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Rare vintage Californa sells for R163m

PARIS, France - A 2015 Retromobile show in Paris is attracting classic-car collectors from all over the world for one of the biggest vintage displays in history.

According to Associated Press, a treasure box of 60 rusting cars was discovered after spending 50 years languishing in some farm outbuildings.

IMAGE GALLERY: Vintage classics for auction

The collection includes a vintage Ferrari California Spider, a Bugatti and a very rare Maserati. They were found gathering dust and hidden under piles of newspapers in garages and outbuildings on a property in France.

UPDATE: The Spider, according to AFP, was an ultra-rare Ferrari that once belonged to actor Alain Delon and fetched the equivalent of about R163-millionat auction on Friday. It was one of only 37 produced.

The cars, says AP, were collected from the 1950's to the 1970's by entrepreneur Roger Baillon who dreamed of restoring them to their former glory and displaying them in a museum but his plans were dashed as his business struggled.

Hence the sale of the cars, some just shells and others pretty much intact but in great need of a rich buyer's tender loving dollars.

The auction will auction off 50 vehicles on Friday (Feb 6 2015).


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