Johnson family car, number plate going to auction
The Gold Coast 500 round of the Repco Supercars Championship won’t include the famous ‘Johnson’ name on the grid, but this weekend will see items from one of the most famous names in Australian motorsport go to auction.
Lloyds Auctioneers and Valuers are offering Steve Johnson’s Tru Blu replica #17 XD Falcon from the Touring Car Masters series, along with the ‘Q17’ heritage number plate owned by Dick Johnson in a live auction that closes this Saturday, 26 October.
“Both items are extremely collectable and sought after and we expect them to reach great prices come auction day,” said Lee Hames, Chief Operations Officer for Lloyds Auctions.
The XD Falcon is a three-time TCM race winner, with the highlight being victory at Bathurst in 2021 with Steve Johnson behind the wheel.
“This vehicle is ready for the next custodian to hit the track, or keep it preserved as the centrepiece in a collection. It is a must have for racing fans,” Hames said.
The car’s bodyshell and suspension have been computer-enhanced by PACE Innovations, which designed the control chassis for Supercars.
Online pre-bidding on this car was sitting at just over $100,000 at time of writing.
The extremely rare Queensland ‘Q17’ Heritage Plate that is the other signature lot in this auction references Dick Johnson’s longtime racing number. The five-time Australian Touring Car Champion, three-time Bathurst winner and V8 Supercars Hall of Fame member raced with #17 throughout his career. Johnson purchased the plate after it had passed through several other collectors and, at one point, it was applied to a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth of the type he raced in the late 1980s.
Originally owned by Alfred Stewart of the Brisbane suburb of Hamilton, Q17 was first registered in 1921 and fitted to a Studebaker.
The last time this plate was publicly auctioned was at the ‘Great QLD Plate Auction’ in 1985. Back then, Q17 sold for $5,500. At time of writing, pre-bidding for this plate at the Lloyd’s auction had already exceeded $505,000, meaning it has increased in value by a factor of almost 100 and is expected to sell for more than $1 million.
"Off the back of Lloyd’s successful sale of heritage plates NSW1 for $11.5 million and Q1 for $5.6 million, we are expecting a great result for Q17," Hames added.
Of additional appeal for Dick Johnson fans, this auction features a replica of his ‘Greens Tuf’ XE Falcon touring car, complete with spoilers, flares and authentic livery, plus the 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 that Johnson drove to a second-in-class finish at Targa Tasmania in 2011.
Other lots of note in this auction include two XB Falcon hardtops, an EB Falcon ‘Peter Warren Special’, LX and LJ Torana two-doors, an FJ ute and other classic Holdens, late-model HSV Maloos and ClubSports, R and S Series Valiants, a VH Charger restomod and more.
International offerings include a 1968 AMC AMX, 1982 Rolls-Royce Corniche, multiple Corvettes, R31 and R33 Nissan Skylines, an ’87 Austin FX4 London taxi, a trio of ‘bay window’ VW Kombis, a custom Jaguar XJ6 convertible and ex-military Austin Champ and Jeep M151 ‘Mutt’ vehicles, to name a few.
The Lloyds LIVE monthly classic car auction is closing from 12 Noon on Saturday, 26 October. For more details, click HERE.
