Mythical SoCal Junkyard Heads to Auction

Everyone loves a good barn find. And the market is about to be fed a good selection of lost treasure.

RM Sotheby’s has announced the addition to the Rudi Klein Collection to its calendar, presenting a sale of the late collector’s long-hidden lots in October, 2024.

Klein was a German immigrant who arrived in North America in the late 1950s. He began a career as a butcher, but soon began dealing in European classic cars. He founded “Porsche Foreign Auto” in 1967.

Over the years, Klein amassed a collection of some of the most significant collector cars of all time while operating his scrapyard outside of Los Angeles.

Not open to the public, the Klein Collection became a place of legend and myth, with rumors surrounding its contents and very few permitted entry.

And now, RM Sotheby’s will present the collection at public auction, offering a long-awaited look at the cars that many have attempted to see, buy, and source from for over a half-century.

Following Klein’s passing in 2001, his family preserved the collection as he left it, with cars remaining untouched and maintaining their original or ‘as is’ condition.

“Over the past 40 years, our team has brought to market countless significant historical cars, each special in its own way,” said Cary Ahl, RM Sotheby’s Car Specialist. “However, bringing something out of hiding that’s only been rumored to exist, like the legendary Klein Collection, is truly special. Discovering a hidden Mercedes 500K or an Alloy Gullwing is the kind of story that resonates with everyone, not just automotive enthusiasts. What Klein amassed here is one-of-a-kind, and we know that many of these cars will live on for generations, powering new projects, or preserved in their original state. It’s a really exciting opportunity for collectors, and the sky’s the limit with this collection.”

Learn more here.