An extremely rare and iconic Ford Fusion NASCAR race car driven by Australian Marcos Ambrose will go to auction for the first time this Saturday, attracting international interest.
As Australia’s first winning NASCAR, it’s projected to fetch quite a high price.
The 800-horsepower race car reaches a top speed of more than 320km/h and is the very car that Marcos Ambrose drove to his first win in NASCAR competition. It has since been in storage at an old workshop in Charlotte, North Carolina for more than a decade before being mechanically rebuilt last year and then shipped to Australia.
Currently the car is owned by a well-known motorsport enthusiast who has relocated it to Australia where it has been in storage and serviced.
“This is a race that many Australian motorsport enthusiasts will not forget and to be able to offer this incredibly special car up for auction for the next custodian to treasure is very humbling,” Lloyds Auctions chief operations officer Lee Hames says.
Cosmetically the Ford has not been touched since appearing in victory lane at the Zippo 200, still featuring the major bumps and bruises as well as the remaining windscreen tear-off strips that were unused during the race.
“As we have seen in the past few years with many cars like this, car enthusiasts are passionate about owning these iconic pieces of history so who knows what this car could sell for,” Lee adds.
“Any classic car that is full of history, provenance, celebrity affiliation and any links to motorsport all come together to produce the ultimate aspiration for any car enthusiast.”
Supercars driver Brodie Kostecki who has had extensive experience in US oval racing took the car for a spin at Queensland Raceway in Ipswich and was blown away: “Whoever buys this rig is going to be getting a pure race car with a pedigree that can be matched by no other car.
“There will only ever be one car that was taken to NASCAR victory lane by an Australian for the first time and this is it.”
