Every car enthusiast loves a good barn-find story. It's always a tale of such hope and excitement: Someone discovers an old car (or a collection of old cars) tucked away in a barn or a shed, sitting unused and usually covered in dust, dirt, and whatever is left of a family of mice. The person buys the old car for cheap (or gets it for free) and restores it.
Here's where the typical story deviates. The new owner either keeps the car until he or she inevitably leaves it to rest in a barn and the cycle repeats, or the new owner realizes their cool barn find the project is worth enough money to buy all the houses on their block, a boat, and a restaurant franchise, and still have some leftover to retire young.
But no matter how the story ends, it always leaves us thinking about what kinds of seriously rare and seriously valuable classic cars might be out there, tucked away, unused, and possibly never to be seen again.
This list will cover 15 of the most interesting and valuable cars found tucked away in barns, sheds, and even one that was buried underground.
15 Mercedes-Benz 190SL
This car was discovered by someone who had just gone out for a walk through his neighborhood with no intention of buying a classic car. Yet, he noticed it under a cover in a run-down old garage, knocked on the door, and ended up buying himself a fairly rare and valuable classic Mercedes sports car. The owner has since restored the car and turned it into a classic speedster by deleting the windshield.
14 1970 Chevelle SS
This Chevelle was sitting untouched since it was put away in a barn in 1978. It was listed for sale online a few years ago and snatched up by a classic car fan who got it running and immediately took it to a drag strip. Luckily he didn't kill his recently-revived muscle car. Chevelle SS's are very highly sought-after classic muscle cars, and good ones are often worth the same or more than a modern equivalent like a Camaro ZL1 1LE.
13 1963 Aston Martin DB4 Convertible
This classic Aston has quite a story. It was owned by an Oxford University professor, who bought it new in 1964 and drove it until he sold it in 1978. Its new owner bought it as a project, as the car needed some extensive work including an engine rebuild. This owner last registered it in 1979, after which it sat in storage until recently. It was dug out, cleaned up, and sold at auction for approximately $384,000.
12 1949 Ferrari 166MM
This 166MM is one of only 25 ever made, and possibly one of the only ones ever to make it to the US. An American soldier stationed in Europe bought it from a dealer in Switzerland and shipped it back to the US for a friend. It then developed engine problems, and its owner left it to rot on his property in Arizona. In 2007, it was bought by a collector for over $1 million, making it one of the most valuable barn finds on this list.
11 1964 Shelby Daytona Coupe
This Shelby Daytona Coupe has one of the best stories of anything on this list. It was one of six Daytonas built by Shelby American to compete against Ferrari in classes of racing that the GT40 was ineligible for. However, the "6th Daytona Coupe" went missing shortly after it was built, until the daughter of the previous owner found it after 30-plus years in storage. Her father had bought it for $5,000, but it's now worth over $4 million.
10 Buried 1974 Dino 246 GTS
While this classic Dino can't beat that Daytona Coupe for value, it can beat it for having a better story. in 1974, this car was buried in the front yard of a Los Angeles home by someone who was trying to commit insurance fraud. After burying it, the owner reported the car as stolen, and it wasn't until four years later that some kids discovered it while digging in the yard. The car was recovered, and auctioned off by the insurance company.
9 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO
Believe it or not, this multi-million dollar historic Ferrari race car was used as a lawn ornament at its owner's home in Ohio from 1972 to 1986. Its owner refused to sell it for years, despite Ferrari enthusiasts and even ex-Ferrari race car drivers making him plenty of offers for it. It was bought by a Swiss collector and restored, and is now worth tens of millions of dollars. 250 GTOs often fetch record-breaking amounts at auction.
8 Elvis Presley’s BMW 507 Roadster
This classic BMW roadster was owned by none other than The King himself, Elvis Presley. He bought it during his military service in Germany. It was originally white, but Elvis had it painted red to mask the colour of the lipstick stains being left on the paint by fans kissing the car. The car was found in a California barn, brought back to Germany and restored by BMW's Classic division in 2006.
7 36 Classic Corvettes
This is one of those particularly fortunate barn find stories where an entire collection of decaying classics is discovered. These cars were bought by a New York artist by the name of Peter Max, who bought them impulsively and then never did much with them. They were stored in an underground garage in New York for decades until they were bought and sold at an auction.
6 Untouched 1965 Mercedes-Benz 190c “Fintail”
While this 1965 Mercedes-Benz 190c Fintail may not be the most exciting or expensive car on this list, it's notable for the immaculate condition in which it was found. When its owner passed away, his wife had the car stored properly, jacked up off the ground and put under a cover. It then sat that way for years before being discovered by a German classic car dealer, who brought it from its resting place in Spain back to Hamburg, where it was lightly restored and sold.
5 Series 1 Jaguar E-Type in Africa
This beautiful classic Jaguar E-Type was found in Niamey, the capital city of the African country of Niger. It was brought there in 1978 by a French businessman, who kept it there and continued to drive it for decades. It was recently picked up and brought back to France, where it will likely be restored and sold at auction. Never has a car been further out of its element though, and it's a miracle it didn't fall to pieces on the rough roads or melt itself down in the intense heat where it spent so much of its life.
4 Lamborghini Miura LP400 S
From one of the most beautiful cars ever made to the next, this Lamborghini Miura was owned by two German collectors, changing hands between the two in the late-70s. Its second owner had it and continued to drive it until his death in 2015, after which it was put into storage for four years. The car was recovered, and sold at an RM Sotheby's auction in 2019.
3 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante
Classic Bugattis like this one are some of the rarest and most valuable cars in the world. They were made in tiny numbers, built for only the highest-end customer at the time. If you could find two of them in the same place, neither would be exactly alike. They were handbuilt and often to the customer's preference, so no two are the same. This one was owned in the UK by the then-president of the British Racing Drivers' Club. It was put into storage in 1960 and dug out in 2007, when it sold at auction for $4.4 million.
2 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Landaulet
This coachbuilt limo was the sort of car you'd typically find in the private ownership of some of the worlds most dangerous people, namely dictators. It was a car that ordinary citizens feared, since the person riding in the back seat had the authority to have someone shot just for looking at them funny.
This car was sold at auction for approximately $550,000, which doesn't seem like much compared to some of the cars on this list, but it makes up for it in road presence and history. Its not known who owned it previously, which makes it all the more interesting.
1 Ferrari 250 GT California
Ferrari 250 GT Californias are some of the most valuable and most beautiful (arguably the most beautiful ever, even compared to the E-Type) cars ever made. They are extremely desirable, and this example sold for a massive $15 million at auction. It was owned by a French businessman, who bought it and stored with the rest of his collection. He died ten years prior to its sale, and it's a shame that he never got to find out just how valuable his little black Ferrari would become.