Ford Falcon GTHO value drops

Just two years ago rare examples of the original V8 supercar were selling for more than $600, 000 with talk of million dollar sales imminent.  But this week a highly desirable example made just $331, 000 at a major auction.

Shannons national auctions manger Christophe Boribon blames the global financial crisis for the collapse in values.  "We reached an artificial high a couple of years ago but then the GFC hit. Now it is back to reality, " he said.  "There is only a limited number of buyers out there for a car like that.  "The car is a very rare car. The car is the holy grail of Australian muscle cars."

Interest was revived in the early 2000s when baby boomers flush with cash began seeking out the remaining examples, keen to get hold of the cars they watched race on TV and couldn't afford in their youth.

At the 2007 Sydney motor show auction an immaculate Monza Green model was passed in at $620, 000. It had been expected to beat the $683,650 record price a Queensland buyer had paid for a similiar model a few months earlier.  Mr Boribon said that car was sold privately a few months later for less than the top bid.

"There was talk at the time of one or two cars making a million bucks but I haven't seen any paperwork confirming that. It's impossible to say whether it happened."

Last Monday another, nearly identical car in condition and colour to the 2007 Sydney auction car, sold for $331, 000 in Melbourne after bidding started at $260,000.  Sydney car collector Paul Carthew advertised  his white GTHO for one million dollars in 2008.

Yesterday, he said he still had the car.  "I never got one genuine offer, I got a lot of wankers though.  "There was one car that I know about that changed hands for $900,000 at the time in Melbourne.  "That was the peak of the market. I didn't really want to sell it but I thought that if someone was prepared to pay that sort of money I was prepared to sell it."

Mr Carthew said that despite the latest sale result he believed that a GTHO in excellent original condition with all the correct paperwork would still be worth $500, 000-$600, 000 today.  "It comes down to what people are prepared to pay for it."

Collectors' eyes will now turn to a Sydney auction next Monday night (June 7) when a rare Holden 427 concept car goes under the hammer. It is reported to have last sold for around $900, 000 in 2007.

Falcon GTHO Phase III

Price new 1971: $5300
Value 2007: $683,500
Value 2008: close to $1 million
Value 2010: $331, 000