Ex-Craig Lowndes/Triple Eight Ford Falcon up for auction

An ex-Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon V8 Supercar is up for sale through Lloyds Auctions, boasting a healthy history in its competition life.

Built by Triple Eight Race Engineering for the 2008 V8 Supercars (now Supercars) season, chassis 888-012A was named due to the team's superstition about running the number '13' – although it wasn't an overly lucky car for the three-time series champion.

While team-mate Jamie Whincup romped home to the first of his seven championships, Lowndes was only able to muster fourth place in the standings at year's end, taking just two wins – only one of which, at Sandown Raceway, was achieved in this car.

8

Still, the Ford BF Falcon went on to have a strong life outside of the main game series, being passed down to the now-Super2 Series with Sonic Motor Racing Services to be piloted by James Moffat, scoring five victories in Moff's rookie season en route to a second place in the standings.

Sonic held onto the car for the next season where it was driven by Tim Blanchard, winning one race throughout the year to yet again finish second in points before the BF was shelved for a number of years.

8

Returning to the track as a part of the V8 Touring Car Series (present-day Super3) in 2013, Ryan Simpson used 888-012A to set a category record of six wins in a row, while also becoming the first driver in the series to win 10 races.

From there, it ended up being run in further Super3 campaigns by current Supercars drivers Jake Kostecki and Thomas Randle, before its current owner restored the Triple Eight car to its original Vodafone-backed paint scheme from 2008, complete with the iconic eight-spoke wheels.

8

2008 was a transitional year for V8 Supercars, becoming the first where the category made sequential shifters an option, rendering the H-pattern gearboxes all but obsolete.

It was also the final year of competition for the B-series Falcon from the top teams before the FG came along in 2009, with Triple Eight ending the period on a high by taking the Teams Championship by a healthy margin over Ford Performance Racing and Dick Johnson Racing.

8

Bidding is set to start at $135,000 on Saturday, March 26 at 10am AEDT, ending on Sunday, March 27 at 7pm AEDT.