Entire Australian museum collection for sale on Sunday

By Lizzie Pope

| 1 Apr 2019

Classic & Sports Car – Entire Australian museum collection for sale next Sunday

The largest privately owned classic car collection ever to be auctioned in the southern hemisphere will go under the hammer this weekend, when the Gosford Classic Car Museum shuts its doors for good.

The Museum is to close along with its sister dealership due to a dispute with the Australian tax authorities, and its entire stock will be sold by Lloyds Auctions at the museum venue in West Gosford, New South Wales, on Sunday (7 April).

With more than 150 cars in the collection, there’ll certainly be plenty of variety on offer; alongside the many vehicles from Australia, America and the UK will be several lesser-known models from the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

Grey ’49 48-215 FX (left) is the sale’s oldest Holden, while this classic 1957 ute has had a ground-up rebuild

Small screen 1962 Holden (left) and restored Belmont HQ SS

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Holden is well represented with 12 lots ranging, age-wise, from Convoy Grey 1949 48-215 FX to a 2015 HSV GTS Maloo with a 6.2-litre V8. And the latter isn’t the only Holden ute in the catalogue, with a 1965 HD and a peppermint 1957 FE also featuring.

Other exhibits consigned to the sale include a striking 1972 Holden Belmont HQ SS, plus a ’62 Holden EJ Premier that was road tested in Australia’s Modern Motor magazine as well as appearing in mini-series The Easy Beats and Aussie TV drama Love Child.

There are also several Japanese classics including a 1974 Mazda RX-4 LA23S that’s been owned by one family from new, a rare 1969 Mazda R130 M13P Rotary Luce that’s believed to be one of no more than 200 survivors, and a Datsun 260Z sold new in Queensland, Australia in 1975.

Fancy this 1966 Corvette (left) or two-tone Hudson Pacemaker?

This 1955 400 (left) is the only Packard in the sale, while the 1963 Ambassador 880 is one of seven Ramblers

Americana features highly, including this 39,841-mile 1966 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C2 in eye-catching Nassau blue with black interior, which will be sold alongside two convertible versions, a Monza Red C3 from 1969 and a one of the last Stingray C2s, finished in Marlboro Maroon.

Fords including a pair of Falcons and a ’71 Mustang Boss 351 will also be sold, while a 1973 Buick Riviera, a ’68 Mercury Cougar XR7, a convertible 1967 Pontiac GTO, two Humvees, two Hudsons, three Nash models and a 1955 Packard 400 are also among the many lots flying the flag for the USA.

There are also seven Ramblers, all but one of which were assembled by Australian Motor Industries (AMI), the oldest of which is a 1963 Rambler Ambassador 880.

Also of note are the Rambler Marlin that’s the only known 1965 model in Australia, and the 1969 Rambler/AMC AMX that’s one of 24 RHD-assembled Australian examples.

Fine-looking DB5 (left) and competition-prepared A90

E-type roadster (left) and orange BMW

European fare isn’t in short supply, either. There are several Aston Martins, including a matching-numbers DB5 that’ll be sold with an Aston Martin Heritage Trust certificate.

Or how about a unique, ready-to-rally Austin A90? Or a concours-winning 1955 Austin-Healey 100 BN1?

The droptop E-type pictured above is one of a number of Jaguars being sold on Sunday, while a right-hand-drive, burgundy Mercedes-Benz 300SE Coupé is also on offer.

Sticking with Germany, the auction’s 1973 BMW 3.0 CS is surely one of the more head-turning lots. It’s thought to be one of just 12 sold new in Australia. A 1987 BMW M5 – one of 187 RHD examples – looks pretty special, too.

Lambo (left) and 911 are likely to prove popular at auction

Gaz 13 Chaika Limousine (left) and Aussie Invader highlight the breadth of this sale

Bidders interested in undisputed automotive icons will also have cause to raid their piggy banks when the Guards Red 1976 Porsche 911 and the 18,607-mile, one-of-100 1999 Lamborghini Diablo SV go under the hammer.

Or for something completely different, the Gosford Classic Car Museum sale also features some models from Gaz, including a ’69 13 Chaika Limousine and a 1977 Volga 24.

And it’s not every day that you have the chance to buy a land-speed record challenger, but on Sunday the Aussie Invader III will cross the block.

Driven by Roscoe McGlashan in 1997 and powered by an ATAR jet engine from a RAAF mirage fighter plane, it takes just 16 seconds to go from 0-1000kph – just bear in mind that you’ll need a pretty big space in which to store it.

Our whistle-stop tour has barely scratched the surface of the collection, so if you want to find out more about this weekend’s auction, check out the full lot list here.

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