The award for the biggest barn find of the year may go to the junkyard auction in California; the award for the best-preserved barn finds could just be swooped up by this forgotten collection of classics in Hamburg, Germany. Benjamin David, founder of David Finest Sports Cars in Hamburg, heard about a collection of 50 classic cars sitting in an indoor tennis court complex and convinced the owners to sell him the whole lot.
A brave move considering the exception was that he would have to buy all of them sight unseen. Thankfully, a majority of the cars were in great condition and well preserved, thanks to their being US imports largely from California.
The exact number for the whole lot is unknown. Still, it’s said to be a seven-figure amount that got Benjamin David the collection which includes 14 Porsche 911s built between 1974 and 1989, 28 Mercedes-Benz SL/SLCs built between 1973 to 1989, and even a few Ferrari 328 GTS models built in 1988, apart from other classics.
David plans to offer up these cars in an as-is-where-is style, thick cover of dust and all since he believes potential owners would like to see the car’s “history”. David believes most of them should be in working condition but could probably benefit from some amount of restorative services.
If you’re thinking these cars would be priced north of the stratosphere, think again. The most affordable Porsche 911 being offered from this lot stands at just over $40,000, which for a classic Porsche in original condition isn’t too bad at all.
Wondering how these California cars ended up in Germany? Apparently, an enterprising businessman imported them during the 2008 recession, when the real estate market had crashed, forcing wealthy Americans to sell their luxury cars. His business plan was to restore them in Eastern Europe on a budget, then sell them for a profit. However, that plan was abandoned when restoration costs turned out to be higher than expected, leaving the collection gathering dust to this day. We’re just glad these beauties are getting another chance at life.
