Every now and again, this little automotive world of ours manages to throw up a proper shock. And this is a big one, because RM Sotheby’s has announced a new sale for October 2024 that it’s calling ‘The Junkyard: The Rudi Klein Collection.’
Now, if you haven’t heard of Rudi Klein, here’s a very brief introduction. He was a German immigrant who arrived in North America in the late ’50s. He started out as a butcher, but in 1967, he founded a scrapyard business in Los Angeles that would become known as Porche (sic) Foreign Auto. He dealt in European classics and apparently amassed quite the collection, but the cars were kept behind barbed wire and the place was never open to the public with very few people allowed to enter.
Even after Klein’s death in 2001, his two sons have kept prying eyes away. Until now.
Just look at those photos here. RM Sotheby’s describes this as “the largest secret automotive hoard in the world,” and uses words like ‘legendary’ and ‘mythical’ to describe its contents. Those contents include the 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K ‘Caracciola’ Special Coupe—one of the most famous prewar Mercs and a car that was long thought to be lost.
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It also includes a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL ‘Alloy’ Gullwing. It’s one of just 29 ever built, and we’re told this one was originally delivered in black and was once owned by legendary Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti.
There’s also the only surviving Horch 855—a 1939 Special Roadster—and the only factory-built Iso Grifo convertible. RM Sotheby’s is yet to confirm the full lot list, but we’re told there'll also be a 1961 Porsche 356 B 1600 ‘Twin-Grille’ Roadster by d’Ieteren with less than 1,000km on the clock, and from some of these early images, it looks like more than one Lamborghini Miura could be up for grabs. Plenty of Porsches, too.
The complete catalog will apparently be available for viewing in September, so we’ll bring you more as we have it. Best start saving now.
More photos of The Junkyard: The Rudi Klein Collection
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
