Discovered in a junkyard: ultra-rare cars worth millions, caked in dust and rust

Auctions

Rudi Klein's legendary Junkyard set – featuring some of the world's rarest cars and thought possibly to be the greatest private collection on the planet – is now going up for auction

2 Klein Junkyard Mercedes 500 K

Klein collection has gathered dust, rust and its own special aura for decades

Robin Adams

Author

James Elson

It sounds like something out of a George Lucas film, the ‘Lost Ark‘ of the road – stacks of priceless cars, one on top of the other, gathering rust and dust with the real treasures glowing at the centre, some of the most desirable automobiles ever (or more recently, never) seen.

But it’s real. The ultimate vintage car treasure trove – Rudi Klein’s mythical ‘Junkyard’ collection, which has lain dormant for 20 years – is now going up for auction. As well as a plethora of broken down Lamborghinis, Porsche 356s and neglected Gullwings, it features one of the rarest Mercedes ever made, prewar racer Rudolf Caracciola’s one-off 500K. It could end up becoming the most valuable car of all time.

Shrouded in secrecy for decades, also part of the group is an apparently ‘long-lost’ 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL ‘Alloy’ Gullwing and a 1967 Iso Grifo A3/L Spider Prototype.

3 Klein Junkyard Mercedes 500 K

Mercedes 500K is arguably rarest car ever produced by the German marque – it hasn’t been seen for over 40 years

Kegun Morkin

The incredible collection has lain untouched and gathering rust since Klein’s death in 2001, but will now go under the hammer in an unprecedented series of sales, breaking up the gold-plated junkyard.

The German immigrant moved to North America in the late 1950s, and his Porche Foreign Auto (the misspelling a necessary legal swerve after notice from Stuttgart) European classic car part dealership became lucrative in the late ’60s.

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An intensely private man, Klein thereon quietly assumed one of the world’s greatest car collections in a work yard on the grimy outskirts of Los Angeles.

With no public access and very few permitted even a glimpse of the astounding collection, his junkyard set built up an aura and mystery matched by few.

The crowning glory of the collection is the Mercedes 500K, arguably the rarest car ever produced by the German marque.

A one-off two-seater made for pre-war Silver Arrows legend Rudolf Caracciola to travel to and from races in style, it was presented to him in 1935 and created with an extra large windscreen to accommodate the German’s tall frame.

Via a Paris dealership, the car ended up in the hands of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s son-in-law during WWII, then following his execution lay being hidden for a long period in a manure pile in Ethiopia before finding its way to the US.

3 Klein Junkyard Mercedes Gullwing

Priceless classic cars lie in disrepair at Klein’s yard

Kegun Morkin

It was last seen publicly when brought to a car show by Klein in 1980, and has remained under wraps ever since.

A Car and Driver investigation into the car and collection 12 years ago estimated it would be worth over $10m (£7.7m) – but classic automobile prices have rocketed since then.

From the archive

Two years ago the Mercedes 300 SLR ‘Uhlenhaut’ Coupe became the most valuable car in the world after being sold for €135m (£115m). Could the 500K surpass this?

It won’t be the only lot catching the eye as the auctions roll on. Another car that has been under wraps for decades is the late Klein’s 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL ‘Alloy’ Gullwing. Just 29 were made, with this one being the only example finished in black – at one point it was owned by legendary US Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti.

Also included is the last surviving Horch 855 Special Roadster, a 1939 car which was used in Hollywood publicity photographs in the 1950s, and a 1967 Iso Grifo A3/L Spider Prototype by Bertone which Klein bought off TV film producer Greg Garrison – known for creating The Dean Martin Show and directing one of the landmark 1960 presidential television debates between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.

Many weren’t even sure this hallowed collection existed, but now RM Sotheby’s will oversee each car’s sale from October this year.

2 Klein Junkyard Lamborghini Miura

Lamborghini Miuras are among the less rare cars in the collection

Robin Adams

“Bringing something out of hiding that’s only been rumoured to exist, like the legendary Klein Collection, is truly special,” said Sotheby’s car specialist Cary Ahl.

“Discovering a hidden Mercedes 500K or an Alloy Gullwing is the kind of story that resonates with everyone, not just automotive enthusiasts. What Klein amassed here is one-of-a-kind, and we know that many of these cars will live on for generations, powering new projects, or preserved in their original state.”

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