To car enthusiasts, barn-finds have an irresistible appeal. Whether found by intuition or by accident, the lucky person unveiling a barn-find or just an abandoned car must feel like a child unwrapping his latest present.
There have been several cases of classic cars, sometimes very valuable ones, that have been completely forgotten in a garage, or perhaps the owner passed away and no one ever cared about his car. Fortunately, some of them have been discovered and brought back to life. These are the 10 sickest cars that were previously covered with dust and nostalgia but found a new life.
10 Alain Delon's Lost Ferrari 250 GT California
This has been Alain Delon's car for two years, and it was one of the very fast and very rare spiders produced in Maranello, with only 36 examples made. The 1961 250 GT California had been abandoned for decades on a farm in Saint Gervais La Foret, in central France. It was part of a collection created by entrepreneur Roger Baillon, who had managed to put together about a hundred cars, with the desire to create a museum.
The stunning Ferrari sold at auction for more than $18.5 million despite the poor conditions. It was part of a lot that included a Maserati A6G 2000 from 1956 and a Talbot-Lago T26 that belonged to King Farouk of Egypt.
9 The Lamborghini Miura P400 S
The Lamborghini Miura is known as one of the most beautiful cars ever, featuring a timeless design, wavy and clean lines and a stunning engine. Also, since it has always been a fancy car for a few lucky owners only, it seems Lamborghini Miura is one of the most forgotten cars.
This is one of the most beautiful examples. In particular this is a second generation Miura: the P400 S would feature an increased power up to 370 hp (276 kW), thanks to substantial changes to the intake and combustion chambers. Only 338 units from this generation were sold, making this barn-find a real treasure chest.
8 Jaguar E-Type From Africa
This is a stunning Jaguar E-Type found in Niamey, the capital city of the African country of Niger. This classy British car was brought there in 1978 by a French businessman, who kept it there and continued to drive it for decades.
Recently, it has been brought back to France, where the car underwent restoration. It's incredible that this Jag didn't fall to pieces on the rough roads or melt under the boiling hot African sun where it spent much of its life.
7 The Buried Dino
The story of a Ferrari Dino 246 GTS buried in a courtyard of a Los Angeles home is worth telling. On an ordinary day, kids were playing under the hot Californian sun, when they accidentally bumped into something: that thing was a Ferrari with serial number 07862 and, once brought back to the daylight, it featured a metallic green body paint.
The Ferrari with license plate 832LJQ was purchased in 1974 by Rosendo Cruz, who reported the theft on December 7 of the same year. The reason why it was found underground in a courtyard in West Athens, still, remains a mystery.
6 The Abandoned 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO
This Ferrari started its career at GoodWood, conquering the podium several times during the 1962 season with Mike Parkes as pilot. Flown overseas, it raced in the Bahamas with Innes Ireland, then moved on to the 12h of Sebring and the 24h of Daytona in 1963, where it closed the race with not-so-brilliant results.
Since racing cars at the end of their career were seen as a problem, owner Tom O'Connor donated it to Victoria High School in Texas, making the car a nice piece of furnishing in shows and fairs. In 1972 the car was acquired by a guy who literally forgot it for some 15 years. Fortunately, someone purchased it and finally restored it.
5 1958 Elvis Presley’s BMW 507
Elvis Presley was not only driving one of the coolest German cars ever made, but he even requested BMW to do an engine swap on this cool spider. Fitted with a lightweight V8 series engine, this BMW 507 had 150 hp, a serious punch for that time.
As the former white paint was smeared almost every day with messages left by the lipsticks of his fans, Elvis then decided to have it painted red. After being sold in 1960, the car was found abandoned in a warehouse only in 2014. The car went under a full restore.
4 The 1960 Mercedes-Benz 190SL
This wonderful time-worn 1960 Mercedes Benz 190SL was found in an old garage in Solihull, England. This gorgeous Spider was found by Mark Bryan of H&H Classics Motorcycle Department when on a mission to value bikes for sale.
The 190 SL entered production in January 1955, and it was a big hit in the USA, thanks to the timeless elegance and performance of the 1960s Mercedes-Benz open top packed with a sophisticated German engine.
3 The 1963 Aston Martin DB4 Convertible
This Aston Martin has been kept in dry storage ever since 1979 and currently displays a total of only 60,000 miles on the odometer. The engine is now back in the car, and ripe for sympathetic restoration.
Introduced in 1958, the Touring-style Aston Martin DB4 featured a twin-cam, 6-cylinder 3.6-liter engine mated to a 4-speed transmission. With 240 hp and innovative brake system, the DB4 was the first production car capable of accelerating from a standing start to 100 mph and back to rest again in under 30 seconds.
2 The 1974 Forgotten Dodge Daytona
We just can't stop thinking of the cows chewing in front of the headlight of this abandoned old beast. In the USA, the owner of a barn found a "wreck" worth over $180,000.
From 1974 to today, one of the 503 examples of the Dodge Charger Daytonas ever built re-emerged to light to the owner's amazement. The car was immediately evaluated despite the poor conditions it was discovered in.
This 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona was originally bought by a judge for his wife and changed ownership in 1974, and has stood still ever since. In over forty years of disuse, this muscle car has lost its shine and, due to rust, worn interior, and dirt, it will need thousands of hours of work to return to its original condition.
1 The Abandoned One-Off Ferrari Daytona
Made in only five aluminum units, this was the personal Ferrari of the Italian editor Luciano Conti. Designed by Pininfarina and bodyworked by Scaglietti, it was bought in Italy and then ended up in Japan, where it remained in a barn for decades. The car was auctioned for 1.8 million euros on the occasion of Ferrari's 70th anniversary.
Designed to compete in the 24 Hours of Daytona, this is a very unique model. In addition, Ferrari has only commissioned this one road version of the aluminum Daytona, making this barn-find one of the craziest ever.