√Found in New Zealand: Ford Falcon XW GTHO expected to sell for $500,000

One of 14 Ford Falcon XW GTHO Phase 1 sedans to race at Bathurst is for sale in New Zealand.

One of the first Ford Falcon GTHOs to race at Bathurst has appeared on an auction website in New Zealand.

One of 260 Ford Falcon XW GTHOs built in 1969, it is projected to sell between $NZ570,000 to $NZ650,000 ($AU511,000 to $AU583,000).

Posted online by auction house Webb’s, this example was the 46th GTHO Phase I to roll off the Broadmeadows production line, although it’s one of only 14 to race at Bathurst.

First delivered to Genders Motors in Lithgow NSW, the GTHO Phase I was raced by Bob Genders and Joe Butta as car #63D in the 1969 Bathurst 500 (now the Bathurst 1000).

Of the 23,628 miles (38,025 kilometres) now on its odometer, more than 470 miles (756km) were clocked around the Mount Panorama Circuit where it finished 12th in that year’s ‘Great Race’.

The GTHO found a new owner and was raced until 1973, clocking up a further 16,000 miles (25,000 kilometres) on the road and track before it was put into storage in Far North Queensland, minus its racing logbook.

It remained in Cairns until 1987, when the GTHO’s current owner purchased the XW Falcon and shipped it to New Zealand, where it was again stored for more than a decade before being registered there in November 1999.

A comprehensive restoration took place in 2008, which included a respray of its Grecian Gold paint, reupholstered black vinyl seats, a recommissioned four-speed manual gearbox, plus new carpet and rooflining to hide the holes left by the roll cage.

As with all XW GTHO Phase 1 sedans, this example is fitted with Ford’s ‘Windsor’ 351 cubic-inch (5.8-litre) V8 – a rare find as Ford started to fit the ‘Cleveland’ 351ci V8 to all Falcon GTs from the XW GTHO Phase 1.5, all the way to the Ford Falcon XE in 1982.

The online auction will take place in Manakau, New Zealand on August 14, 2022.

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