- “The Junkyard: The Rudi Klein Collection” auction hits the block in L.A. in late October, hosted by RM Sotheby’s
- The 200-lot sale includes some incredibly rare and desirable European exotics long thought missing
- The headline car is a Mercedes-Benz 300SL, one of 29 with an alloy body, and the only one painted black new
A “junkyard” full of some of the world’s rarest and most exotic classic European cars is set to cross the auction block in October in Los Angeles, at an event run by Ontario-headquartered RM Sotheby’s. “The Junkyard: The Rudi Klein Collection” sale includes over 200 lots made up of cars, engines, and parts in various states of repair, from simply dusty to completely derelict.
The headline car? A 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, one of just 29 wearing alloy bodywork—and the only one finished in black. The car now wears a silver paint job over its original red interior, but is otherwise unrestored. If that pedigree doesn’t impress, it was purchased new by famed Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti. The auction house estimates it should trade hands for between US$4.5 million and US$6 million (CDN$6.1 million to CDN$8.1 million).
Klein immigrated from Germany to North America in the late ’50s, and in 1967 started a junkyard that centered on the rusty hulks of European classics, particularly Porsches. Unlike some scrap-metal businesses, Klein let very people behind the barb-wired fences of his yard, making the collection of not-junk he also kept there a secret that bordered on myth. Could the only surviving Horch 855 really be behind those gates? Is the world’s only factory-built Iso Grifo convertible really rusting away in southern California? Turns out: yes.
Klein passed away in 2001, but his two sons continued to keep the collection under a very low profile. The sale of Klein’s cars more than two decades later means some cars long thought disappeared have finally resurfaced.
That includes the 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K ‘Caracciola’ Special Coupe, a one-off built for Benz racing driver Rudy Caracciola, and last seen in public in 1980, shortly after it was acquired by Klein. The car was an absolute legend in its heyday, and even decades later netted awards at events like the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance—some call it a shame that Klein kept it hidden away to the point it was considered “lost.” RM Sotheby’s calls it “the single most pursued Full Classic automobile of the last half-century,” and figures it might fetch nearly the same amount as that alloy-bodied 300 SL.
There’s also a 1939 Horch 855 Special Roadster by Gläser, the aforementioned “only surviving production Horch 855” mentioned above. (There is a prototype counterpart still out there, though, hence the “production” qualifier.) Like the 500K, Klein mostly kept this car hidden away—until automaker Audi, successor to the Horch marque, convinced him to loan it to the company’s museum in 1992, and treat it to a full restoration. That makes it one of the only cars on offer not covered in inches of dust and grime; pre-auction estimates suggest it’ll go for USD$3 million to USD$4 million (CDN$4 million to CDN$5.4 million).
The remaining lots are too numerous to detail. Suffice it to say, there are threeLamborghini Miuras, though the bodywork on each one wears plenty of heavy dents and dings; more than a handful of Ferrari V12s and similarly exotic powerplants; and several rusting shells of German, British, and Italian exotics, some of which are missing half their bodywork. It’s these cars – “exotic junk,” what a paradox – RM Sotheby’s estimates will fall in the more affordable USD$10,000 to USD$50,000 (CDN$13,500 to CDN$68,000) range.
Oh, right, and the Porsches. The Porsches. Klein’s business was known as “Porche Foreign Auto” – that’s how he spelled it – after all. That means roughly half of the 200 lots for sale are worn-out-looking Porsche 356 and 911 engines, which nicely complement the two dozen or so classic Porsche 911s also up for grabs. Calling them “projects” is generous. But if that sort of vintage tin is what you’re into, you’re going to want to get yourself to L.A. for October 25, when the “The Junkyard: The Rudi Klein Collection” sale begins.
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