Pye Holden Commodore sold at auction

Scott Pye’s race-winning Walkinshaw Andretti United Holden Commodore ZB has been sold at auction.

The 2018 Holden Commodore ZB that Pye drove to victory at the 2018 Melbourne 400 went for $355,000 at the Lloyds Classics Cars Auctions’‘Unreil’ collection.

The race-winning Walkinshaw Andretti United ZB Commodore, dubbed WR 024, was also driven to a second-place finish in Race 1 at the 2018 Winter SuperSprint, as well as a second-place finish at that year’s Bathurst 1000 by Pye and Warren Luff.

Bryce Fullwood also steered WR 024 to a podium finish in Race 25 at The Bend Motorsport Park in 2020.

The Walkinshaw Andretti United Holden Commodore ZB formed part of a collection, that featured 50 rare, classic and unique vehicles that competed at racetracks across Australia and New Zealand.

Among the more notable cars at the auction included an extremely rare 1977 Holden Torana A9X, Ian ‘Pete Geoghegan’s 1975 HJ Holden Monaro GTS, the three-time Australian Touring Car Championship-winning 1967 Ford Mustang of Geoghegan, Bob Jane and John Harvey’s 1972 HQ Monaro GTS Coupe, Dick Johnson’s 1976 XC Ford Falcon, as well as a 2020 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster.

The 1977 Holden Torana A9X Hatch GMP and A attracted a bid of $500,001.

Built from a spare Bob Morris shell by Allan Moffat’s 1978 engine builder Peter Molloy to full Group C specification, the two-door coupe was one of 33-ever built.

The development of the A9X hatchback was not without controversy, with racing teams outraged when it became known that Holden had produced the shells with lighter gauge steel, making them considerably lighter than standard production shells.

Geoghegan’s 1975 Holden Monaro GTS Sports Sedan was sold for $355,000 to an online bidder.

Originally built in 1974 by John Sheppard for Laurle O’Neil and first campaigned by Geoghegan, the groundbreaking Chevrolet-V8 powered Monaro scored a victory in its debut, going onto become a crowd favourite.

One of the most significant cars in Australian motorsport history, Geoghegan’s three-time Australian Touring Car Championship-winning 1967 Ford Mustang attracted a bid of $400,000.

Decades after its title-winning run, the 1967 Ford Mustang was re-built to its 1972 CAMS Certificate of Description in 2001, before it was campaigned in recent years by Wall Racing’s Des and David Wall in historic race events across the eastern seaboard.

In addition to the Mustang, the lot included $250,000 worth of spare parts, two engines and multiple engine componentry, two gearboxes, diff center, suspension and steering parts, moulds for the front guards, three sets of Minilite wheels and Goodyear tyres, as well as the CAMS logbook.

The 1972 Holden HQ Monaro GTS 350 Bob Jane and John Harvey #17 attracted a price of $400,000 from a phone bidder.

The genuine example was built in 1972 to CAMS Improved Production specs by John Sheppard and Pat Purcell to replace Jane’s legendary Chevy ZL1 Camaro.

The Monaro was raced extensively by Bob Jane and John Harvey from 1972 through 1979.

It was also raced by John Bowe and the late Peter Brock.

Johnson’s 1976 Bryan Byrt Ford C XC Falcon Hardtop drew a price of $280,000 via a phone bidder.

Decorated in its 1978 Bathurst 1000 livery as raced by John French and Warwick Brown, the XC Falcon hardtop ran in three Great Races at Mount Panorama.

Initially driven by Jim Richards, the example was then rented out to other competitors, including Johnson, who went onto collect several wins in the car.

The Queensland also steered the entry in the 1978 Australian Touring Car Championship.

The most expensive car of the auction was a 2020 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster that went for $1,385,000 to an online bidder.

Watch a replay of the ‘Unreil’ collection auction here.