How Hidden and Forgotten Car Collections Found New Owners

Fifty new "60s Chevys in an abandoned dealership in Nebraska, dozens of retro cars and Formula 1 cars in a farmers' hangar in Portugal, about a hundred rare models, including the personal transport of the King of Egypt, under a wooden canopy in a small French town-striking collections of cars were constantly abandoned and forgotten for many years.

In abandoned warehouses around the world, unique cars that once belonged to kings and movie stars are being destroyed by dust and humidity. We recalled several cases in recent years when collections of retro cars, the value of which is measured in millions of dollars, suddenly found new owners.

Under a canopy in the French province

A few weeks ago, in the small provincial town of Mulhouse in France, about a hundred rare cars were found in sheds. Among the forgotten retrocars were copies of Ferrari, Maserati, Porsche and Bugatti.

The cost of the collection is estimated in the tens of millions of dollars. So, according to experts, only for one Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider of 1961 release today you can get at least $14 million, and Maserati A6G Gran Sport Frua, which came off the assembly line in 1956, will go for at least $3 million.

It has already been established that the car "Talbo-Lago" from this collection in the middle of the last century was moved by the King of Egypt and Sudan Farouk I, and one of the Ferrari 250 was used in the filming of the film Los Felinos with the participation of Jane Fonda and Alain Delon.

As reported by foreign media, the discovered collection was previously owned by local tycoon Roger Bailon. It is known that he had many more cars, but when his financial situation deteriorated in the 1970s, he was forced to sell off part of his collection. For what reason the cars were left to rust under the awnings, remains unknown.

About 40 unique cars and all were left by the former owner in the open air and for many years completely rusted. But about 60 more copies are well preserved.

New York Warehouse

There are enough abandoned garages not only in provincial towns and villages, but also in megacities. For a quarter of a century, in one of these places in New York, a curious collection of cars, consisting mainly of Chevrolet Corvette models from different years of production, was gathering dust.

Until recently, the cars were owned by an artist from Germany named Peter Max. The history of the appearance of this collection can hardly be called ordinary. In 1988, the music channel VH1 held a competition among the audience and presented the winner with 36 "Corvettes". This very strange prize went to the carpenter Danny Amodeo — he was able to get through to the TV channel's studio first.

Almost immediately, the collection passed into the hands of Max — he bought it from a hard worker for $250 thousand. To date, the cost of these cars has already increased several times.

Max was not going to use the cars he bought for their intended purpose — he needed them for some art project. However, the creative idea was never realized, and sports cars for 25 years just stood in the garage.

And only this year, two American families agreed with the artist to purchase his collection and are now engaged in the restoration of cars.

Farm in Portugal

An elderly New Yorker, after retiring, decided to invest the accumulated money in real estate. His choice fell on a long-empty estate in Portugal. Previously, the land and buildings belonged to a married couple, and after their death, for lack of heirs, they passed to the state. After 15 years, the land, along with the house and hangar, was put up for sale.

The American who purchased the property was unaware of the contents of the hangar — the massive iron gates were well welded, and it was not possible to look inside.

The curious new owner, opening the gate, found that there was nowhere to fall in the hangar-it was literally packed with retro cars.

This collection includes such models as the Porsche 356, Lotus Seven, Alfa Berlina, Austin A40 Somerset, De Ville, Renault Dauphine, Opel Rekord, as well as about 90 more units of retro equipment, including unique Formula 1 combat cars.

The entire collection was estimated by experts at $35 million.

Basement of a house on the outskirts of Brussels

In the basement of a half-destroyed house on the outskirts of Brussels, retro cars of the Italian brand Alfa Romeo stood idle for about 40 years.

Among the dusty copies were the Spider, 1300 Sprint, Clean Me and many others.

The owner of the mansion was a Belgian who was engaged in car rental. In the 1970s, the man went to travel to the United States, but for an unknown reason did not return to his homeland.

For the right to own a warehouse with cars, the local authorities for many years sued the heirs of the missing entrepreneur. But as a result, in 2012, the relatives still managed to defend their interests and get a unique collection.

It is not known how the heirs disposed of the property, but the desire to buy some cars from them was expressed by the largest museums in Europe.

Garage in Texas

A few years ago, three cars worth several million dollars were accidentally discovered in an abandoned hangar in New Hampshire, Texas.

The rarest Ferrari Dino 246 GTS of 1974 (with a mileage of 4.5 thousand km), Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona of 1972 (15 thousand km) and Maserati Bora Coupe of 1977 (1.5 thousand km) stood in the garage for about 40 years.

The condition of the sports cars was almost perfect. Moreover, the Ferrari Dino, according to experts, was in the best condition in comparison with all the cars of this model preserved by collectors.

As it turned out, in the 1970s, the Italian sports cars belonged to a friend of the Italian racing driver Luigi Chinetti, who for a long time owned the first Ferrari dealer network in America.

Under what circumstances the cars were found and who became their new owner, it was not specified. And the discovery itself was not immediately known, but only in the summer of 2011, when all three cars were put up for sale on eBay.

Abandoned Nebraska Dealership

In 2012, in the state of Nebraska, also under unknown circumstances, an abandoned warehouse of a Chevrolet dealer was discovered several decades ago.

Under a thick layer of dust, 50 pieces of brand-new Chevrolet have been standing in the room since the middle of the last century.

Among the found copies are the 1956 Chevrolet Cameo, the 1964 Chevrolet Impala, the 1978 Chevrolet Corvette, and the 1960 Chevrolet Corvair.

All cars had a mileage of no more than a few miles.

There are also stickers with prices on the windows of cars, and even cellophane on the seats. The bodies of these cars were almost untouched by corrosion, so they were successfully sold at a local auction.