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Top 5 Barn Finds
Where: Illinois, USA
When: 2006
Value: $3 million
I have kicked off this list with a Ferrari
FerrariItaly, 1947 > present233 models
5131 photos
37 videos
, quite simply because it is a Ferrari. It was also bought under the eyes of the world for less than 1% of its true value and has a competition history to match.
Tom Shaughnessy paid $26,912 for his 1952 Ferrari 340 America
Ferrari 342 America Berli...Italy, 1952 > present2 photos
, less than 1% of its value once restored. What is even more amazing is that Shaughnessy bought the car on eBay, although the chassis had been covered up by a fiberglass Devin body for the previous 46 years. Once the car had been bought another discovery was made, that this – chassis No. 0202 was in fact a factory competition car, again adding value to the discovery. This particular model was raced by Maurice Trintignant – the Grand Prix winner – at Le Mans in 1952. The car was then lent to Piero Scotti who competed in Europe and then it was shipped to America, ending up in the hands of Paul Owens in Houston who fitted a Chevrolet
ChevroletUnited States of America, 1911 > present82 models
3556 photos
7 videos
V8. However, following a crash in which the passenger was killed the car was fitted with the fibreglass body and advertised for sale in Sports Car magazine for $4,250.
340 America
2. Bugatti Type 57S Atlante Coupe
Where: Newcastle, UK
When: 2006
Value: $4.6 million
The Bugatti Veyron
Bugatti VeyronGermany, 2000 > present27 versions
220 photos
2 videos
has reignited the Bugatti brand in the eyes of the populace but collectors have always seen the value of French car manufacturer’s products. So, when a rare Type 57S Atlante Coupe was found in the estate of a doctor in Newcastle it always had a chance of making this list.
Only 17 examples of the Type 57S Atlante were crafted by Bugatti and this one was bought by the president of the British Racing Drivers Club - the Earl Howe originally before it made its way into the hands of Dr Harold Carr of Newcastle. The car was originally finished with Blue and Black upholstered pig skin – Howe’s racing colours. After Carr had purchased the vehicle it was used for several years before being stored in a garage from the early 1960s where it lay until 2007 on the doctor’s death. Fortunately the family decided to have it professionally valued before they put the vehicle up for auction.
Bugatti 57S
3. Alloy bodied Mercedes 300SL Gullwing
Where: Victoria, British Columbia
When: 2012
Value: $2 Million
A ‘normal’300sl Gullwing is a valuable car in its own right, with examples creeping close to $1million, however the car sitting in Tom Welmers’ garage was not a ‘normal’ car, but an alloy bodied 300sl, and therefore considerably more valuable.
Welmer’s parents had given him the Gullwing upon graduation from university but after a gearbox problem it had been put in the garage to gather dust. After a couple of days clearing the detritus surrounding the Mercedes a magnet was run over the body confirming that it is all alloy. Lightweight models came with plexiglass windows, revised suspension, a high lift camshaft, Rudge wheels and bigger brakes, making this one very special car indeed.
Mercedes 300SL Gullwing
Where: Ukraine
When: 1980’s
Value: $15 million
The logistics must have been terrifying when enthusiasts Paula and Barbara Karassik discovered two Auto Unions in Kiev in Ukraine in the mid-1980s. Four cars had originally resided in the Russian Institute of Technology in Moscow before the disappeared.
It took the Krassiks until 1994 to restore the 1938 car and it was at this point that Audi bought the car for a reputed $15 million.
There are not very many Auto Unions left, but those that remain are dotted throughout the world, stretching as far as Korea. It is perhaps fitting that Audi should have bought the 1938 car from the Krassiks when Mercedes has so many of its original Silver Arrows tucked up in Stuttgart.
Auto Union D-Type
5. Hoax
The last barn find is based in Portugal, and it’s a bit of a hoax if I’m honest but I’m going to tell it anyway because it is a story worth telling.
The first version is a fabrication, or a rumour depending on how you like to look at it.
A retired New York couple bought a house in Portugese wine country and on the property was a large padlocked building where the couple found 400 cars of varying brands and condition, with a value totaling $35 million. It was a nice story but sadly not a correct one.
The truth is that the 400 vehicles were accumulated by Antonio Ferreira de Almeida over a twenty year period. In the 1970’s the Portugese collector went on a buying spree in Spain when cars from Spain became available at rock bottom prices after the Carnation Revolution. His buying binge ended in 1996 with 400 cars in the collection, about 100 of which were in excellent fettle.
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