Treasure trove of parts discovered

Million-pound bounty found in shipping containers

CHRIS ROUTLEDGE, managing director of classic car auction house Coys, has described feeling like Howard Carter uncovering Tutankhamun’s tomb after opening a sea container stashed with an estimated million pounds’ worth of exotic car spares.

Coys is cagey about revealing all the details of the find, but confirmed that it was made in the south of England and that the spares were amassed and stored in six shipping containers by an enthusiast who passed away years ago.

The parts came to light only when Coys was contacted to assess them. The treasure trove is packed with spares for mainly Italian marques such as Ferrari, Maserati and Abarth. Models catered for include the 250 SWB, 250 GTO, 275, Daytona Competizione, F40 and 512LM, along with Maserati 250F and various other competition cars.

Many spares were found still in their original wooden packing cases, or wrapped in oiled paper in their original boxes. They include wheels, bonnets, exhausts, clutches and much more.

Routledge spent three days sifting through the parts: ‘I have never seen anything like it before. We are looking at spares worth at least £1 million, probably more. Something of this scale, and with the importance and rarity of the cars they are related to, is unprecedented. It’s an Aladdin’s cave, which is going to excite people all over the world. There are wire wheels in their original wooden boxes, carburettors in their original oiled wrapping paper, exhaust pipes, radiator grilles, dashboards… the list goes on.’

The parts will be sold with no reserve at Blenheim Palace on 29 June – the day before the main Blenheim Coys auction.