A couple of times a year it seems, a grand car collection of scale and quality takes over the internet for a brief period — inspiring enthusiasts the world over into couch raiding, classifieds monitoring, and general salivation.
Last year it was the eclectic 'youngtime dream garage' was such a collection. While it was relatively bare of supercars and the like, it instead was punctuated by many examples of the kinds of 'everyday classic' that everyday people pine over. Seas of pristine well kept BMWs and Mercedes models, Japanese classics such as the Toyota Supra and second-gen Acura NSX, and ... yes, a few supercars too for good measure.
Now there's another collection of cars going under the hammer that's garnering similar levels of interest. Its assortment is all but equal in quantity and variety. But, in almost every other metric it's completely different.
It's safe to say that none of the cars featured in the collection are in anything like pristine condition. That's because they're all part of a solitary barn find, with condition ranging from 'rough around the edges' to 'poke holes in the rust with your pinky finger'.
The 135-strong group of cars is being offered on auction by NCM Auctioneers. They're all from the same Lancashire property in northern England, having been stored across a selection of different barns for various lengths of time.
Read more: From Supras to Alpinas — is this the coolest car collection in the world?
“These vehicles have been stored in numerous barns on the same property for quite a few years,” says NCM. “The property that the vehicles had been stored has been sold for redevelopment and the vehicles needed to be moved to make way for the redevelopment. The vehicles have been collected from the barns that they lay in and transported to our site ready to be auctioned.”
While the youngtimer collection seemed to be rather cohesive, this group of barn finds is incredibly diverse.
Some cars are relatively straightforward entries, like the selection of BMW 635 CSI coupes, Range Rovers, and MGBs. There's also a healthy amount of Triumphs, BMWs, Rovers, Austins, and a couple of Toyota Celicas. On the more curious side, there's a Lancia Beta, a Hartge BMW 7 Series, a few Scimitars, a rather pleasant looking Peugeot 305 convertible, and a Jenson Interceptor.
But, there's plenty of weird in there too.
Take the 6-wheel Range Rover 'Carmichael' conversion. Carmichael Limited were a firm that converted Range Rovers into a 6-wheel format mainly for fire service duties. Then there's the pair of NSU Ro90s — a forgotten German pioneer of the rotary engine. And, for those wanting a slice of (somewhat misplaced Americana) there's a Ford T-Bucket hot rod.
There's also legions of kit cars present in the auction; including numerous Minis, an Avante sports car, a Midas sports car, and the Hustler — a wedge-shaped utility created by Aston Martin designer William Towns.
The full list of weird cars can be seen here, and check out our gallery of favourites below.
