30 September, 1984: On this day 40 years ago Group C touring car racing in Australia came to an end with the 1984 James Hardie Bathurst 1000, marking the final chapter for a category that had defined the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) since 1973. Known as the "big bangers," this ruleset came to be known for dayglo colour schemes, flared wheel arches and extra wide wheels, making them fan favorites to this day. 

The final race at Bathurst saw the Holden VK Commodore and Ford XE Falcon go head-to-head, with Peter Brock and Larry Perkins taking the win in their Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Commodore. This race was the swan song for cars like Allan Moffat’s Mazda RX-7 and the turbocharged Nissan Bluebird, as Australia transitioned to the international Group A regulations in 1985.

The shift ended a golden era of homegrown muscle cars, but their legacy lives on via Authentic Collectables, Biante and Classic Carlectables who collectively released 13 models from the year 1984 (and many more from preceding years) - plus a special plain body model which is among the most highly sought after of all models in Australian collecting. 

Group C 1:18 Scale Models from 1984

Product Code	Image	Model	Driver/s	Event	No. Made
ACR18N84A Authentic Collectables		Nissan Bluebird Turbo	George Fury Gary Scott	Hardie-Ferodo 1000 Pole Position	1,500
B180301C Biante		Ford XE Falcon	Steve Masterton Bruce Stewart	Hardie-Ferodo 1000	1,500
B180301D Biante		Ford XE Falcon	Dick Johnson	ATCC Winner	3,858
MB008 (TR8008) Biante		Ford XE Falcon	Dick Johnson Kevin Bartlett	Hardie-Ferodo 1000	5,100
B182704C Biante		Holden VK Commodore	Peter Brock Larry Perkins	Hardie-Ferodo 1000 Winner	15,500
B182704E Biante		Holden VK Commodore	John Harvey David Parsons	Hardie-Ferodo 1000 2nd Place	7,200
B182704F Biante		Holden VK Commodore	Peter Brock Larry Perkins	Castrol 500 Sandown Winner	3,000
BNC0003 Biante		Mazda RX-7	Allan Moffat Gregg Hansford	Hardie-Ferodo 1000 3rd Place	2,000
BNH0003 Biante		Mazda RX-7	Tony Kavich Phil Alexander	Hardie-Ferodo 1000	500
18280 Classic Carlectables		Holden VK Commodore	Peter Brock Larry Perkins	Hardie-Ferodo 1000 Winner	15,500
18330 Classic Carlectables		Holden VK Commodore	John Harvey David Parsons	Hardie-Ferodo 1000 2nd Place	2,500
18334 (Twin Set) Classic Carlectables		Holden VK Commodore	Peter Brock Larry Perkins John Harvey David Parsons	Hardie-Ferodo 1000 Winner	15,500
18512 Classic Carlectables		Holden VK Commodore	Warren Cullen Alan Jones	Hardie-Ferodo 1000	750

The special car referenced above is the Onyx Black XE Falcon Plain Body by Biante (B180301E), while not officially from 1984, given that its based on Dick Johnson's 1984 ATCC Winner, we're claiming it! With the current Diecast Detective Price for 'New' nudging $1,300, this is the most valuable Group C-based model from 1984.

The Most Valuable Group C Car (regardless of year)

The Onyx Black Plain Body XE Falcon isn't the most valuable Group C Australian Touring Car, that honour belongs to the holy grail "Morning After Car" (B180301F) made to celebrate the miraculous rebirth of the famous #17 Greens-Tuf/Channel 7 Falcon after the original car was destroyed when it hit trees while on a lap during Hardies Heroes at Bathurst in 1983.