Lost, forgotten and now worth a fortune
For most car enthusiasts, barn-finds hold an irresistible appeal.
Whether it’s the years of sleuthing, the unraveling of complex histories or the thick layers of dust, there’s something riveting about forgotten classics unearthed after decades.
And, while most of us would be content to pull an old Morris Mini out of a warehouse, the most fabled barn-finds involve vehicles so valuable it’s barely believable that they were forgotten in the first place.
Whether found by intuition, a tip-off or sheer accident, these are 42 of the greatest classic car barn-finds of all time.
1. Dino buried in a Los Angeles yard
In December 1974, a California man reported his two-month old Ferrari Dino 246GTS stolen. According to the police report, the car had vanished without a trace – and, because the story checked out, the owner claimed the insurance money.
Some four years later, two boys playing in the dirt in their backyard hit something metallic. Further digging revealed a car roof and, when the police arrived, the missing Dino was exhumed – and it was remarkably well-preserved, all things considered.
The car’s next owner restored it and it’s still on the road today, wearing a vanity plate that reads DUG UP – no joke.
2. Junkyard Mustang is missing Bullitt
Bullitt is rightly regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time – not least for its iconic chase scene through the streets of San Francisco.
The movie made the Mustang famous – and two were used in filming: a ‘hero’ car and a 'stunt' car. The latter had long been thought lost, a victim of the scrapheap – until a rusting white Mustang turned up in a Mexican junkyard.
Junkyard Mustang is missing Bullitt (cont.)
Sitting out in the sun and salty air had done the old Ford no good. Barely recognizable, it lacked an engine or transmission, and restorer Ralph Garcia almost made it over to resemble the Eleanor Mustang from Gone in 60 Seconds.
A few telltale signs made him pause for thought, though: reinforced strut towers and holes drilled in the body – presumably for additional lights during filming – suggested there was more to the story.
Its chassis number was sent to Ford specialist Kevin Marti and he was able to confirm its provenance as the long-lost Bullitt ‘stunt’ car.
3. Second Bullitt Mustang found by Ford
The better-known ‘hero’ Mustang used in the filming of Bullitt fared better than the ‘stunt’ car.
First sold to a Hollywood studio exec then to a New York detective, it was bought in ‘74 by Mustang fan Robert Kiernan for US$6000. Steve McQueen himself reportedly tried to buy it twice in the late-’70s but was rebutted.
Second Bullitt Mustang found by Ford (cont.)
Garaged in 1980 after a breakdown, it then stayed there for more than 30 years, until Kiernan’s son inherited the fastback and began restoring it.
Ford got wind of the plan and agreed to help, displaying the car alongside the new Mustang Bullitt at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show.
Second Bullitt Mustang found by Ford (cont.)
It’s since become something of an automotive celebrity, appearing at car shows and concours around the world as befits its status as one of the most famous movie cars ever.
It’s now set for its next adventure. It was sold at Mecum’s sale in Kissimmee, Florida, on January 10, 2020, where it, perhaps unsurprisingly, sparked a frantic bidding war which ended a few minutes later with a then record-breaking final bid of US$3.4m.
4. Eire E-type exhumed
We don’t think it is a coincidence that we got wind about this car on March 15, 2021, the Jaguar E-type’s 60th anniversary.
Still, this garage-find E-type (sold as an XKE in the USA) was a fixed-head coupe and one of 138 right-hand drive examples built in 1961, the model’s launch year.
What’s more, this Cotswold Blue car was the first of its kind to be registered in Ireland.
Eire E-type exhumed (cont.)
Apparently, it was a gift to a famous racehorse trainer called Mr P Prendergast from a wealthy American racehorse owner, after a run of strong results, and it was bought from Cavey Motors in Dublin just before Christmas 1961.
Unfortunately, Prendergast could not get insured, so sold it in ’62 and it passed through several hands across the next five years.
By the time this Jaguar was just six years and 35,000 miles old, we are sorry to say it needed a lot of work, so a chap called Richie Heeley, a well-known Ford rally driver, decided to take it on as a project.
Eire E-type exhumed (cont.)
Of course, the restoration started with a strip-down – the problem is, it got no further than that. The restoration never happened. Heeley simply couldn’t find the time to do the work.
So, more than half a century on, he decided to sell it, complete with its original engine and brown logbook, the sale taking place in 2021 and handled by Dublin-based dealer David Golding.
Let’s hope it was finally rescued.
5. Huge 81-car French haul including a Miura
An 81-car barn-find needs a seriously big barn, which is possibly why this eclectic French collection was discovered spread around several fields and outbuildings, under rubbish and overrun by brambles.
And as if the vast size of the collection wasn’t notable enough on its own, even more incredibly there was a Lamborghini Miura among them.
Huge 81-car French haul including a Miura (cont.)
The cars’ owner, a compulsive buyer called Henry Ruggieri, barely used them, and kept each minus a vital component, to ensure they couldn’t be sold, which is how they were found in 2018 by auctioneer Henri Adam from Adam Encheres.
Huge 81-car French haul including a Miura (cont.)
The Miura, number 118 of 275, turned out to be a rusty, muck-covered, matching-numbers 1968 P400, with non-standard wheel nuts, a broken crank handle and 77,886km (around 48,400 miles) on its odometer, which had joined Ruggieri’s collection in 1996.
It reached €560,000 when it sold in January 2019.
Huge 81-car French haul including a Miura (cont.)
While the Miura was clearly the standout lot, there were some other desirable cars in the collection, such as this 1953 Porsche 356 Pre-A.
Granted, it’s super rusty and doesn’t have its original engine – instead, it has one from a 1959 356B – but it still fetched €48,000 at Adam Encheres’ sale.
6. Dodge Charger Daytona in an Alabama barn
When car restorer Charlie Lyons visited Glenwood, Alabama, with a view to buying a 1970 Chevelle, the last thing he expected to come across was a rare 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona – a car developed to win NASCAR races and built to the tune of just 503 examples.
Dodge Charger Daytona in an Alabama barn (cont.)
Owned by that gentleman since 1974, it had spent decades in a barn, out of the elements but within reach of various animals – who happily chewed the front seats.
Dodge Charger Daytona in an Alabama barn (cont.)
An all-original, matching-numbers example equipped with bucket seats and center console, the owner was eventually convinced to part with the Daytona.
And it later sold at auction with Mecum, in 2016, for US$90,000 (half its estimate).
7. 8 Lancias in a barn
In 2021, an eight-strong collection of classic Lancias was for sale, in various states of repair.
They’d been brought together by one enthusiast during the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, to form one of the biggest collections of Lancias on British shores.
But many had clearly not moved for a very long time – so it’s just as well they were being sold with a stash of parts, too.
Understandably, the vendor described this as a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ and was selling them privately, ideally en masse, or in sections. Let’s take a closer look at some of them.
8 Lancias in a barn (cont.)
You might have spied it in the previous slide, but when did you last clap eyes on a Lancia Ardea? Exactly.
The Ardea was produced between 1939 and 1952 and succeeded the Augusta. This is a second-series car, built from 1941-’48.
This Ardea was part of the collection owned by the late Lancia Motor Club Chairman Brinley ‘Brin’ Edwards.
8 Lancias in a barn (cont.)
Speaking of the Augusta, here is a Lancia Augusta Deluxe which is in desperate need of some love and attention.
Lancia had a reputation for innovative, revolutionary design and the Augusta was an early adopter of monocoque construction, showcased on Lancia’s Lambda of 1923.
8 Lancias in a barn (cont.)
Also in need of rescuing is this Lancia Augusta Cabriolet, a handsome two-door version of the Augusta sedan.
This white example was first registered in the UK in November 1935.
The Lancias were sold privately, but we hope they’ve gone to appreciative homes and will be brought back to best.
8. Porsche 901 in a Brandenburg barn
Porsche’s 911 might have been called the 901 had it not been for a copyright complaint by Peugeot. So it was that the Stuttgart legend became the 911 – but not before 82 were built with the 901 designation in 1964.
None were officially sold to the public and they’re so rare that even the Porsche factory didn’t have one in its collection.
Porsche 901 in a Brandenburg barn (cont.)
When Porsche factory staff heard rumors from German television station RTL2 of a 901 standing at the back of a barn on a former farm in Brandenburg, they got there fast.
Chassis 300.057 was in a very poor state, with both front fenders missing, a lot of rust damage and a rough interior – but Porsche still wanted it, spending €107,000 to add the 901 to its fleet.
9. Ferrari 166MM in the Arizona sun
One of the earliest Ferrari models – and arguably the car that made Ferrari – this 1950 166MM Barchetta started out in Europe as one of only 25 built.
A man called Reg Lee Litton reportedly asked a friend to buy the car for him and had it shipped out to California. Alas, at some point thereafter something broke, so the Barchetta was laid up in his yard and left open to the Arizona elements for decades.
Eventually the 166MM was discovered and sold – but by then the seller was clued up, so California-based Manny Del Arroz paid more than US$1m for it, even in its barn-find state.
10. One-off Ferrari Daytona found in Japan
Ferrari built just five aluminum-bodied 365GTB/4 Daytonas for the track – and only one for the road, which was found in Japan in 2017.
After being sent to a Bologna car dealer, the 1969 Daytona was bought by its first owner: Luciano Conti, founder and publisher of Autosprint magazine and a close friend of Enzo Ferrari.
One-off Ferrari Daytona found in Japan (cont.)
Further down the line, it found its way to Japan, even gracing the cover of a Japanese car magazine in 1972.
By 1980, the Ferrari had been acquired by local car collector Makoto Takai, who hid the car away in a garage for nearly four decades.
One-off Ferrari Daytona found in Japan (cont.)
For years it was thought lost for good, having last been seen in the ‘70s. Then, in 2017, the fabled Ferrari was found – a matching-numbers example of one of the rarest Prancing Horses, in true barn-find condition.
Going to auction with RM Sotheby’s as the only roadgoing alloy Daytona ever made and ripe for a restoration, chassis 12653 predictably garnered a lot of attention – and a €1.8m sale price.
11. Land-Rover #1
‘JUE477’ isn’t quite the first ever Land-Rover – a prototype and 48 pre-production models pre-date it – but it is the first one intended for public consumption and is therefore a pivotal vehicle in the Landie story.
It was very nearly lost to history, though, having been rescued from its resting place in a barn in the county of Northumberland, in the north-east of England.
‘Juey’ changed hands in late 2017 and, we are delighted to report, it has since been saved.
12. Breathtaking Belgian Bugatti trio
To find one classic Bugatti in a barn would be fortunate, to put it lightly. To find a pair? Well, that would be pretty incredible.
But when Matthieu Lamoure and Pierre Novikoff entered a ramshackle garage in Belgium, having moved loads of rain-sodden sandbags to gain access, they found three of them – plus a 1920s Citroën.
Breathtaking Belgian Bugatti trio (cont.)
The barn-find beauties belonged to Dutch sculptor – and Bugatti devotee – August Thomassen, and had been in the barn since the end of the 1950s, lying there untouched for the best part of 60 years.
Why had they been laid up for so long? Well, Thomassen was a sculptor of some repute and used them for research rather than transportation.
Breathtaking Belgian Bugatti trio (cont.)
The standout was the Type 57 Bugatti Cabriolet wearing coachwork by Graber: one of just nine produced and discovered with all its original mechanical components, its dashboard and its instruments.
The collection was auctioned, with no reserve, by Artcurial in early 2019, with the Type 57 selling for €500,640, a 1929 Bugatti Type 40 fetching €190,720 and a Type 49 Limousine making €196,680.
13. Shelby Daytona Cobra stashed in Cali storage unit
This one is perhaps the most bizarre and complex barn-find of all time.
Donna O’Hara kept the very first Shelby Daytona Cobra – received from her father who’d reportedly received it from Phil Spector – tucked away in a storage unit for decades, turning down offers to buy it and even refusing to let Mr Shelby himself see the car.
Shelby Daytona Cobra stashed in Cali storage unit (cont.)
Then, in 2000, O’Hara killed herself by self-immolation and the car went to her mother, Dorothy Brand – who sold it to a buyer for US$3m, who in turn sold it to another buyer for a rumored US$4m.
Shelby Daytona Cobra stashed in Cali storage unit (cont.)
Huge and costly litigation followed as various interested parties – including a family friend with keys to the Cobra’s former lock-up – claimed to be entitled to the ’60s racer.
Following various settlements, the car continues to reside in the Simeone Museum.
14. ‘Lost’ speed-record BMW M1
It’s hard to believe that a record-breaker could just fall off the radar, but this BMW M1 did just that, disappearing for a quarter of a century.
The car took Austrian racing driver Harald Ertl to a land-speed record for a Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG)-powered car back in 1981.
‘Lost’ speed-record BMW M1 (cont.)
Ertl, working alongside British Petroleum, retrofitted the M1’s straight-six to run on LPG, before fitting twin KKK turbochargers, taking output up from 277HP to somewhere around 410HP, and adding a massive rear wing and an air dam, and dropping the nose.
The car resurfaced in 2018 and went to auction with Coys at 2019’s Techno-Classica show in Essen, Germany.
15. 1963 Aston Martin DB4 Convertible discovered
Arguably one of the most beautiful cars of all time, the Touring-styled DB4 launched in 1958 and set the tone for Aston Martin machines for the next 25 years.
Conventionally available as a coupe, just 70 were built in convertible guise – including this 1963 example.
1963 Aston Martin DB4 Convertible discovered (cont.)
Chassis DB4C/1104R was first sold to a Professor Geoffrey Emett Blackman, who worked at Oxford University – as a St John’s College parking lot pass on the windshield showed.
In 1978 it changed hands and two years later the second owner removed the engine – not the original – with the intention of rebuilding it.
1963 Aston Martin DB4 Convertible discovered (cont.)
Alas, it remained laid up in dry storage, with 60,000 miles on the clock, until it was found and sold at auction with Bonhams on May 21, 2011 – for £309,500.
It shipped in true barn-find condition – albeit with the engine reinstalled – covered in dust and in need of some loving care and attention. Restored to concours standard, it could be extremely valuable.
16. Incredible French forest stash
Back in 2020, Belgian Ruben Bodein found out about an abandoned, apparently forgotten haul of classic cars in east France, so went to find out more.
The sleepy Burgundy village did not disappoint.
Incredible French forest stash (cont.)
Not very much is known about this large collection of cars.
However, it seems that some of the buildings were constructed to house the cars, meaning some, like the Peugeot 203 sedan, Peugeot 304 Cabriolet and Simca 5 seen here – were protected from the worst of the weather.
Incredible French forest stash (cont.)
Not all the cars were this lucky, though.
Outside, in the sprawling woodland that’s slowly reclaiming its territory are several pre-war Renaults, Citroëns and Peugeots, plus some Opels, Panhards and Simcas dating from the ’50s and ’60s.
Incredible French forest stash (cont.)
In two separate buildings, Bodein discovered more Citroëns including a CX, a Dyane and a 2CV Fourgonnette van.
Simcas, Panhards and Renaults also featured here – a very patriotic French collection.
Incredible French forest stash (cont.)
There were more Peugeots than any other marque, most from not long after WW2. Also found here, sometimes hiding the cars, were piles upon piles of spare parts, which some might unkindly describe as scrap.
A Fiat 850 sedan found was a rare Italian car, plus there were clusters of other non-French cars, including a Rover SD1 Vitesse, a Rover P5, a Triumph Spitfire, some Lancias and some Mercedes.
But this quirky-looking Panhard PL17 sums up this collection – French and seemingly unloved.
Bodein had no idea who owned the collection or what would happen to these classic cars.
17. Dusty Bugatti Type 57S in a British garage
Imagine walking into an old garage and finding yourself face-to-face with an all-original 1937 Bugatti Type 57S, covered in dust but otherwise complete.
It sounds unbelievable, but that’s exactly what happened in the UK in 2009.
Dusty Bugatti Type 57S in a British garage (cont.)
The rare machine belonged to a doctor named Harold Carr. He bought the 1930s French sports car in 1955 and drove it until 1960, before laying it up – and it spent the next 49 years in his garage without moving.
His family inherited the car when he died and, in 2009, it sold at auction with Bonhams for €3.4m.
18. Pre-war Citroën TPV prototypes lifted to freedom
Citroën started designing its economy car – codenamed très petite voiture (TPV or ‘very small car’) – in 1935. It built 250 prototypes before WW2 stopped the project in its tracks and company officials asked that every prototype be destroyed – but not everyone followed orders.
Until 1994, historians believed two TPVs to have survived but, in a surprising discovery, three additional prototypes were found hidden in the attic of a building located on a test track in La Ferté-Vidame.
They were forklifted out – a process which required removing part of the roof – and the unrestored cars immediately joined the Citroën collection in Paris.
19. Undercover Miura in New York
Some long-forgotten barn in New York once housed a small collection of snow blowers, a dirt bike and hundreds of cardboard boxes. Oh, and a red, all-original, complete and rust-free Lamborghini Miura.
Parked by its owner almost 30 years previously and not touched since, it came to light when a Florida enthusiast stumbled across an online ad for a “one-off 1967 Lamborghini SS”.
Undercover Miura in New York (cont.)
Coming out of the barn exactly as it went in – from the paintwork to the Rolling Stones cassette in the player – the Miura went on to be displayed unrestored in an art gallery, before being stabled with a professional athlete then going to auction with Hollywood Wheels in 2018.
20. A Ferrari and a Cobra hanging out in North Carolina
Most people would describe a dusty Cobra – one of only 100 or so equipped with a 428cu in V8 – as the find of a lifetime.
Most people would say the same thing about a 1966 Ferrari 275GTB with an alloy body, just a few dozen of which were ever built.
A Ferrari and a Cobra hanging out in North Carolina (cont.)
Imagine, then, finding both in the same garage, on the same day.
That’s exactly what automative author and historian Tom Cotter did for the YouTube series ‘Hagerty’s Barn Find Hunter’. The cars had been driven into a North Carolina garage in 1991 and hadn’t moved since.
A Ferrari and a Cobra hanging out in North Carolina (cont.)
Found as part of a haul that also included a 1976 Triumph TR6, a 1978 Morgan Plus 8 and a mid-1980s BMW 325iX, they went to auction with Gooding & Company in 2018, with the Cobra selling for US$1m and the Ferrari fetching US$2.53m.
21. Horch scorched in the Texas desert
Horch – which later became Audi – built this 830 BL in 1953 for Dr Richard Bruhn, the man who ran Auto Union at the time. He used the one-of-a-kind limousine briefly before it fell into the hands of a US soldier stationed in Germany, who shipped it back to Texas at the end of his mission.
Back on American soil, it was used on a regular basis before being parked due to a gearbox problem. It was almost scrapped, but an enthusiast named Al Wilson intervened at the last minute, buying it from the soldier and storing it on a plot of land in the Texas desert, where it would remain for 40 years.
Many years later, Wilson’s kids would called Audi Tradition to inquire about the car. The manufacturer immediately bought it and had it shipped back to Germany, where it still resides today. It’s the last Horch ever built and, judging by its condition, it’s lucky to be alive.
22. The Cobra in the barn
Chassis CSX 2149 was the 149th Cobra to be completed by Shelby.
In 1969 it was bought through a newspaper advert by one Dr Bryan Molloy – a chemist born in Scotland, residing in Indianapolis and working on developing the anti-depressant drug Prozac.
The Cobra in the barn (cont.)
Repainted bronze, the Cobra was used for a few years before being consigned to a shed in a field on Molloy’s farm – where it rested for 24 years, kept company by cattle.
It was unearthed in 1993 by a courier who persuaded Molloy’s wife to part with the car, before promptly selling it on for twice the price. Thirty days later, the barn burnt down.
The Cobra in the barn (cont.)
After a stint with Cobra collector Billy Weaver, the Shelby machine ended up in the hands of barn-find mogul Tom Cotter – and it went on to feature on the cover of Cotter’s book The Cobra In The Barn.
Cotter would sensitively and comprehensively restore the Cobra, before selling it on in 2005. It went to auction with RM Sotheby’s in 2018 with an estimate of US$1-1.2m, but didn’t sell.
23. Mercedes-Benz 500K in an LA junkyard
Rudi Caracciola drove for the Mercedes-Benz team in the ’30s era of what is now Formula One, winning the European Drivers’ Championship three times – and, fittingly, a one-off Mercedes-Benz 500K was commissioned for him in 1935.
An elegant example of pre-war motoring, in 2012 it emerged that this rarest of Mercedes – possibly worth $10m or more – sat on flat tires in an LA junkyard founded by one Rudi Klein and today run by his two sons.
Part private collection, part scrapheap, the contents of Porche Foreign Auto are generally kept a secret – though it’s now known that a whole host of motoring treasures reside there, including the 500K.
24. Abandoned Miura in an Athens car park
Gifted to Greek singer-turned-rally driver Stamatis Kokotas by multi-millionaire shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, this 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400S – complete with custom interior and bolted-on foglights – sat for some 30 years in the parking lot of the Athens Hilton.
Presumably ragged by Kokotas, when the V12 engine needed repairing by Lamborghini it was left to sit without its block below ground and forgotten for decades.
The car was finally extricated during work on the hotel and, in 2012, the Miura was sent to auction with Coys in London. It didn’t hit its reserve and its whereabouts today are unknown.
25. Fake story, real find
Just because the story’s fabricated, does it mean the barn-find is fake? Not in the case of this Portuguese haul.
Circa 2007, a story surfaced of a New York man buying a plot in Portugal and finding hundreds of dusty, rusty classics – potentially worth millions – sitting in a barn. And there were photos to prove it.
Fake story, real find (cont.)
As it turned out, the whole tale was a falsehood, as barn-find aficionado Tom Cotter discovered after some in-depth research.
The truth of the discovery, according to Cotter, was that the owner – a dealer in the ’70s and ’80s – started hoarding interesting motors that took his fancy. When his barn reached capacity, he welded the doors shut.
Fake story, real find (cont.)
Decades later, Manuel Menezes Morais was called in by the owner of the collection to shoot photos of the cars – but not permitted to share any information about their whereabouts or past. Somehow, the images came to be posted online and so the tall tale was created.
A total of 180 classics were reported to reside in the barn – including rare Alfa Romeos, Lancias, Porsches and even a few Rovers. Their fate remains a mystery, though.
26. Santa Monica Mercedes revealed
Established restoration specialist Rudi Koniczek turned up a treat in 2011 with the discovery of an alloy-bodied 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing in Santa Monica – one of only 29 ever built and the last of these ultra-rare machines to be located.
Reportedly gifted to the owner in 1955 for his college graduation, it was parked in the ’70s when the transmission failed – and there it remained for the best part of 40 years, surrounded by old computers and boxes.
Sold for an undisclosed sum, Koniczek was commissioned to restore the car.
27. Auto Union brought back from the USSR
This barn-find is actually a series of barn-finds which, in unison, came together to create a complete, highly original and extremely rare Auto Union Type-D Grand Prix car.
Behind the find were Paul and Barbara Karassik. After meeting a classic car enthusiast in Poland in the early-’70s, Paul heard a rumor that a handful of the fabled Auto Union competition machines had survived and were still somewhere in Russia.
Auto Union brought back from the USSR (cont.)
So began a hunt for the ages. Deploying his impeccable Russian, Karassik ventured deep into what was then the USSR, making contacts that, eventually, enabled the couple to track down and purchase an original engine and part of a chassis.
Not quite finished, the couple continued to scour motor works around the region and, after a tip-off from an automotive technician, they found chassis 19 – in pieces, in a forgotten corner of an abandoned brickworks.
Auto Union brought back from the USSR (cont.)
While its bodywork was beyond repair, it offered them a complete chassis, engine, gearbox and much of the original suspension. Each part was sold individually through a government intermediary, before being shipped via Helsinki to the USA.
British restoration specialist Crosthwaite & Gardiner was called in and rebuilt two cars from the parts – including a substantially original machine based on chassis 19, valued at some £7m in 2009.
28. Sleeping beauties awoken
German photographer Herbert Hesselmann’s find of 50-odd classics on a French farm in 1983 remains one of the most fabled: rusting Alfa Romeos jostled for space with dilapidated Aston Martins, Bugattis, Ferraris, Rolls-Royces and more.
A German magazine published the story – triggering collectors to track down and hound the owner, with some even stealing cars – while a few years later Hessleman and journalist Halwart Schrader published Sleeping Beauties, with more details and photos.
Sleeping beauties awoken (cont.)
The owner turned out to be one Michel Dovaz, a Swiss national and wine entrepreneur who had a thing for cars – and so had begun filling the barns of his French farm with them.
Hassled and stolen from, Dovaz had the entire unrestored collection moved to a friend’s château.
Encouraged by the friend, two of Dovaz’s Bugattis were then displayed at the 1988 Bordeaux motor show, with a 25-car museum established the following year.
Sleeping beauties awoken (cont.)
In the years that followed, Dovaz sold of a number of his cars, keeping a handful for himself and shipping several to the museum at Château de Sanxet.
The fate of each of the cars from this barn-find for the ages is examined in The Fate of the Sleeping Beauties, published in 2010 by Veloce.
29. Lightweight Jaguar E-type lost then found
When, in 1998, Jaguar specialist Terry Larson heard rumors about an alloy-bodied E-type coming out of the wagon of renowned pilot Howard Gidovlenko – the ‘Mad Russian’ – he jumped on the first plane to LA.
Buried beneath boxes and household junk in a lock-up Larson found one of the rarest E-types, the last missing Lightweight example – chassis S850660, the third built and raced at Sebring in 1963. Remember, the E-type was called the XKE in the USA.
Gidovlenko had begun preparing it to race in 1964 but never finished, and its engine and gearbox had been removed and rebuilt, while the owner’s old helmet and even the original bill of sale were with the car.
It sold at auction in 2003 for US$1.3m.
30. Michelotti-bodied XK140 found in Belgian barn
In 2018, the treasures of one Belgian enthusiast’s car collection were revealed – and this one-of-a-kind Michelotti-bodied Jaguar XK140 SE Coupe was the clear star of the haul.
It’s believed that just three Michelotti XK140s were ever made – and only one with this unique coachwork.
Michelotti-bodied XK140 found in Belgian barn (cont.)
Delivered new to France on May 25, 1955 with its standard factory bodywork, chassis S814286 suffered a crash two years later, leaving the body beyond repair.
At this point it went to Michelotti to be rebodied and the Italian coachbuilder gave its interior, instruments and several other details a touch-up. At the same time, it surprisingly also gained a Jaguar C-type engine.
Michelotti-bodied XK140 found in Belgian barn (cont.)
Its whole history isn’t known – and claims that it was once owned by Brigitte Bardot remain unsubstantiated – but the Belgian Mr Schepens bought it in 1999 in Brussels, for the equivalent of a mere £22,000, and enjoyed it for several years.
He began restoring it in the mid-2000s and was still working on it when he died in 2016 at the age of 80. At this point, auction house Bonhams was called in and discovered the remarkable and unique machine – along with many others.
At auction in 2018 it exceeded its estimate and claimed €356,500 – with profits going to Ghent’s Animal Rescue Center.
31. 911S unearthed in Philadelphia
The 911S first broke cover in 1967, carrying magnesium-alloy wheels, special gages and many interior features that were previously optional – and it remains one of the most sought-after versions of the 911.
A chance conversation lead LBI of Philadelphia in 2015 to a wooden barn in which this particular Porsche 911S resided. The car had been bought in 1972 and used for many years, until it was rear-ended by a Pontiac, at which point it had been put into storage.
911S unearthed in Philadelphia (cont.)
The accident damage and the salt-laden roads of the north-eastern United States led to the owner putting it away in the barn some 20 years ago and it had not been driven since.
When discovered, the Porsche was complete and still fitted with many original components, including the rare 4½ x 15in Fuchs wheels, carpets, seats and gauges.
After its retrieval, it went on to be gently restored.
32. Dutch haul of 148 Citroën CXs
Not much is known about this epic collection of Citroën CXs – which emerged for sale in 2018 – other than that it was vast and stuffed with decidedly cheap and cheerful models of all varieties.
There were powerful CX 2400 Pallas models and highly sought-after CX 25 Break wagons and sporty GTis and long-wheelbase Prestiges; there were cars from the ’70s and cars from the ’80s and a couple from the ’90s; there was even an ambulance.
Dutch haul of 148 Citroën CXs (cont.)
Quite why this particular collection was assembled is unclear.
We like to think that one person dedicated their life to buying as many as they could, then somehow forgot about them for 20 years, only to wake up one day and think, “Hang on! I've got a garage full of 148 Citroën CXs down the road!”
Dutch haul of 148 Citroën CXs (cont.)
Dutch garage Van Soest Klassiekers hosted a sale of the whole lot in 2018 and prices varied wildly depending on model and condition.
The cheapest started at €500, but one CX 25 GTi had a price-tag of €8500. Some of the highest-mileage/worst-condition motors just had ‘Bieden!’ – or ‘Offer!’ – written beside them.
33. BMW M1 found in Italy
Back in the late-’70s, BMW had the bright idea of commissioning Lamborghini to design and build a road car to go racing. Seven prototypes were built before Lambo’s finances failed.
Several of the Italian manufacturer’s employees then formed a breakaway company, finished the engineering for BMW and the rare M1 was born.
BMW M1 found in Italy (cont.)
Just 453 production versions of the first M-series car were built, complete with fuel-injected 3.5-liter engines good for 277HP.
In 2016, reports surfaced of an ultra-low-mileage M1 that had been stashed away in an Italian garage for 34 years beneath piles of junk.
BMW M1 found in Italy (cont.)
Remarkably, the machine – built in 1981 – had reportedly never been registered and had a mere 7329km (c4500 miles) on the clock. All of its numbers matched, too.
German specialist Mint Classics rescued the car and began a sensitive restoration process which was completed in 2018, leaving the M1 as one of the finest examples around.
34. Lamborghini Miura P400 S in a German barn
This one might stretch the definition of ‘barn-find’ a little – after all, it was never entirely forgotten. But it did reside in a barn for several years, so we think it’s fair game.
Finished by Lamborghini in September 1969, it was sold to its second custodian, Hans Peter Weber, in 1974 and remained in his cherished possession, driven and enjoyed regularly, until he passed away in 2015.
After that point it was stored in a barn owned by Weber’s brother, and while it was carefully maintained, it was never fully restored.
Lamborghini Miura P400 S in a German barn (cont.)
It went to auction with RM Sotheby’s in October 2019 in fabulously unrestored condition, with its original engine, paintwork and Skay Bleu-trimmed cabin and a raft of documents.
Offered without reserve, but with a pre-sale estimate of £800,000-1m, the hammer eventually fell at £1,248,125.
35. Sole-surviving WO Bentley 4½ Litre Vanden Plas Tourer
This stately classic is the only remaining WO Bentley 4½ Litre Vanden Plas Tourer, meaning it’s one of six 4½ Litre cars built by the Service Department from new old stock parts in 1936, along with four 3½ Litre cars – and the only one of that sextet that still has its original bodywork.
And please forgive us for using the British spelling, ’litre’, but then these are UK-made cars.
Sole-surviving WO Bentley 4½ Litre Vanden Plas Tourer (cont.)
Until 2019, only two people had owned it, the second being a WW2 RAF pilot called Charles Blackham who took part in the raid to bomb Hitler’s mountain-top retreat in the Bavarian Alps in April 1945.
Blackham enjoyed his Bentley until old age forced him to take it off the road, so it was locked away at his home in Stockport and only rediscovered by his family after he died in January 2019.
Sole-surviving WO Bentley 4½ Litre Vanden Plas Tourer (cont.)
It was auctioned by H&H Classics in March 2019 and fetched an impressive £454,250 – which is all the more remarkable when you consider that the previous time it had been sold it had gone for the princely sum of £260!
36. 5 Alfas found in Philly
No, this doesn’t happen to us, either, but in 2020, LBI Limited, a dealer in Philadelphia, USA, unearthed five classic Alfa Romeos that had been in storage for more than 40 years.
The team had received a tip-off and it turned out that this came at just the right time, when the owner was ready to sell them.
Three were in a lean-to-style barn, built to contain them, which had to be dismantled to extract the cars, while in a more conventional double garage on the same property were two Alfa Romeo Giuliettas, a Spider and a Sprint coupe.
5 Alfas found in Philly (cont.)
It goes without saying that a 1967 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super like this is a very desirable classic car – you might remember this model from the film The Italian Job.
This, and the other four, all generated a lot of interest at LBI Limited, and they were soon on their way to new homes.
5 Alfas found in Philly (cont.)
Beneath the dust and dirt it is clear to see that this 1976 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT has a wonderfully period yellow paintjob – plus massive, Federal-spec plastic impact bumpers.
In fact, at first glance, it appears relatively solid looking.
It’s powered by Alfa’s iconic twin-cam, four-cylinder engine and, like all the cars in this haul, it was Pennsylvania-registered.
5 Alfas found in Philly (cont.)
It is thought that the Spider and Sprint coupe had been locked up together for 42 years.
To get them out, their engines couldn’t be run because that risked further damage, so it was the use of GoJacks and brute force that finally gave them their freedom.
37. Church-find Porsche 356A
This late-1958 Porsche 356A Cabriolet was found locked away beneath a church in Brisbane, Australia.
It was fitted with a rare factory Karmann hardtop, as well as even rarer 15in Rudge knock-off wheels.
The car was delivered new to Melbourne with options including an electric clock, a sunblind with make-up mirrors and a tinted windshield.
Church-find Porsche 356A (cont.)
In 1970, its late owner bought this Porsche secondhand, at which point the car was 12 years old, and she paid $1162, less $250 credit for trading in her VW Beetle. Which must’ve been quite a performance upgrade.
The car was enjoyed for several years and was spotted wearing the distinctive numberplate ‘356POR’, before being stashed under a church in Newmarket, Brisbane, at which point the odometer read 12,482 miles.
Church-find Porsche 356A (cont.)
The Porsche’s cabin was thought to be largely original and complete, which was crucial because some of the hardest-to-find pieces when you’re restoring a classic tend to be trim items.
The interior was still upholstered in the factory red leatherette with folding seats, and while the original carpet was present, it was probably beyond saving.
Up front was a smart-looking period radio, possibly the original.
This car was one of only 1382 Porsche 356A Super Cabriolets produced in 1958 and was powered by a 1600 Super engine, mated to a four-speed manual gearbox.
Church-find Porsche 356A (cont.)
The car was sold on February 23, 2021 by auction house Shannons, where it had been expected to achieve $90-120,000.
With 90 minutes to run, bidding had rocketed to $150,000 – the winning bid was an astonishing $230,000.
38. Baillon’s museum dream
French entrepreneur Roger Baillon had a dream in the ’50s of establishing a classic car museum, but the finances didn’t hold up.
Some 50 of his 200 or so beloved motors were sold, while the rest were consigned for decades to shelters and shacks around the family home in France.
Baillon’s museum dream (cont.)
Until 2014, that was, when the haul of forgotten machines was rediscovered – including an ultra-rare Ferrari 250GT SWB California Spider found beneath piles of magazines.
It sold with Artcurial for a staggering €16.3m in 2015 – alongside the likes of a Bugatti Type 57, a 1956 Maserati A6G 2000 and many worse-for-wear pre-’50s cars, in a sale that broke 10 price records.
39. Huge London haul
When this frankly colossal collection was revealed in September 2021, it was thought to be Britain’s biggest-ever barn-find.
The 174-car collection was amassed by a gentleman who selected vehicles he thought might be future classics. This process began about a decade previously and includes cars from the 1940s right through to the 2000s.
They were all stored in a 45,000sq ft warehouse in Tottenham, north London, and were sold via eBay.
Huge London haul (cont.)
Just look at them all! What began as a passion project spiraled out of control until he ran out of space.
Most were driven to the warehouse under their own power and were being sold with their V5 registration documents and service history.
Among this vast, dust-covered collection are a 1963 Wolseley Hornet, a 1989 Mini 30, a 1972 Fiat 500L, a pair of Citroën 2CV6 Spécials (and some other 2CVs), a 1977 MG Midget 1500 parked with its roof lowered, a 1979 Series 3 Landie and an Austin Champ, a 1971 Triumph Stag, several VW campervans and Beetles, and a ’73 Porsche 911 2.7 (with a spare engine).
Huge London haul (cont.)
There are many Mercedes-Benzes, indeed the collection began with an SL.
We hate to think what that pigeon poo has done to this metallic-blue 1985 280SL, but it was apparently a pretty solid example with a good interior – and one of several R107s in the warehouse.
Other Mercedes on offer included a 380SLC and a 450SLC, a 1971 W115 220, a 123-series wagon and two 200 sedans, a 1957 180 Ponton sedan, a very tired-looking 1957 170, a 1986 W126 300SE and a number of Fintails.
Huge London haul (cont.)
This collection featured a great many BMWs, too, including this 1972 2002 Touring, wearing steel wheels and the round rear lights of the pre-facelift cars – and it only had 20,372 miles on the odometer.
And the other BMWs? These included a 1975 2002 automatic, a Z3 roadster, a 107,000-mile 635CSi, and a 520i Lux and 535i.
Huge London haul (cont.)
For something different, check out this 1989 Nissan 300ZX coupe – which not only has a turbocharged, 3-liter, six-cylinder engine, it also has a manual gearbox.
It was estimated that this car would achieve £8000 and the car with the highest pre-sale estimate was a 1960 MGA, predicted to fetch £25,000.
The seller hoped the entire collection would hit £1m.
40. Facel Vega reborn
You don’t see a Facel Vega II very often, because around 180 were produced between 1962 and 1964, and of these just 26 right-hand-drive examples were built – and this is one of them.
But back in 2019 it was in a very sorry state. It was up for grabs with Historics Auctioneers at its March 2, 2019 sale as a project. This former high-speed grand tourer had fallen from grace in several ways.
This car enjoyed a dazzling debut under the bright lights at the London Motor Show, after which it was sold to John Bellord.
Facel Vega reborn (cont.)
Its new owner and a chap called Jim ‘Sydney’ Millar were embroiled in a rather large Hire Purchase scam which saw them hiding on a remote Scottish island before being caught and sent to jail.
But then a later owner of this Facel Vega, Mr Jon Wilson, was an inmate at HM Prison in Cardiff, from where he issued instructions to sell it. And it was sold, but the trail goes dead at this point for a quarter of a century.
Facel Vega reborn (cont.)
For those 25 years, this sub-50,000-mile classic car was kept in a barn.
It still had its rare chromed disc wheels, its Chrysler V8 and Torqueflight automatic gearbox, but there‘s no getting away from the fact it needed rescuing.
Thankfully, at that March 2, 2019 sale, it was snapped up by experienced collector Robert Taylor, who embarked on a rescue mission.
Facel Vega reborn (cont.)
And just look at it now!
Inside and out this Facel Vega II has been transformed. The red paint you saw previously wasn’t its original shade, so this much more elegant, restrained hue has been brought back – apparently 125 hours of work went into the paintwork alone.
The red-leather-trimmed cabin has been restored and it now has well-polished wire wheels – Taylor prefers them, but the rare, original and, of course, restored original chromed wheels remain with the car.
Following this work, Taylor consigned this car to Historics’ April 18, 2021 sale, which was nearly 58 years to the day since its original registration, on April 16, 1963. We’re delighted that this classic car got its happy ending.
41. Mercedes-Benz 300SL in a Cuban garden
Is this the world’s only barn-find 300SL?
When Chris Renwick alerted Classic & Sports Car’s long-time contributor Michael Ware to the existence of an abandoned Gullwing in Cuba, the hunt was on.
Ware traveled to the island in 2005 and, with help from Richard Bebbington, discovered the engine-less classic alongside a coupe version – they couldn't be sold due to export laws in the communist state.
The Gullwing then disappeared, but after an extensive search was rediscovered by Miguel Llorente, who published a wonderful YouTube video about the car.
Later, automotive photographer Piotr Degler also located the dilapidated Gullwing rusting under a banana tree, and published shots of the astounding find in his book, Carros de Cuba.
42. ‘Garage-find’ Cossie
Dream cars don’t have to be ’30s Bugattis or ’70s supercars – how about the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth?
This totally original and unmodified Diamond White example from 1987 had been enjoyed by three owners who had put 78,000 miles on the clock.
‘Garage-find’ Cossie (cont.)
But then, in 2013, it was tucked away and dry-stored in a garage, which is where it remained for the best part of a decade.
Other than needing a very good clean it appeared to be complete and in decent condition, although it would need work to make it roadworthy once more.
It crossed the block in Manchester, in the UK, on February 22, 2022 with Hampson Auctions, where it found a new home for £60,000. Let’s hope it is brought back to its former glory.
43. Gallic gems revealed
French auction house Artcurial discovered a huge, untouched collection of Gallic classic cars, tucked away in a small village in the Mayenne département.
Specialist Antoine Mahé tracked them down, the cars spread across several buildings and in varying states of repair, some left exposed to the elements.
This massive collection was sold at Artcurial’s Le Mans Classic auction on July 2, 2022 – and bidders had a lot to choose from.
Gallic gems revealed (cont.)
What an evocative photo.
The barn doors of this elegant outhouse offer a tantalizing glimpse of some of the many products from Emile Delahaye’s famous Tours auto maker that form this collection.
Gallic gems revealed (cont.)
A work in progress? Behind the doors of this garage is one of several Hotchkiss-Grégoire classics in this collection – this one has been partly stripped down, we presume ahead of a restoration that never happened.
Just 247 of these sedans were produced between 1950 and 1954.
Gallic gems revealed (cont.)
About 24 cars were consigned to Artcurial’s Le Mans Classic 2022 sale, following the death of their keeper, engineering company owner Pierre Héron.
He owned a total of 30-35 cars, with several in a small museum at a castle belonging to a friend of his, but he was a very private gentleman and very few people knew of his classic cache, comprised mainly of cars by marques Hotchkiss-Grégoire, Talbot-Lago and Delahaye.
When a movie theater in his village came up for sale in the 1980s, Héron decided to buy it and strip out the seats and interior to provide additional storage for his cars, which were already spilling out of the sheds, barns and carports on his property.
Gallic gems revealed (cont.)
And here is one of the many classic cars stored inside that repurposed old movie theater, a Salmson 2300 Sport Coupe – and this black example appears to be in rather better condition than another in this collection.
Once restored, its 2.3-liter twin-cam four-cylinder engine should push it to 110mph – which was enough in period to make it a regular competitor at Le Mans.
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