Weasel’s car hidden in stolen caravan

A vintage race car owned by Great Train Robber Roy ‘The Weasel’ James has been stolen in a suspected caravan heist.

John Rapley, owner of the 1962 Brabham BT2, can only imagine the look on the faces of thieves upon finding the historic race car inside a caravan they stole from his Paraparaumu Beach property, north of Wellington.

Now he’s pleading with the criminals involved not to destroy a piece of motoring history.

Rapley, who has owned the car since the late 1980s, said it was stored in a modified caravan that he used for transportation.

The caravan was parked outside his Martin Rd property till sometime between Saturday night and yesterday. ‘‘I walked out and it wasn’t there in the morning.’’

The caravan was locked and chained to a fence, he said, ‘‘but that doesn’t stop people stealing things these days’’.

He said the only thing left behind was a cut chain, hanging on the fence, and tyre prints on the nearby berm.

He said there was strong evidence the car’s chassis was one driven by Denny Hulme to set a lap record at British racing track Brands Hatch in 1962.

The car was then bought by Roy James, Rapley said, although that name not widely known in racing circles.

James, a race car driver also known as The Weasel, was the getaway driver in Britain’s Great Train Robbery – the famed 1963 heist of the Royal Mail Train by a gang of robbers.

A BT2 might fetch between $60,000 to $100,000 in New Zealand, and he had seen one sold for about NZ$227,000 in Britain – but the car would be nearly impossible to sell because it was so distinctive.

Because of this, it was unlikely the thieves were targeting the car.

Rapley said people could drop it off at a car park, a service station, ‘‘and then go hide again’’.

Ross Church, the owner of classic car business AutoClassics, said Rapley’s BT2 was very distinctive.

‘‘I’m sure that John would just want the damn thing back ... don’t damage it because it’s a piece of history.’’

A police spokeswoman confirmed that the theft had been reported to police, saying ‘‘inquiries are ongoing’’.

The 1962 Brabham BT2 at the Hampton Downs race track in northern Waikato. The car was raced by current owner John Rapley as recently as this summer.

The modified caravan, which contained the stolen car formerly owned by Roy James, above.