All,

Today is a very special day as it marks the 40th anniversary of a major historical automotive event. On dusk after all the dust had settled, the onset of the Ford vs Holden battle had begun in earnest. A car designed in the true muscle car mould had emerged without doubt as the quickest and fastest Australian built motor vehicle. That car was the Monaro GTS 327. During the afternoon it had been timed at over 130 MPH through the flying 1/8th mile and had completed a lap of Mt. Panorama in under 3 minutes. No volume-produced Australian motor vehicle had achieved these feats up to this point.

In the lead-up to the 500 mile race, both XT GTs and GTS 327s had been road tested with varying results in terms of top speed with some reports claiming the Ford fastest and others claiming the Holden. On equal footing though, the Holden had proven itself to be the superior car. Sadly, one enthusiastic driver had destroyed his GTS 327 during the afternoon and would not front the grid in the morning.

The Sunday of the Labor Day weekend is etched in history as the day that the unproven newcomer confirmed itself as a car worthy of legend status. The fact that it had won the Sandown three-hour just weeks earlier was overlooked somewhat as it backed-up that result with a trifecta at Bathurst in the newly-named Hardie-Ferodo 500.

The days of pedestrian' motoring for the masses had ended.

I gave up watching or even having any interest when they
started only have Ford and Holden in the race.

Have you hugged an English Bull Terrier today

The .."ORIGINAL"..Bathurst race was .."THE"..race of the year.As has been mentioned,it is now little more than a money making event.No longer on the long weekend,and the cars represent nothing available to the public.The real Bathurst created legends,of d

whats the difference in lap times from back then to present day?

Warren,every summer saturday there is an event called little athletics,looks exactly like the olympics but no one goes . The 12hr looks like production racing but no one goes.If production racing had, a series of races that was australia wide, rules that

Very well put "Rick" and "Mike",absolutely spot on.
Cheers.

There Is No Replacement For Displacement.

I wonder how a SS commodore would go against a falcon XR8 or XR6 turbo.
The 12 HR is to long. and boring. because its not, like the real days of holden VS ford. if any one thinks this days, bathurst race is about holden VS ford, come off it!