Details And Pictures From The Ballion Car Collection Come Out, Some Strangely Beautiful Wrecks

Jan. 09, 2015 10:40 AM ET by Jacob Joseph Auctions / 37 Comments

The potential it represents is astonishing.

In case you missed it when it first was announced about a month ago, a huge cache of classic and rare cars was discovered in a barn in France. The cars are in terrible condition, but those that can be salvaged will be auctioned off, and as such have now been photographed and appraised. We've included here photos of the more valuable examples from the collection, with the most valuable being the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider pictured on the next page.

This one isn't in terrible condition, especially considering the other cars, and is expected to fetch between 9.5 million and 12 million euros. It's maddening to look at these cars and think how anyone could possibly have let such rare and beautiful machines rot away in a barn like this, but at the same time, it's sort of amazing. Most of these cars will be going for just a few thousand euros, and it's safe to say that they will be bought for the sake of restoring them. You can look at them and think how they will be beautiful once again, and how proud the owner will be once they're finished. It's sort of touching.