Insane Barn Find: This 20-Ferrari Collection Takes the Spotlight at Monterey This August

Assembled by RM Sotheby’s, this piston stud of Prancing Horses will go under the hammer – piece by piece – this August, in Monterey, California, at the Car Week event. Since this Ferrari collection bears the signature of the notable company, one can expect to find rarities that once shone brightly on the world’s most famous racetracks.

The unique collection takes the gearhead universe by storm – and this is not a metaphor, not in this case. In 2004, hurricane Charley bombarded Florida and landed a couple of devastating blows to a barn where rare cars had been deposited since 1990.

Following the disaster, the cars – battle-scarred and wounded by the storm – were relocated to Indianapolis in a secure warehouse. And that’s where the Ferraris have spent the last 19 years – unknown to the public, save for a privileged group of connaisseurs.

Hardcore gearheads know that there is hardly a vintage Ferrari roaming Planet Piston that doesn’t have a fantastic story to tell, and the cars in this offering are no exception. Some have served as exhilaration past-times for crowned heads, while others fired full-throttle along the oily, high-octane-infused banks of racetracks.

Probably the crown jewel of this unrepeatable selection is a one-in-four 250 GT Coupe built by Pinin Farina in 1956. Styled with Superamerica-style coachwork, the reputed automobile was ordered by King Mohamed V of Morocco. The car retains its original three-liter V12 and is expected to change hands for a sum hovering in the range of $1,700,000 – $2,300,000.

On a vastly different note, another example of this once-in-a-hurricane barn find gathering is a 1978 Ferrari 512 BB Competizione that roared down the Mulsanne straight at Le Mans that year. Wearing race number 87, this was one of the three cars in Luigi Chinetti’s team that lined up at the start of the French endurance race.

A former Alfa Romeo racing driver and three-time Le Mans winner, Chinetti had three 512 Berlinetta-Boxer cars prepared by the Ferrari factory to meet race requirements. Before retiring, the car ran 19 of the 24 hours of the French motoring ordeal. It is also one of the few cars with a short list of just two private owners. Predictably, this former racer is valued between $1,800,000 and $2,800,000. As for the stories of the other eighteen auction stars, the auction house website has them detailed one by one.

“While a select group of Ferrari collectors knew about the existence of these extraordinary cars, the rest of the world remained unaware. This represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for enthusiasts to acquire these iconic Ferraris, some of which have participated in renowned races. Most of these lost Ferraris remain untouched, preserving their purity and original condition since the day they were acquired—a true embodiment of the ‘barn find’ concept. It is the first time that RM Sotheby’s has presented a barn find collection of this magnitude to the market,” says Rob Myers, CEO of RM Sotheby’s.