Wonders of the Rudi Klein ‘junkyard’ Collection unearthed

Wonders of the Rudi Klein ‘junkyard’ Collection unearthed

by | Sep 27, 2024 | Latest News

RM Sotheby’s has uncovered the delights of the Rudi Klein Collection ahead of its two sales. As its name implies, The Junkyard: The Rudi Klein Collection is not a celebration of pristine garage queens.  It instead spills the guts of a collection of cars and parts that’s been accumulated since 1967. The sale takes place on the 26th October with online lots available until the 28th.  

And when we say parts, we mean parts. Parts like the block for a Lamborghini Miura, engines for almost any classic 911 you can think of and Ferrari V12s. Here, though, we’ll focus on a list of classic cars that could keep Iain Tyrell in work for life.

The sale will be led by a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL ‘Alloy’ Gullwing that’s expected to sell for up to £4.5million. As well as having a lightweight body, the car has an uprated NSL engine, sports suspension, a 4.11:1 rear axle, Rudge knock-off wheels (lighter than standard), plus rear and side windows made from Plexiglas.

Sadly, the Mercedes is showing some battle scars from its near-50-year stay on Klein’s junk yard, the front bumpers, gear shift knob and tool kit have been removed and sold and the boot lid has absorbed a direct hit from a forklift truck.

Costing rather a lot less but looking equally dashing under a thick layer of dust is this one-off 964 Iso Grifo A3/L Spider Prototype by Bertone that’s up for sale for £550,000-£750,000.

With its large grille nostrils and exhaust tubes hidden behind its gill vents, this Grifo Spider stunned the crowds at 1964’s Geneva Motor Show before being exported to the US in 1967. The car was acquired by Greg Carrision in 1973. A well-known enthusiast in the US and a personal friend of Enzo Ferrari, Carrision was also a friend of Rudi Klein and the car would soon join his collection in 1980. It’s now described as “ripe for restoration” having suffered front engine damage and been off the road for years.

Long before anyone had heard of the 911 Carrera we had this, the Porsche 356 A Carrera 1500 with a Type 547 flat-four based on the motor found in the 550 Spyders that won their class in the Carrera Panamericana road race in 1953 and 1954. Just a handful of these engines still exist.

The car on offer has features like a wood-rimmed steering wheel and competition-style mirror, and it’s up for sale for between £345,000-£455,000 having spent 48 years in Klein’s junkyard.

Another car up for grabs at the auction is the 1962 356 “Twin Grille” Roadster which is described as an “incredible time capsule example” with just 600 miles on the clock, estimated to make £265,000 – £420,000. 

The car was originally delivered to Nuremberg, Germany, before export to LA, USA in the early 1970s. It was bought by Klein for $18,500 in 1978. 

Finally, we have one of the cleanest specimens to emerge from Klein’s junkyard, and one that carries an estimate of between £45,500 – £60,000. It was displayed by Pininfarina at the 1971 Turin and 1972 Brussels Motor Shows.

Based on the Wankel rotary-engined NSU ro80, Pininfarina’s 2 Porte + 2 show car had striking styling, a two-tone paint job, rear doors that opened from the C-pillar and roof that retracted like a quasi-convertible. It also has an orange interior that will burn your corneas clean out. 

Klein acquired the car in 1995 and the car has been on long-term loan to a museum in Germany ever since. 

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