For some reason, I've always had this idea that there was sort of a limited but perpetually-renewing supply of amazing vintage cars forgotten about in barns and old garages. This is, of course, absurd, and this recent major find of 60 incredibly valuable, unrestored vintage cars could possibly be the last of its kind.
That's not just me getting all emo because of all these amazing photos of beautifully decayed old cars. That's what Arterial auction house's resident car expert, Pierre Novikoff, said:
"Never again, anywhere in the world, will such a treasure be unearthed."
That's sort of alarming, but, upon reflection, not really unexpected. I mean, how many more incredible, forgotten collections of amazing 20th century cars could there be out there, really? And this one would be incredibly hard to beat. Check out this lineup of stunning cars stashed away in these barns, some protected under stacks of old magazines, one of the finest car-preservation methods known:
(get ready to scroll, because here's the full list)
Amilcar C6 berline
Amilcar CGS
Ariès coach
Auto Union cabriolet
Avions Voisin C15
Avions Voisin limousine C15
Avions Voisin C7 par Gallé
Ballot 8 Cyl limousine
Barré torpédo
Berliet coupé chauffeur
Berliet Type VIGB 10HP Taxi Landaulet
Bugatti 57 Ventoux
Citroën Trèfle
Delage D6
Delage D8 coach
Delahaye 135 cabriolet Faget Varnet
Delahaye 135 coach Chapron
Delahaye 235 coach Chapron
Delahaye 235 coach Chapron
Delahaye 235 coupé Chapron
Delahaye Type 43 coupé chauffeur
Delahaye GFA 148 L
Delahaye Type 43 camionnette
Delaunay Belleville limousine VL8
Facel Vega Excellence
Ferrari 250 GT California SWB
Ferrari 308 GTS i
Ferrari 400
Ferrari Mondial 3.2L cabriolet
Hispano Suiza H6B cabriolet Millon-Guiet
Hotchkiss cabriolet
Innocenti S cabriolet
Jaguar type S 3.4 L
La Buire 12 A
Lagonda LG45 cabriolet
Lancia Thema 8.32
Lorraine Dietrich B3/6 plateau
Lorraine Dietrich B3/6 torpédo par Grumman
Lorraine-Dietrich torpédo
Maserati A6G 2000 berlinetta Grand Sport Frua
Mathis cabriolet
Mathis FOH
Packard cabriolet Super Eight
Panhard-Levassor Dynamic berline X77
Panhard-Levassor Dynamic coupé X76
Panhard-Levassor limousine X72
Porsche 356 SC ex-Sonauto
Renault AX torpédo
Renault Vivastella cabriolet
Sandford cyclecar 3 roues
Singer Cabriolet
Talbot Lago 11/6 cabriolet
Talbot Lago Baby cabriolet
Talbot Lago Baby cabriolet
Talbot Lago Cadette 11
Talbot Lago coach
Talbot Lago T26 coach
Talbot Lago T26 Grand Sport coupé Saoutchik
Talbot Lago T26 Record coupé Saoutchik
Talbot Lago T26 cabriolet Saoutchik ex-Roi Farouk
By now your pants should be nicely soiled in wonderment. The collection is known as the Roger Ballion collection, and was started in the 1950s. Ballion, among many other things, made one of the first cab-over trucks! Here's what the auction house's press release says about the history of the collection:
His collection was assembled during the 1950s by Roger Baillon, an entrepreneur who ran a transport company based in the west of France. As enthusiast from the early days, he exhibited, at the Paris Motor Show during the 1950s, a roadster that he had built. His dream was to conserve the heritage of pre-war automobiles in museum surroundings. During the 1970s, before he could carry out the necessary restoration work, his dream was shattered when his business suffered a setback. He was forced to sell some fifty cars, and since that time, the rest of the collection did not move until this discovery.
Since the '70s, nobody knew where the rest of the collection was. Well, they do now, and there's some stunning cars in here: a '61 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider that automotive historians have been looking for for years, one of three Frua-bodied '56 Maserati A6Gs, there's Hispano-Suizas, Matheses, Delahayes, Bugattis, Facel-Vegas — this list reads like a roster of every incredible car that was ever important or significant in Europe. It's astounding.
So, it's time to sell the last of those old DVDs and dig into that useless retirement account, because the auction will be on February 6, 2015. I'll see you there, in my freaking dreams.