One of the rarest and most rebellious chapters in Australian touring car history is set to cross the block, with a genuine 1981 Ford XD Falcon Phase 5 listed for no-reserve auction through Gold Coast classic car specialist Seven82Motors.
While the mythical GTHO Phase IV died on the vine during the 1972 supercar scare and Ford Australia officially withdrew from factory-backed motorsport at the end of 1973, the blue-oval faithful refused to let the Falcon fade from Mount Panorama. Enter the XD Phase 5, a semi-official homologation unicorn engineered by HO Phase Autos in Melbourne.
The outfit was spearheaded by former Ford designer Wayne Draper, who cut his teeth working alongside Howard Marsden on the legendary XY GTHO Phase III program. To homologate the widebody fiberglass aero kit – consisting of flared wheel arches, a deep front air dam, bonnet scoop, roof spoiler, and rear boot wing – for Group C touring car competition, CAMS regulations required at least 25 road-going examples to be produced.
Despite pushback from Ford’s upper management, HO Phase Autos built and sold 22 road cars as dealership specials, while counting the race shells campaigned by Dick Johnson, Allan Moffat/Murray Carter, Bob Morris, and Garry Wilmington to satisfy the 25-unit threshold.
This specific 1981 example, finished in factory Ford Corporate Blue with red side striping and Phase 5 decals, boasts remarkable provenance. Purchased brand-new through City Ford in 1981 by the current owner’s father, the vehicle has remained in single-family ownership its entire life and is accompanied by its original purchase order and authentication from Wayne’s son, HO Phase Autos managing director Rob Draper. Having spent more than two decades in dry storage before a mechanical recommissioning in 2020, the odometer displays a genuine 46,686km.
Under the bonnet sits its matching-numbers 5.8-litre (351ci) Cleveland V8, subtly tickled with a ported and shaved inlet manifold, a 550cfm Holley double-pumper carburettor, an upgraded camshaft, and mandrel-bent extractors feeding a dual Magnaflow exhaust. Drive is sent to the rear wheels via the factory four-speed Toploader manual gearbox, and a nine-inch differential housing an Eaton Truetrac limited-slip centre with 3.5:1 ratios.
Sitting over Lovells lowered springs and four-wheel power disc brakes are staggered 15-inch CTM Muscle Bathurst Globe-style alloy wheels (15×8-inch front, 15×10-inch rear) wrapped in white-letter BFGoodrich tyres.
Inside, the cabin features period grey cloth ASS Scheel sports seats – swapped across by the family in the late 1980s from a 1982 Fairmont Ghia ESP they also owned – alongside a black MOMO steering wheel, factory air conditioning, power steering, and power windows.
The auction closes on December 6, 2026, with the car offered strictly at no reserve. Head over to the Seven82Motors listing for more info.
