TREASURE TROVE UP FOR GRABS

ONE OF the largest and most secretly held hoarding of cars and parts, hidden away for generations will be revealed when they are offered over a series of auctions through RM Sotheby’s in October 2024

The Junkyard: The Rudi Klein Collection was for decades, a mythical collection of incredible cars and parts that had been left to bake in the sweltering California sun, with some cars covered and others not. The existence of the collection was for many years a rumour, shared amongst enthusiasts.

Inside the barbed-wire fence lived cars including the rarest Mercedes-Benz ever built, an alloy Gullwing thought to be long gone. It was believed to be a collection that would never be seen after many inquiring minds, collectors and enthusiasts had all tried, and failed, to gain entry.

Rudi Klein was a German immigrant who arrived in North America in the late 1950s, starting his career as a butcher, but soon realised a much more lucrative living could be enjoyed in scrapping and dealing in European classic cars, resulting in the founding of ‘Porche Foreign Auto’ in 1967.