For the third time this year, an Australian-made car was sold for a record price. According to the seller, an extremely rare 1972 Ford Falcon XA GTHO Phase IV was bought by a collector for approximately $ 2 million in what is considered a new record.
Australian Muscle Car Sales claims to broker the deal, which will swap one of only three racing prototypes from the golden era of Australian touring car racing for the first time in 20 years.
In a statement posted on its website, Australian Muscle Car Sales stated that the car “sold for just under $ 2 million … We believe this is the highest unit price ever paid for an Australian-made street car”.
The sale for this Falcon GTHO Phase IV continues the recent trend of selling locally made cars for big bucks. This is followed by the February sale of a 1971 XY Falcon GTHO Phase III for a then record of $ 1.15 million, which was sold for $ 1.05 million just weeks after a 2018 HSV GTSR W1 Maloo, what at that time it was a record.
For those unfamiliar with the history of GTHO Phase IV, here’s a quick recap to help explain why it came to such a high price. In the early 1970s, Australian racing regulations required that the cars that drove at Bathurst had to be based on a production model.
Ford sought a hat trick of victories in what was then the 500-mile race after Allan Moffat won Phase II in ’70 in an XW Falcon GTHO and then Phase III in ’71 in an XY Falcon GTHO. To that end, Ford Special Vehicles Division began work on the XA-based Phase IV, installed a 5.7-liter V8 engine under the hood, and upgraded the suspension and brakes to around the 500 mile torture to survive the Mt. Panorama.
Due to the regulations, the same modifications were also available for the roadworthy Falcon GTHO Phase IV, leading to the infamous June 1972 front page headline of The Sun-Herald announcing the arrival of the “160mph Super Cars” on the roads announced . New South Wales Secretary of Transportation Milton Morris was outraged by the idea of such fast cars on the roads and called for a ban.
When other states followed suit, Ford had no choice but to ditch the Phase IV program as only three racing cars and a single roadworthy prototype were built. After all, these cars were still sold to the public and have been very popular with collectors ever since, as this last sale proves.
The car sold here is one of three racing prototypes painted in Brambles Red, a color made famous for Moffat’s factory-supported Fords of the era. It also comes with the contemporary roll cage and an extensive collection of documentation to confirm its place in Australian automotive history.