82-year-old Ad Palmen eventually became too old to look after the cars. But no one knew that he owned 260 cars.
For 50 years, 82-year-old Ad Palmen from the Netherlands hid a collection of 260 cars. No one knew about the extensive collection until it was recently sold at auction. The cars, spanning several brands and decades, brought in a total of 113 million Danish kroner.
The collection, consisting of 260 cars, 20 motorcycles and other vehicles, was found in two barns and a church in Dordrecht. Ad Palmen began collecting cars in the early 1970s.
The collection grew steadily over the years, consisting of a wide range of brands including Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Maserati, Ferrari, Facel Vega, BMW, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Jaguar and many more.
Although the cars had been sitting idle for many years, they were all in good condition. Ad Palmen had taken care to maintain them by removing the spark plugs and starting the engines at regular intervals.
– We've been at this place for about fifteen years, and have regularly asked the owner if we could take a look inside. But there was never a showing, says a neighbor.
The auction attracted great interest, and the cars were sold for a total of over 10 million euros. The cheapest car, a 1998 Opel Vectra, went for 225 euros (approximately DKK 1,675), while the most expensive, a Lancia Aurelia B24 Spider, was sold for 540,000 euros (approximately DKK 4 million).
Other notable sales include a 1953 Mercedes-Benz 300S Cabrio W188 that went for 275,000 euros (approx. DKK 2 million), and a 1963 Maserati 3500 GTI Sebring that sold for 119,000 euros (approx. DKK 885,000).
Ad Palmen's collection of cars is not the only one that has attracted attention after showing up for the robbery.
Even more well-known is the collection of American-German scrap dealer Rudi Klein. Unlike the collection in Holland, however, many people were aware that the German immigrant owned several very expensive cars. But how many only became clear last year. Read more about it here .
Here is a list of the cars that were pulled from the collection and sold.
- Alfa Romeo 159
- Fiat 1200 TV Spider 1958
- Citroen 2CV 1955
- Triumph 2000 20TR Convertible 1970
- Panhard 24CT 1964
- Saab Sonnet III type 97
- Facel Vega Facel II
- Facel Vega Convertible
- Bond Equipe GT 6 2 liter 2+2 1967
- Fiat 124 Spider USA 2000 1981
- Daf 66 HAVAS Cabriolet type 55 1970
- Facel Vega FB Cabriolet 1963
- Alfa Romeo Spider Duetto
- MG B GT 1971
- MG TF 1954
- Lamborghini Espada
- MG B Tourer 1970
- Singer Convertible 1912
- Alfa Romeo Guilietta Sprint Speciale
- Lancia Montecarlo 1978
- Alfa Romeo Spider 1.0
- Lancia B24 Spyder America 1955
- Alfa Romeo Giulia GTC 1965
- Triumph TR3B
- Moretti 128 1974
- MG Alpine
- Lancia Appia Coupe
- Alfa Romeo Spider Giulia 1600
- Jensen Healey 1974
- Simca Aronde Oceane Convertible
- Nash Metropolitan model 542 1956
- AC Bristol Aceca 1954
- Fiat 1500 Coupe 1960
- Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Convertible 1971
- MG MGA 1961
- Daimler Dart 1958
- Villard Type 27
- Volvo 1800ES 1973
- Austin Balanza 1800 MK2 1968
- Fiat 1500 Spider
- BMW 1600 GT 1968
- Fiat 130 Coupe Automatic 3200 1972
- Fiat Dino Coupe Bertone 2.0 1966
- Bentley S2 Sedan 1959
- Jaguar Mark 10 1963
- Lincoln Continental MK IV
- Studebaker President 1958
- Jaguar XJ-S 4.0 Convertible 1995
- Mazda RX-7 Convertible 1988
- Mercury Monterey 2-Door Coupe 1954
- Ferrari 400i Automatic 1984
- Facel Vega FVS 1956
- Ford Fairlane Skyliner
- Ford Fairlane 190S 1928
- Aston Martin V8 Series 3 1975
- Mercedes W188 300 S Roadster 1953
- Studebaker Avanti Gold R2 1963
- Ford Fairlane Victoria 4 door sedan 1955
