The Adelaide 500, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, remains fondly referred to by fans as the "Clipsal 500," despite its current sponsor, VAILO. This isn’t a slight to the new sponsor but rather a testament to the lasting impact of Clipsal's 18-year association with the event from 2000 to 2017.

The race debuted in 1999 as the "Sensational Adelaide 500," then shifted to the "Clipsal 500" era, followed by a brief stint as the "Superloop Adelaide 500" from 2019-2020. VALO (now VAILO) took over in 2022, rebranding the event as the "VAILO Adelaide 500" in 2023, solidifying its place in the Supercars calendar under new branding.

Just one single model car that raced at the inaugural event has ever been produced, John Bowe's PAE Motorsports / CAT Racing EL Falcon.

While Bowe didn't win a race at the 1999 Adelaide 500, he did win one at the season's other inaugural event, the Queensland Raceway sprint round (as opposed to the 500km event later in the year). This win would bring a couple of firsts and a last for Bowe: His first win outside of Dick Johnson Racing (DJR), PAE Motorsports' first win and his 31st and last win in his Supercars career.

Bowe's Adelaide 500 model is unique beyond the fact it's the only car that's been produced from the 1999 event. It was released by APEX at the 2018 Diecast Model Expo in November 2018 and it doesn't have an official product code. For database purposes we have given it one [(No Code) 1999BOWEADL500].
 
Just 360 models were produced and remains one of only two other EL Falcons released by APEX/Biante; the others being the 1998 SBR Bathurst winner (AD81301)and the 1998 DJR Johnson/Johnson Bathurst car (B180601A). Unlike many other APEX releases, this was a full opening model made to a high standard with one caveat: the wax paper that was used to protect the roof of the car can get stuck to the decals leaving behind a faint golf ball dimple-like impression on the decals.

John Bowe remains once of Australia's most loved motorsport indenties. Beyond his incredible CV, his engagement with fans and sponsors is what keeps him evergreen. 

These models rarely come up for sale but it's reasonable to believe that the last sale is indicative of where this model could be headed; a used price just below $800 would indicate a new price deep into the $800s could be possible.