Huge ‘junkyard’ classic car collection for sale

California dreamin’

Top-end collections of expensive, rarified classic cars often lead sheltered lives, these immaculate automobiles kept away from prying eyes and the harsh realities of the outside world.

Not the late Rudi Klein’s huge stash, though. This well-known collector did indeed have a colossal, clandestine cache, but his passion for rare and sometimes unusual cars didn’t always include examples in pristine condition.

His Los Angeles ‘junkyard’ was home to everything from dust-covered Porsche engines and Ferrari body panels, to an unrestored Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing and a one-off NSU prototype.

Since 1967, this California-based collection has been kept mostly under wraps, but now it’s for sale with RM Sotheby’s in a no-reserve auction.

Buyer beware

Virtually all the lots in this two-part sale will need to be restored before they’re ready to be used.

Here, presented in chronological order, we’re focusing on 18 of the classic cars for sale at the in-person auction on 26 October 2024. And what we’re showing you is just the beginning, given there are 208 lots.

In addition, an online sale of more vehicles, spare parts and memorabilia, with a massive 359 lots in total, will take place from 26-28 October.

There is certainly plenty of intrigue and, with sufficient time and money invested, serious potential, too. Take a look.

1. 1931 Mercedes-Benz 370S Mannheim Sport Cabriolet (est: $100-150,000)

Let’s kick things off with this Mercedes-Benz 370S, which hasn’t been seen in public since the 1980s.

The short-wheelbase 370S has a 74bhp straight-six engine and a three-speed manual gearbox.

Partially restored in the 1970s, this classic Mercedes has spent the past 40-plus years in storage, most recently at Klein’s Los Angeles site.

2. 1933 Horch 780 Sport Cabriolet (est: $90-120,000)

Here is an eight-cylinder German great which became part of this collection in 1982, but this Horch hasn’t been in the US throughout Klein’s custodianship.

In 1992, the elegant drop-top was transported to Audi’s museum in Ingolstadt, Germany, but spent most of its time there in storage.

The seller believes that many of the details on this 91-year-old car are original.

3. 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K ‘Caracciola’ Special Coupé (est: $4-6m)

As if the Mercedes-Benz 500K wasn’t desirable enough, this one-off example was built for legendary Silver Arrows racer Rudi Caracciola.

The German driver sold the car in the late 1930s and it later became a regular on the concours circuit after it was restored in the 1960s.

It topped its class at the 1977 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, following a second-place finish at the 1966 edition.

One of the jewels of Klein’s collection, it’s been hidden from the outside world since 1980.

4. 1937 Horch 853 Cabriolet (est: $200-300,000)

Late General Motors vice-president Alexander Cunningham apparently bought this two-door cabriolet while working for Opel in Germany.

Restored during his ownership, it joined Klein’s massive collection in 1979.

In 1992 it was transported to the Audi Forum Ingolstadt, along with the Horch 780 on slide four and the 855 coming up on slide eight.

5. 1938 Maybach SW38 Sport Cabriolet (est: $150-200,000)

Roll up, roll up! Finished in Adriatic Blue, this Maybach SW38 first belonged to German circus impresario Carl Krone.

It was shipped to America and eventually became part of Rudi Klein’s collection.

Most of the paintwork is believed to be original, however its 4.2-litre engine and Becker Nürburg radio were later additions.

6. 1939 Horch 855 Special Roadster (est: $3-4m)

This Horch 855 is tipped to sell for a lot more money than its 780 and 853 siblings, and that’s because this Gläser-bodied roadster is the sole-surviving 855 production car.

It featured in a 1954 issue of Road & Track magazine and later starred in the 1959 film The World Is Ours.

In 1992, when this Horch returned to its home country to go on display in Ingolstadt, Audi instigated a 36-month restoration.

7. 1939 Maybach SW38 ‘Ponton-Sport’ Cabriolet (est: $100-150,000)

This Maybach SW38 was delivered new to a Frankfurt-based wine company.

It remained in Germany after WW2, when it was rebodied by Wendler in Stuttgart, and repainted bright-green and grey.

In the 1960s, the Maybach was shipped to America’s East Coast.

An attempt to restore the car in the ’80s ran out of steam, and the beaten-up SW38 eventually joined Klein’s Los Angeles collection.

8. 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL ‘Alloy’ Gullwing (est: $4.5-6m)

This one-of-29, alloy-bodied Mercedes-Benz Gullwing is predicted to be the most expensive car at the auction on 26 October.

Ordered new by US-based Ferrari importer and racing driver Luigi Chinetti, the special-edition 300SL features lightweight bodywork, a more powerful engine and uprated suspension.

Klein bought it from Chinetti in the late 1970s.

There’s some damage to the 45,600-mile car’s rear bodywork, which apparently happened when the Los Angeles-based collector accidentally reversed a forklift into it.

9. 1957 BMW 503 Series I Cabriolet (est: $75-100,000)

Just 78 aluminium-bodied BMW 503 Series I Cabriolets were built, including this example which was imported to the US in the 1970s or ’80s.

The sale includes old photographs showing the car on a previous owner’s driveway in California, before Klein acquired it in 1984.

The V8-engined convertible’s white paintwork and blue-and-white interior are ripe for restoration.

10. 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster (est: $800,000-1m)

The alloy-bodied Gullwing was not the only 300SL unearthed at Klein’s automotive sanctum.

This Roadster, originally finished in Fire Engine Red, is one of just 30 examples factory fitted with competition-derived Rudge wheels.

Other than the gearbox, most of the mechanicals are original and the odometer shows an entirely plausible 11,106 miles.

11. 1959 Porsche 356A Carrera 1500 GS/GT Coupé (est: $450-600,000)

Built to celebrate Porsche’s success at the Carrera Panamericana, the roadgoing Carrera 1500 borrowed many of the racing car’s features.

This car is fitted with the Type 692/1 engine, of which just 14 or 15 were built before the unit was superseded by the Type 692/2 and 692/3 motors.

The Reutter-bodied coupé has been stored at the Californian junkyard for 48 years.

12. 1962 Porsche 356B 1600 (est: $350-550,000)

If the Porsche 356A Carrera 1500 is too racy for you, then how about this Oslo Blue 356B cabriolet?

It’s known as a ‘twin-grille’ roadster, because of the separate cooling cut-outs on the engine lid – and this unrestored example has fewer than 600 miles on the clock.

In the 1980s, it was loaned to a Californian Porsche specialist where it was studied by restorers and used as a reference for future projects.

13. 1964 Iso Grifo A3/L Spider prototype (est: $700,000-1m)

This one-off Iso Grifo convertible is a prototype built by Bertone.

It was displayed at various motor shows in the mid-1960s, including an appearance at the 1964 Geneva motor show, where it was photographed with its designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro, behind the wheel.

The unique Iso then went to America; from 1973 it was owned by car collector Greg Garrison, who eventually sold it to Klein.

14. 1966 Iso Grifo Series I (est: $125-175,000)

Klein bought this Iso Grifo in 1971, when it was five years old.

It’s likely the previous owner sold the car due to crash damage on the driver’s door.

Perhaps Klein couldn’t find time to carry out the repairs, because the dent is still there.

However, that suggests this 1966 Iso is very original, and could be the perfect candidate for a rewarding restoration project.

15. 1967 Lamborghini Miura P400 (est: $350-450,000)

This grubby Lamborghini was the 53rd Miura built.

Its history is patchy, but by mid-1980 the car was off the road and had joined Klein’s high-value hideout.

Chassis 3195 is missing its engine and gearbox, and the bright-orange paintwork isn’t original, but it will no doubt make for a satisfying – and costly – resurrection.

16. 1968 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman (est: $40-50,000)

Need more space than a two-door supercar can offer? This Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman could be the answer.

It’s been off the road since it was seven years old and the engine is incomplete.

As a result, this 600 Pullman is being offered as a car-shaped collection of spare parts.

Neglected for the best part of 50 years, expect most of the components to need recommissioning or restoring.

17. 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400S (est: $500-700,000)

The second Lamborghini Miura on our list, this early P400S has been off the road since March 1978, when Klein bought it after a front-end crash.

Chassis 4070 has covered just 32,750 miles and still has its original V12 engine – and crumpled bodywork.

This classic Lamborghini will need a lot of work if it’s to be revived from its near-half-century slumber.

18. 1971 NSU Ro80 2 Porte + 2 prototype (est: $60-80,000)

Rotary power, aerodynamic bodywork and an innovative dashboard design – this NSU Ro80 prototype is a view of the future, from 1971.

The one-off concept, built by Pininfarina, was displayed at motor shows in the early 1970s.

It became one of the last cars added to Klein’s stash when he bought it from a friend in 1995.

Junkyard of dreams

These sun-beaten, decaying, dirt-encrusted classic cars will need lots invested in them before they’re back on the road.

If you’re feeling up to the challenge, or you simply want to browse all the lots in this RM Sotheby’s sale, click here to view the full catalogue.

The auction kicks off at 10am (PDT) on 26 October 2024.