Honker II

1967 Holman-Moody Ford Honker II

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Le Castellet, France | November 19, 2021

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Ralph Moody was a NASCAR driver who ran 47 races in four seasons between 1956 and 1962. In ’56, he won four races driving for Ford and their chief mechanic, John Holman. When Ford pulled out of NASCAR in 1957, the two teamed up and bought Ford’s former Charlotte workshop, forming Holman-Moody. By the mid-1960s, they were the American racing powerhouse, with cars they built dominating NASCAR.

They also dabbled in sports car racing, entering Sebring in 1962 with a Ford Falcon. They wanted to compete in Can-Am, so the Honker II was built for that purpose. It’s powered by a 6.2-liter V8 with Gurney-Weslake cylinder heads. Paul Newman put up the cash to have the car campaigned in the 1967 Can-Am season with Mario Andretti behind the wheel. In five races, the best result it managed was an 8th position.

Newman later used the car in the film Winning. It sat in the Holman-Moody workshop until the mid-1980s, when the company had it restored in its original Passino Purple. The car sold at a Gooding auction in 2013 for $200,000. I’d think the price has gone up significantly since then. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $285,920.

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