Among diecast collectors, few stories are as captivating as the mystery of the Twin Mirror White XY [22722 (Twin Mirror)]. What began as a practical solution to a sold-out model evolved into one of the most sought-after collectibles in Australian diecast history.

In July 1998, the first XY model, the Track Red GTHO (22721) sold out in just two minutes, leaving stores with nothing to display until the official release of the Allan Moffat 1971 Hardie-Ferodo 500 Winner (37181) which was still 10 weeks away, meaning a temporary solution was required. Trevor Young, the founder of Biante, rang the factory and requested 900 white models for store displays and personally signed certificates of authenticity for each one. He specifically asked stores not to sell them, but inevitably, some found their way into the hands of collectors.

A curious detail soon emerged: some white XY models had two mirrors, while others had only one [22722 (Single Mirror)]. The reason? Leftover red body shells, designed with two mirror holes, were mixed with newer Moffat shells, which only had one. The oversight went unnoticed until collectors began calling in, confused by the brochure showing a two-mirror car while they had received one-mirror versions. At the time, Trevor was so focused on developing future releases that it didn’t occur to him that some of the white models might have two mirrors. When the cars arrived, he unknowingly selected a two-mirror version for the brochure photos, unaware that both one-mirror and two-mirror versions were mixed in the batch.

 

The factory advised Trevor that 135 two-mirror red shells had been used to create the fabled "Twin Mirror" Ultra White XY GTHO models. There was also a sample held at head office for display purposes, bringing the total to 136, but only 134 with certificates. Trevor retained the office sample as part of his personal collection.