For automobile fanboys, there is no more exciting news than finding a rare vehicle that has been stored away for years and, in some cases, decades. Car aficionados even have a name for this: barn finds.
Wealth of Geeks has compiled a list of some of these spellbinding vehicle recoveries. We assembled our compendium from various sources and based it on the length of time the car was missing; its rarity; mystique; and condition, among other factors.
There are many reasons these cars had gone out of circulation: they are forgotten about, caught up in a property dispute between family members, hidden from invading armies, or the owner simply didn't have the financial means to keep them on the road.
Some of the world's great brands are on our list: Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Aston Martin, and Bugatti.
Mercedes-Benz 190SL
Car enthusiastMichael Potikerwas walking through his neighborhood in 2018 when he noticed what appeared to be a covered-up car in a run-down garage.
The owner was in poor health and unable to speak, so he contacted the estate's trustee and bought the vehicle — a Mercedes-Benz 190SL covered in dirt and bird droppings. Potiker was able to restore the car to its prior beauty.
1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 MK II Coupe
Only 15 or 16 British-madeAston Martin DB2/4 Mk IIwere produced, and only six were designated for export. One was delivered to Robert Torrence, who lived in Mount Kisko, just north of New York City.
Later, the car was owned by a missile engineer named Marvin Biren. He put the vehicle in storage in 1977. Forty years later, it was uncovered and in need of repairs. It was sold at auction in 2018 for $293,300.
1939 Citroën Prototypes
Citroënbegan designing its line of economy cars — the tres petite voiture or TPV — in 1935. When World War II broke out, and as the German armies swarmed over northern France, the company ordered the 250 prototypes destroyed.
Not all of them were. Two were known to have survived until 1994 when three more were discovered in the attic of a building near a test track in La Ferté-Vidame. They were removed, cleaned up, and became part of the Citroën collection in Paris.
1949 Ferrari 166MM
After World War II, an American soldier stationed in Europe bought the166MM, one of only 25 ever made, from a dealer in Switzerland and shipped it back to the United States. The 166MM was significant because it was the first one that Ferrari produced whenEnzo Ferrariembarked on building his cars under his marque.
It developed engine problems in America, and the owner left it outside in Arizona's searing heat. In 2007, a collector purchased the 166MM for more than $1 million.
1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Long Nose Alloy/1967 Shelby 427 Cobra
This is a two-for-the-price of one barn find. In 1991, a1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Long Nose Alloyand a 1967 Shelby 427 Cobra were found in a North Carolina garage, gathering dust for 25 years.
The rare vehicles were owned by a man who trusted one mechanic to maintain them. That mechanic was killed in a motorcycle accident, and the vehicles were left unattended. The Ferrari went to auction and was sold for $2,530,000, and theShelbywas sold for $1,045,000 in 2018.
Shelby Daytona Coupe Prototype
Built by the renowned car racer and designer Carroll Shelby, the Shelby Daytona Coupewas one of six Daytonas constructed to compete against Ferrari in race classes in which the GT40 was not eligible. It beat Ferrari in 1965.
The sixth Daytona Coupe went missing after it was built. It was found by the daughter of a prior owner who had kept it in storage for more than 30 years. The car's value is reportedly $4 million.
1969 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ‘Daytona'
Only 1,200 365 GTB/4 “Daytonas”were ever built, with only 24 constructed to specifications to run in the 24-hour Daytona race. Of those 24, only one was street-legal; this was the one left in a Japanese garage for 40 years before this legendary vehicle was found.
Amazingly, the aluminum-bodied car was in mint condition and had fewer than 23,000 miles on its odometer. It was as if time had stood still for this almost mystical vehicle. It was auctioned off by Sotheby's for $2.2 million.
Elvis Presley's BMW 507 Roadster
The BMW 507 Roadster was bought by rock' n' roll's king while he was serving in the United States Army in West Germany in the late 1950s. It was one of only 250 ever built, and Elvis became one of the few private owners of the vehicle. One story claims the car was originally painted white, but because his swooning female fans kissed it so much, he had it painted red.
The car was discovered in a California barn in 2006 by BMW restoration expertKlaus Kutscher. The automobile had seen better days. However, Kutscher knew it was worth restoring. The car was returned to Germany in 2006.
36 Classic Corvettes
Along with Andy Warhol,Peter Maxwas one of the art world's icons in the 1960s. Max loved collecting Corvettes and impulsively purchased 36 of them between theproduction yearsof 1953 and 1989. However, once he bought them, they gathered dust in various underground garages in New York for 25 years.
The vehicles were purchased by theHeller and Spindler families in 1989 as part of a promotion by the television channel VH1.
1965 Mercedes-Benz 190c
The discovery of the1965 Mercedes-Benz 190c Fintailin a garage in a village near Alicante, Spain, was noteworthy for the vehicle's pristine condition. The owner was a Spanish man who exported the car to Spain in 1965. He reportedly was driven to bullfights by his chauffeur in the vehicle. After he died, his wife took pains to store the car properly, raising the vehicle from the ground and covering it.
The vehicle was found in 2013 by Hamburg-based classic car dealer Wilfried Hallier and returned to Germany, where it was restored and sold.
1969 Lamborghini Miura
The mere mention of a Lamborghini can send car enthusiasts' hearts racing, and it is a favorite of rock performers and soccer stars. Two German collectors owned the 1969 Lamborghini Miura. The second owner drove it until he passed away in 2015.
The car languished in storage for the next four years until it was discovered and auctioned off by Sotheby's.
1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante
Bugattis are typically sold to the world's highest-earning and most discerning car fans. Many experts consider the1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalanteamong the most beautiful and rarest cars ever built. No two Bugattis are alike.
This Bugatti was first owned by Francis Richard Henry Penn Curzon, who co-founded the British Racing Drivers' Club. The car was placed in storage, rediscovered in 1960, and returned to storage in 1960. It was put on the auction block in 2009 and fetched $3,833,751.
1964 Porsche 901
When it comes to car icons, thePorsche 911makes any list. The prototype for the famed 911 was called the 901. It was built in 1964, went missing, and was believed to be lost for good.
However, in 2014, Alexander Klein, Porsche Museum's classic car manager, got a call from a German television station after it found the rusting remnants of a sports car in a shed and planned to air its findings on one of its programs. Museum experts checked it out and confirmed it was the 901 by itsVIN. The vehicle was restored and is in the Porsche Museum.
1969 Dodge Daytona Charger
No list of barn finds would be complete without including the1969 Dodge Daytona Charger, of which only 503 were built. The car was literally found in an Alabama barn with almost no rust or corrosion.
An 18-year-old man bought the muscle car in 1972. After he got into an accident, he did not fix it and left it in the barn, where it remained for more than four decades. The Charger was rediscovered by a classic car company and auctioned off.
