Over 200 Classic Cars Found in Holland
Talk about barn finds. Or in this case, warehouse and church finds.
CNN reports that 230 classic and/or rare cars have been found in a warehouse and abandoned church in Holland.
Businessman Ad Palmen has been collecting cars for 40 years, and the now 82-year-old is in failing health.
So a local dealership run by two brothers has purchased the collection for an undisclosed sum.
The cars will be auctioned in the Netherlands on May 19.
Some of the cars in the fleet include a Lancia B24 Spider America, Mercedes-Benz 300 S convertible, Ferrari 365, and Alfa Romeo Spider.
The collection wasn't public knowledge until a fire broke out last year. The fire was contained before it could do much damage, but the secret got out.
Other cars include various Maseratis, Jaguars, Aston Martins, BMWs, and Facel Vegas.
Not much is known about Palmen and why he has been collecting cars for four decades, and he's too sick to talk. But it seems obvious the man has a passion for cars, and the money to buy some rare rides.
The condition of the vehicles is unknown but pictures on the CNN Web site show that most appear dirty, dingy, and a bit banged up -- though certainly salvageable if professional restorers get involved.
[Image: Peeradontax/Shutterstock.com]
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Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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Sounds Schlumpf-like as he bought whatever he figured was nice, not just 'investments'.
Here's another article (with more pictures) in Hemmings:
Barn Find Uncovers 230 Rare Cars Made By Aston Martin, Ferrari, BMW, Maserati, Lancia, Ford, Chevrolet, and More | Hemmings
According to the linked article, the owner lived in the warehouse where he kept the majority of his vehicles. He is no longer capable of explaining/describing his collection or approach. This is a rather eclectic collection. As @dukeisduke stated "I don't know anything about art, but I know what I like."
Not a perjorative observation, but this - and what most people have of anything - is an accumulation, not a collection. Collections tend to be very focused on something in particular and collectors work to completeness. I don't have a collection of anything but I have a number of accumulations where I buy what I like and can afford.