Rudy Klein and his collection

Arriving in North America in the late 1950s, German immigrant Rudy Klein began his career as a butcher before founding Porsche Foreign Automobile in Los Angeles in 1967. That company sold auto parts, but Klein soon became known as a collector of rare European automobiles.

Over several decades, he has built up a significant collection of classic cars. They were kept under tight security, surrounded by barbed wire.The collection was never open to the public, so few people have ever seen the cars. Even after Klein’s death in 2001, his sons kept the collection secret.

The secrecy surrounding these cars has given rise to many rumours and legends about what lies hidden behind closed doors. Now, over two decades later, the world will finally have the chance to see this legendary collection. Described by RM Sotheby’s as “the world’s greatest hidden automotive treasure trove,” this collection contains some truly extraordinary and rare cars.

One of the cars in the collection / Photo: RM Sotheby’s

Classic cars that have been rotting away in the California rain and scorching sun for decades will go under the hammer at the end of October. Among them, you can find Lamborghini Miura, Mercedes-Benz 300SL And Mercedes Benz 500Kwhich will probably be the most expensive of the lot. In most cases, the machines are available in various states.

One of the cars in the collection / Photo: RM Sotheby’s

One of the 300 SLs is an extremely rare Alloy Gullwing, of which only 29 were built. Alloy Gullwings had a lightweight body to make them more competitive on the racetrack. One of these, although in pristine condition, sold at auction in 2022 for around $7 million. Klein’s copy was the only one made in black and was once owned by the famous Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti.

The 500K is the only 1935 coupe that belonged to pre-war Grand Prix racing legend Rudolph Caraccioli. It was said to be Klein’s favourite car and would likely be the most expensive car in the collection.

The collection also includes: The 1939 Horch 855 Special Roadster allegedly belonging to Eva Brownalso a 1967 Iso Grifo A3/L Spider prototype from Bertone and several Porsche 356es.

Rudy Klein’s car collection / Photo: RM Sotheby’s

Klein, who was a bit of a tech enthusiast himself, had an eye for rare cars. He paid special attention to cars from Germany, since he was from there himself.

It is interesting that he often buys them in the form of non-working scrap – as a result, most of the cars in the collection need a lot of work to return them to roadworthy condition.

Rudy Klein’s car collection / Photo: RM Sotheby’s

A detailed list of all cars, as well as the date and location of the auction, will be announced in the near future.

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