An astonishing GBP 200,000 treasure trove of rare cars left untouched for decades has been unearthed in an abandoned dealership after it shut down more than 20 years ago.
The now highly collectable Volkswagens went into storage when the showroom in Estrela, in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul state, went out of business in 2001.
But instead of selling up, owner Otmar Essig just locked the doors and went in every day to dust his stock of unsold motors.
When he died in 2022 his family were astonished at the collection of rare motors, some of which had zero miles on the clock, and decided to sell them on.
Amongst the seven-strong collection are a super rare VW SP2 sports coupe, made only for the Brazilian market and a two 1996 Itamar Beetles, known as the Ferraris of VWs.
The Beetles both have zero miles on the clock and have been in a sealed room since they arrived without ever even going out in the sunlight.
Other finds include a zero-miles 1986 Volkswagen Beetle 1600 Special Series, still with plastic covers on the seats.
Another highlight is a 1996 Volkswagen Quantum 2.0 MI Evidence, in pearlescent royal red, which has never been driven and was a gift from Essig to his wife.
Buyer Claude Senhoreti now plans to add the VWs to his collection of rare cars in the USA.
Broker Anderson Dick, who handled the sale, said: “After the family went through the formalities to make the sale after Otmar’s death an agent contacted me and found Claude Senhoreti.
“It was a process that took almost five months to complete.”
He added: “We got them all working except the 1986 Beetle, which has a problem with corrosion in the engine block due to ethanol mixing with the oil.
“We are restoring that one but the others just had to have the oil changed and the fuel lines cleaned, and the battery replaced.”
Now the family plans to put the vehicles on show at a special exhibition for VW fans in Brazil next month (April) before they leave the country.
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below. Story By: Clive Goodman, Sub-Editor: Simona Kitanovska, Agency: Newsflash
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