-liter Hemi Six ran three Weber carburetors and made 225 kW, according to a Retro Rides history of the car. Wheels magazine timed one at 6.1 seconds from 0 to 60 mph and 14.1 seconds in the quarter mile.
Chrysler built 149 E49s, and perhaps half survive, Retro Rides says. Back in 1972, the car cost $4,300 new, which was $1,000 less than a Falcon GT-HO Phase III. At Bathurst that year, the best E49 finished third, with Doug Chivas driving. Today one only occasionally tops $200,000.
5. 2007 FPV GT 40th Anniversary
Ford Performance Vehicles built this car to mark 40 years of the Falcon GT. According to GoAuto’s first look, it came in Silhouette black with a gold over-body stripe kit. That stripe recalled the 1978 XC Falcon Cobra hardtop. It also got an R-Spec suspension tune and 19-inch wheels.
FPV built only 200, and more than half had manual gearboxes, Retro Rides says. Also, power came from a 5.4-liter V8 rated at 290 kW, with Brembo brakes. The price was $65,110 with either gearbox. Meanwhile, Retro Rides adds that low-mileage cars already sell at or above that original price.
6. 1978 Ford Falcon XC Cobra
Ford built 400 Cobras over a few days in July 1978, all based on the GS500 hardtop. Half had the 5.8-liter 351 V8 with 162 kW. The other half used the 4.9-liter 302 with 151 kW, according to Wheels. Every car started blue and then had Sno White painted over the top.
Within that run were 30 Option 97 “Bathurst” cars. Each had the 351 and the full homologation kit. They cost $10,333 new. Allan Moffat’s two 1978 Cobra racers were, in fact, his 1977 Bathurst one-two cars, Wheels says. Retro Rides’ 2024 guide values a Cobra at $300,000 to $390,000.
7. 1985 HDT Commodore VK Group A
To race a 4,979 cc V8 in the international Group A category, Holden had to build at least 500 road cars. Peter Brock’s Holden Dealer Team built them in Formula Blue, which fans nicknamed the “Blue Meanie.” According to Shannons, the engine made 268 bhp.
Retro Rides puts the final total at more than 550, and says one cost about $22,000 new. Shannons sold No. 327 of 500 for $106,000 at its 2016 Sydney Spring Classic auction. Since then, Retro Rides says, recent prices have topped $300,000.
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