Replica Race Cars

There is a segment of our modified car culture that isn’t always noticed or appreciated, and that is of the race car replica. These machines, in their most serious caged-up form, don’t often get grouped together and judged for what they are, unless you’re at an event like the Muscle Car Masters where the best one each year can rise above its peers as the owner/builder is awarded for their efforts.

Some of these replicas are so accurate that they get mistaken for the real deal, and as many of them aren’t registered for road use, the only times you see them are when a few are tucked away in the corner of a static car show, or one, maybe two, run against the clock a few times in a hill climb.

The race car replica can take on a few forms, from convincing clone, to exaggerated interpretation, to simply a stickered-up road car. The first of those are often only ever displayed, the second might be a competitive machine in a state or local competition series, and the third are often the least appreciated, even though their owner’s passion is no less enthusiastic.

Ian Bone’s replica of “The Rock” version of Tru Blu from 1980 is a previous winner of Ultimate Race Car Replica at Muscle Car Masters. Ian has been so serious with his replica that not only does he display it with mannequins wearing reproduction race suits and a rock in front of the correct wheel, it actually has some genuine parts in the form of the wheels from the ’81 Tru Blu (the replacement car that won Bathurst) and the fuel tank from the Bob Morris XD.

As I’ve said, many replicas can be quite convincing. If you’re at Muscle Car Masters, it’s easy to tell them from the real ones in the pit garages because they have yellow lettering on the windscreen that says “REPLICA”. Other shows make no such stipulations, so you have to pay close attention if you actually care whether a car is the original machine that it looks like, or an accurate tribute to it.

Sometimes a replica will be of a car that no longer exists. In the case of any Chrysler, the factory machines were apparently destroyed at the end of their racing career and so there can only be replicas of them. You can see more pics, and a video, of Reg’s R/T Charger here.

Some replicas are prone to a little exaggeration, such as this tribute to the 1984 Group C Marlboro HDT VK. The paint and interior are pretty close to accurate, but the wheels are enlarged and the reverse scoop wasn’t on the real machine.

And here is another with similar changes. Deliberate deviations like these are good for two reasons. Firstly, the car looks even tougher than the original, and secondly the less hardcore enthusiasts have an easier time determining that it is, in fact, a replica.

It may seem that way, but not all replicas are of well-known Group C (or earlier) cars either, even the Group A privateers had an impact on a generation of racing enthusiasts.

Not all replicas are built for display or parade laps, some are built to be driven in competition. Robert Shaw uses his replica of the ’77 Harvey/Negus Torana A9X in hill climbs and some other speed events.

Bob and Anne Lorich entered their version of Moffat’s ’69 Boss 302 Mustang in the Muscle Car Rally which involved a number of time-trial courses over a 4-day period as well as touring between each one.

Robin O’Hare has driven this replica of the Janson/Perkins A9X in state-level Sports Sedan races. Made mostly of steel, it’s outclassed by the lightweight fibreglass-bodied Sports Sedans, but where else can you race door-to-door in a slicked-up race car that looks like this?

Robert Kolimackovski’s VL SS Group A SV was painted up to look like the Perkins/Hulme ’88 car when he bought it, and he liked it so much he left it that way. It’s a winning car in its own right, taking the NSW Supersprint Championship in Type 3D, as well as winning other events.