A Treasure of Rare Cars Goes on Auction in France

A wide array of rare classic cars, discovered on a farm in western France last year after lying forgotten for almost 50 years, is seen to garner 16 million euros ($18 million) at auction on Friday.

The cars will be sold in the state they were found, some rusted and weather-beaten, having been kept in makeshift shelters exposed to the elements, report from GMA News Online said.

It adds that these 60 classic gems, bearing legendary names like Bugatti, Hispano-Suiza, Talbot-Lago, Panhard-Levassor, Maserati, Ferrari, Delahaye and Delage have been described by Artcurial as “works of art.”

One of them is 37 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spiders, valued at up to 12 million euros, which , report said, 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, report added.

Lamoure and senior specialist Pierre Novikoff reportedly got a “tip-off” about the timeworn fleet while criss-crossing the country hunting for rare pieces. “On the farm—Artcurial is keeping the exact location secret—they found a hodge-podge of makeshift structures, describing shock after shock as they realized the treasures they contained,” report said.

Novikoff said that this was somewhere between a metallic graveyard and a museum.” He described these valuable cars invaded by ivy, and in some cases, corrugated iron resting directly on the cars.

Lamoure also said they were overcome with emotion.

“Probably much like Lord Carrington and Howard Carter, on being the first for centuries to enter Tutankhamun’s tomb,” said Lamoure.

Reports said the rare California Spider—a car which features 13 times on the list of the 100 most expensive cars ever sold—was bought new by French actor Gerard Blain and later sold to fellow actor Alain Delon.

Delon was photographed with American actresses Jane Fonda and Shirley MacLaine in the car, which historians thought was lost forever, it added.

Also uncovered is an extravagant Talbot Lago T26 Cabriolet that belonged to Egypt’s last monarch King Farouk, which repotedly described in the report as “an immensely rich ruler known for grotesque extravagance” and avid collector who along with fast cars amassed one of the world’s most famous coin collections.”

“This is surely the last time that such a discovery will be made, anywhere in the world. What is so special here is the number of cars, the range and the quality and pedigree of the models,” said Novikoff.

Source: GMA News Online