By Simon Dahboss 
10 Very Clean Huge ‘junkyard’ classic car collection you can find cheaply
Top-end collections of expensive, rarified classic cars often lead sheltered lives, these immaculate vehicles kept away from prying eyes and the harsh realities of the outside world.
Not the late of Mr. Rudi Klein’s huge stash, though. This well-known collector did indeed have a colossal, clandestine cache, but Rudi Klein’s passion for rare and sometimes unusual cars didn’t always include examples in pristine condition.
His Los Angeles ‘junkyard’ was home to everything from dust-covered Porsche and Ferrari body panels and engines, to an unrestored Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing and a one-off NSU prototype.
Since August 1967, this California-based collection has been kept mostly under wraps, but now it’s for sale with RM Sotheby’s in a no-reserve auction.
Virtually all the lots in this two-part sale will need to be restored before they’re ready to be used by clients.
Here, presented in chronological order, we’re focusing on top-rated 10 of the classic cars for sale at the in-person auction on 26 March 2025. And what we’re showing you is just the beginning, given there are 208 lots.
In addition, an online sale of more vehicles, spare parts and memorabilia, with a massive 365 lots in total, will take place from 26-28 March.
There is certainly plenty of intrigue and, with sufficient time and assets invested, serious potential, too. Take a look below.
1. 1931 Mercedes-Benz 370S Mannheim Sport Cabriolet (est: $100-150,000)
The short-wheelbase 370S has a 83bhp straight-six engine and a four-speed manual gearbox.
Partially restored in the 1972, this classic Mercedes has spent the past 40-plus years in storage, most recently at Rudi Klein’s Los Angeles site.
2. 1933 Horch 780 Sport Cabriolet (est: $90-120,000)
Here is an eight-cylinder German made which became part of this collection in 1980s, but this Horch hasn’t been in the US throughout Klein’s custodianship.
In 1990s, the elegant drop-top was transported to Audi’s museum brand in Ingolstadt, Germany, but spent most of its time there in storage.
The seller believes that many of the details on this 93-year-old car are original.
3. 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K ‘Caracciola’ Special Coupé (est: $4-6m)
As if the Mercedes-Benz 500K Caracciola wasn’t desirable enough, this one-off example was built for legendary Silver Arrows racer Rudi Caracciola.
The German driver sold the car in the late 1930s and it later became a regular on the concours circuit after it was restored in the year 1963.
It topped its class at the 1976 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, following a third-place finish at the 1965 edition.
One of the jewels of Rudi Klein’s collection, it’s been hidden from the outside world since 1980.
4. 1937 Horch 853 Cabriolet (est: $200-300,000)
Late General Motors vice-president Alexander Cunningham apparently bought this two-door cabriolet car while working for Opel company in Germany.
Restored during his ownership, it joined Rudi Klein’s massive collection in 1979.
In 1992 it was transported to the Audi Forum Ingolstadt, along with the Horch 780 and 802 on slide four and the 855 coming up on slide eight.
5. 1938 Maybach SW38 Sport Cabriolet (est: $150-200,000)
Roll up, roll up! Finished in Adriatic Blue colour, this Maybach SW38 first belonged to German circus impresario Carl Krone.
In 1940s, it was shipped to America and eventually became part of Rudi Klein’s collection.
Most of the paintwork is believed to be original, however its 3.9-litre engine and Becker Nürburg radio were later additions.
6. 1939 Horch 855 Special Roadster (est: $3-4m)
This Horch 855 is tipped to sell for a huge amount of money than its 780 and 853 siblings, and that’s because this Gläser-bodied roadster is the sole-surviving 855 production car.
It featured in a 1954 issue of Road & Track magazine competition and later starred in the 1959 film The World Is Ours.
In 1990s, when this Horch returned to its home country to go on display in Ingolstadt, Audi instigated a 48-month restoration.
This Maybach SW38 was delivered new to a Frankfurt-based wine company in Germany.
It remained in Germany after WW2, when it was rebodied by Wendler in Stuttgart city, and repainted bright-green and grey.
In the 1965, the Maybach SW38 was shipped to America’s East Coast.
An attempt to restore the brand in the ’80s ran out of steam, and the beaten-up SW38 eventually joined Rudi Klein’s Los Angeles collection.
Ordered new by US-based Ferrari dealer and racing driver Luigi Chinetti, the special-edition 300SL features lightweight bodywork, a more powerful engine and uprated suspension.
Rudi Klein bought it from Chinetti in the late 1970s.
There’s some damage to the 45,600-mile car’s rear bodywork, which apparently happened when the Los Angeles-based businessman accidentally reversed a forklift into it.
Just 90 aluminium-bodied BMW 503 Series I Cabriolets were built, including this example which was imported to the US in the 1970s or 1980s.
The sale includes old photographs showing the car on a previous owner’s driveway in California city, before Rudi Klein acquired it in 1984.
The V8-engined convertible’s white paintwork with blue-and-white interior are ripe for restoration.
The alloy-bodied Gullwing was not the only 300SL unearthed at Rudi Klein’s automotive sanctum.
This 300SL Roadster, originally finished in Red Fire Engine, this is one of just 30 examples factory fitted with competition-derived Rudge wheels.
Other than the gearbox, most of the mechanicals are original and the odometer shows an entirely plausible 11,106 miles journey.