PARIS: A treasure trove of extremely rare classic cars, discovered rusted and weather-beaten on a farm in western France last year after lying forgotten for half a century goes under the hammer in Paris on Friday.
The cars, described as “sleeping beauties” by the Artcurial auction house, will be sold in the state they were found, having been kept in makeshift shelters exposed to the elements.
Artcurial has previously suggested the cars — amassed by an enthusiast on the property with the hope of turning it into an automobile museum — could sell for around 16 million ($18 million).
The 60 classic gems, with legendary names like Bugatti, Hispano-Suiza, Talbot-Lago, Panhard-Levassor, Maserati, Ferrari, Delahaye and Delage have been described by Artcurial as “works of art”.
Among them is one of only 37 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spiders ever made, valued at up to 12 million euros, which was discovered under a pile of dusty old car magazines.
The once-in-a-lifetime discovery, announced in December, was likened by Artcurial managing director Matthieu Lamoure to stumbling upon the car world’s equivalent of the tomb of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Lamoure and senior specialist Pierre Novikoff got a tip-off about the timeworn fleet while criss-crossing the country hunting for rare pieces.
On the farm they found a hodge-podge of makeshift structures, describing shock after shock as they realised the treasures they contained. “This was somewhere between a metallic graveyard and a museum,” said Novikof.
