Mark Quinlan•3 December, 2024
Collectors wanting to own a significant piece of Australian motorsport history will be salivating at the prospect of bidding on a 1970 Ford Falcon XW GT-HO Phase II that raced at Bathurst.
Wearing a livery not dissimilar to that of fellow Ford racer Allan Moffat, who went on to win his first Hardie-Ferodo 500 that year in car number 64E, the Aunger Accessories/Fairway Ford XW Falcon GT-HO Phase II was driven by Kym Aunger and Johnnie Walker but retired after 18 laps.
Not to be deterred, Kym Aunger won a touring car race in the same XW GT-HO Phase II the following week at Mallala, SA, setting a new series production lap record.
The name Aunger will be familiar to fans of Aussie classics, as Kym Aunger founded his own car accessories business in 1969 and went on to launch a range of ‘dress up’ accessories to fit most of the popular Australian-made cars.
The young Adelaide entrepreneur designed and patented a plastic injection-moulded rear window louvre for cars which became a ‘must-have’ for style-obsessed enthusiasts in the ‘70s. He also developed a range of spoilers and body kits under the Aunger brand name.
Perhaps Aunger’s best-known product were its cast-aluminium ‘mag’ wheels, including its ‘Hot Wire’ design which became one of the most recognised and successful Australian-made wheels.
To promote his range of wheels and accessories Kim took to the track, including in this distinctive XW Falcon GTHO Phase II which will go under the hammer at Burns & Co’s Melbourne facility in January.
The company claims the car has been recognised by CAMS with gold certificate of description, recognising its origin with full line of history and period correct mechanical specification and livery.
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