If we hadn't seen the photos we probably wouldn't have believed this story. But we're so glad it's true!
A recently retired New Yorker and his wife decided to use their retirement money wisely and invest in some property. A house with a few acres in Portugal took their fancy and they went to have a look.
The property had been vacant for 15 years following the death of the owner and his wife. With no heirs to lay claim to the property, it was now being sold off by the State in order to pay off back taxes.
The house itself was appealing but a very large
barn on the property was both ugly and welded shut. Gaining access to the barn was not including free as part of viewing the property and so a lot of people had passed on this steal of a deal.
The New York couple bought it for half of its worth and moved in. Pretty soon, the curiosity to know what lay behind the
welded-shut steel doors overwhelmed them and, buying a generator and a couple of grinders, they cut through the welds...and entered Aladdin's cave!
The barn was full of vintage high performance cars! Cars included Lotus Elan FHC,
Lotus Super Seven Series IV, Lotus Elan DHC,
Porsche 356, Austin Healey Sprite MkII, Volvo PV 544,Giulietta Sprint, Giulia Sprint Speciale (SS), Nash Metropolitan,
Alfa Giulietta, Lotus Europa,
Lancia Flaminia Coupé, Peugeot 504 cabriolet & 404 cabriolet. Plus BMW V8, Formula racers, Chryslers, Mercedes and Austin A30.
The total value of this amazing collection? Over 35 million...and we're not even sure if that's in Dollars or Euros! Either way, all of the cars became property of the New York couple upon purchase of the house and grounds and you gotta know they're having a kick ass retirement now!
Labels: alfa, Lotus, Mercedes, Mini Cooper, peugeot, Porsche, vintage cars