Despite dealership doors being shuttered and many private vendors also on a break, there was plenty of sales activity and support for desirable Japanese cars in particular during the holidays as the calendar turned from 2025 to 2026.
Subaru, Toyota, Nissan, and Mazda’s Eunos sub-brand all had cars headlining the Christmas-New Year market at various times, with a rare Toyota Supra GZ Aerotop leading the way on price.
This 1994 model was one of only 354 built with the lift-out roof panels that inspired its name. Originally these cars were automatic, but this one at some point was converted to run a six-speed manual ‘box. That change certainly didn’t harm the twin-turbo Supra’s appeal or value as it sold for $90,000.
Lower down the price ladder but still scarce in Australia was a triple-rotor Eunos Cosmo 20B coupe. This car was built in 1992 yet had travelled barely 14,000km since then, so it presented virtually as new. This Eunos sold for $48,000 – identical to the amount paid for a very similar car sold in Sydney back in 2022.
Anyone who knows their Japanese performance cars will recognise the Nissan Skyline GTS-X as a performance variant of the R31 Series added to its lineup in 1986. When new, basic cars made 154kW from their 2.0-litre turbocharged engines, but a GTS-R version modified locally by Gibson Motorsport and driven by Jim Richards and Mark Skaife was said to produce 300kW and would win the 1989 Sandown 500.
The car sold in early January had a later, larger 2.5-litre turbo engine and was showing more than 190,000km on the odometer, yet it still earned a healthy $48,250.
That was almost double the price paid soon after for a heavily modified Z32 version of the Nissan 300ZX which, in stunning Mica Red and sitting on massive Work Meister wheels, could only muster $28,000.
Best of the Subarus was a two-door Impreza WRX Version 5 from 1999 which sold at $80,000, outgunning a later S207 STi which managed $54,000.
Earlier cars from Japanese makers were scarce, but one standout bargain was a rotary-converted Mazda Capella sedan that sold at just $36,000.
Porsches seem to have been on plenty of Christmas lists as well, with 901-Series cars being sold even during the quietest time of the year at prices ranging from $30,000 to almost $200,000.
Cheap but still desirable was a 1968-model 912 – a LHD import on a set of desirable Fuchs alloy wheels that made $65,000. It finished just behind a black and sinister looking 996 Turbo on $77,000, but both did way better than the 3.4-litre 1998 Carrera that could only muster $31,250.
These early water-cooled 911s did have durability issues, but most will by now have been modified or had flawed engines replaced, meaning good examples offer amazing value.
A classically styled 911SC was next to sell at $96,500 before a huge jump to the $178,500 offered on a scarce 1967 911S. At the time of writing, this was still an unconfirmed sale, but $180,000 was certainly secured for a rare 964 Carrera 4 that had recently been sourced from Japan.
Locally built performance models experienced tough times during the Silly Season, with hardly any cars of significance being offered and most that were remaining unsold into January.
The importance of authenticity was reinforced once again when a decent looking, but repainted and transmission-swapped (auto to four-speed manual) XY Falcon GT was sold. Against pre-sale predictions of $160,000 to $180,000 it went to a new owner who offered $126,700.
More expensive but also selling for less than its owners might have anticipated was a 9600km example of the HSV GTS-R W1 sedan. Closely related to the W1 Maloo utility that in December made $1.2 million, the Sting Red sedan was one of 300 built during 2017 and had a list price of $169,990 when new.
Fierce competition amongst collectors for the last Holden-based HSVs would push the prices paid for some to more than $250,000, so the $255,000 achieved by this car may have left the vendor a bit behind on the deal.
One seller who was more likely to be laughing – we were after looking at the pictures – was the owner of probably the only Fiat 500 ‘Jolly’ Beach Car in Australia and which sold a few days before Christmas for $80,000.
At that price, it had to be a replica – real ones overseas make anywhere from $150,000 to $250,000 in our dollar – but the Giallo Positano (yellow) car came with proper cutout doors and authentic pattern wickerwork seats, plus a Niki 650 engine for improved performance.
Please note: All figures quoted are Hammer Prices in Australian Dollars (unless otherwise noted) and do not include any applicable Buyer Premium.
