A spectacular collection of 230 classics that hadn't seen the light of day in 40 years was discovered in the Netherlands - voila! vehicle

A collection of 230 classic cars discovered in the Netherlands and put up for sale by the auction house Classic Cars Auctions (Classic Cars Auctions)

American, German and Italian cars crowded together in the warehouse (photo: classiccar-auctions)

Who among us does not have this fantasy of going to the warehouse at grandparents, opening it to a treasure trove of ancient and rare objects.

Even though most of us end up with dusty Boydam and mouse droppings, brother.

The dream that maybe this time it will happen is always there.

So here is something that really happened and it is much wilder than any reality fantasy you may have had - because this collection found in the Netherlands is made up of not 3,4 cars and not 20-30, not even 100 - in two separate warehouses and in the church no less than 230 collector cars were found which were kept secret for decades by their owners.

Among the cars: Mercedes, Ferrari, Ford, BMW, Lancia, Ferrari and even some Tetras.

Matera Djet (in front) next to Lancia Aurelia (photo: classiccar-auctions)

Who exactly owns the rare collection?

Not really clear, in all Classic Car Auctions publications they refer to him only as "Mr. Palman", and this secrecy that surrounds his character is also the mystery behind the spectacular collection of cars, including some very rare and special units alongside quite ordinary cars.

The auction house says that even the people who worked or lived near the storage sites for these cars, sometimes even for 15 years, never knew what was behind the doors of the huge hangar.

Even when they tried to ask, the answers were extremely vague, there was nothing to talk about looking inside at all.

A collection ranging from a British Singer car from 1912 to cars from the early 1980s (photo: classic car-auctions)

But no less than a mystery, apparently Mr. Palman also loved cars, loved them and had the proper means to buy them and the taste to choose the more interesting ones in the bunch.

The collection accumulated over decades has been locked and sealed for at least 40 years.

And Falman, who rarely sold cars, reached 230 cars when he expanded the storage space from a single warehouse to two and then to an old disused church building.

What is equally interesting is that unlike collectors who focus their collection on certain yearbooks, car types, specific manufacturers - here there does not seem to be any legality except one - more and as much as possible.

And so under layers of dust sit together a 1965 Citroën de Chevu and Maserati Quattroporte Series 1, a 1958 Ford Edsel Cabriolet alongside a Jaguar E-Type, an MG TF Kalila and a 1963 Ford Thunderbird. And the list goes on and on, going back in time to Singer (manufacturer and cars and motorcycles British) open from 1912 to cars from the early 1980s.

A jumble of years, years and styles without a connecting line (photo: classiccar-auctions)

According to the auction house, the condition of the cars is good although they are not restored or in driving condition, nevertheless, some of them have been there for 40 years.

They also say that the owner of the collection, who did not allow people to enter inside, would maintain it himself - which explains the state of neglect of some of the cars, some of which appear to be in the process of being renovated or restored.

In recent years, once every few months, forgotten collections emerge that are found in estates, agricultural areas, barns and warehouses whose owners have passed away and their heirs discover the hidden treasure.

However, in a very large number of cases, these are cars in a very poor state of maintenance, which were exposed to the elements and succumbed to climbers and bushes or owners who found shelter in them.

That is not the case with this collection.

And the question just arises how many other such "reality warehouses" there are still in the world and whether in some kibbutz or moshav some abandoned chicken coop will open one day and inside it Susita, Studebaker Lark and Subaru Leona models will be discovered in surprising condition.

French, American, British and Italian meet in a barn... this is not the beginning of a joke (photo: classiccar-auctions)

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