In 2004, Hurricane Charley brought down the roof of a warehouse near Kissimmee, Florida. Inside the warehouse is an astonishing collection of vintage Ferraris, many of which are heavily damaged. The collection, in a completely unrestored state, is now headed to RM Sotheby’s auction during Monterey Car Week 2023 in August.
The collection was originally owned by Walter Medlin, a successful real estate agent who fell out of favor with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the 1990s. Twenty beautiful Ferraris were stored in storage until the roof caved in during the Hurricane, damaging several cars and exposing the rest to the elements.
After the Florida warehouse collapsed, the Ferraris collection was eventually moved to Indianapolis, where they have remained ever since, in the same condition as after the Hurricane. Several of them had faded paint and a heavy patina, one was completely ruined, and few—if any—of them were damaged. Not only will they be on display in Monterey as is, RM Sotheby’s will be replicating the destroyed warehouse for display.
Some of the cars still look fine, with only weathered tires and slightly worn paint as evidence of their trauma. The ’65 Ferrari 275 GTS by Pininfarina looks good, both the Ferrari Daytonas are gorgeous, and the 64 Ferrari 250 GT/L Berlinetta Lusso by Scaglietti is still stunning.
However, others are much worse to wear. The original Azzurro blue ’66 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 paint is barely recognizable through the patina and the interior is a mess. The ’56 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Speciale by Pininfarina was also almost completely covered in patina, missing its large rear window, and the interior was completely run down. Worst of all, though, is the ’54 Ferrari Mondial Spider Series I, which is just a rusty, crumpled frame and looks like a few blocks landed on it during a storm.
Even a wrecked car has value, as the “Lost and Found” collection itself is quite famous. According to RM Sothebys, the entire collection is expected to sell for a total of $15 million.
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