French Barn Find Baillon Collection Sells For $52 Million at Auction

An entrepreneur from France collected the world's finest cars in the 1950s with the intentions of creating a museum. Roger Baillon was accumulating a massive group of pre-war vehicles, hoping to conserve their heritage for future generations.

Photo courtesy of Artcurial

But, as we described in a Dec. 7 article, his business sadly suffered a setback in the 1970s, and he was never able to complete the necessary restoration work. After 50 of his cars were sold, another 60 simply sat in barns and sheds on his property until they were unearthed just last year.

(See Also: Jim Rogers' Classic Car Museum Auction by Mecum Auctions)

This past Friday, Feb. 6, this treasure trove of dilapidated but rare vehicles crossed the auction block at the Artcurial Auction House in Paris during an 11-hour, two-part marathon auction, according to a press release from Artcurial. During the Baillon Collection's auction and the auction that followed, 10 different world records for auction prices were broken, including three model world records, with a total of approximately $52 million worth of cars sold.

Photo courtesy of Artcurial

With 3,500 people present in the auction hall and another 1,000 registered and bidding online, 89 percent of the lots saw a sale, many of them well over expected prices. Three separate cars broke the auction world records for their model; a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider, 1956 Maserati A6G 2000 Gran Sport Berlinetta Frua and 1968 Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada sold for $18.5 million, $2.2 million and $1.4 million, respectfully. The second part of the auction presented an additional 117 cars, adding to the list of world records broken during the event.

Photo courtesy of Artcurial

Be sure to check out the world record prices and gallery of these rare and historic finds, both below, and stay with us for more updates from the automotive world. AUCTION WORLD RECORD PRICES :

Lot 59

1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spider SWB : sold 16.3M € / 12.1M£ / 18,5M$ (estimate : 9,5M-12M€)

View Ferrari 250 California listings

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Lot 58

1956 Maserati A6G Frua : sold 2M € / 1.5M£ / 2.2M$ (estimate : 800 000-1 200 000€)

View classic Maserati listings

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Lot 147

1968 Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada : sold 1.2M € / 925 000£ / 1.4M$ (estimate : 550 000-650 000€)

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Lot 169

2011 Ferrari 599 GTO : sold 441 000 € / 327 000 £ / 499 000 $ (estimate : 280 000-340 000€)

View Ferrari 599 GTO listings

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Lot 116

1986 Ferrari Testarossa : sold 196 700 € / 146 000 £ / 223 000 $  (estimate : 100 000-120000€)

View Ferrari Testarossa listings

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Lot 141

1969 Lamborghini 400 GT Islero S : sold  298 000 € / 221 000 £ / 337 000 $ (estimate : 180 000 – 240 000€)

View Lamborghini listings

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Lot 145

1965 Maserati Mistral 3.7L : sold 181 200 € / 134 000 £ / 204 000 $  (estimate : 110 000 – 130 000 €)

View classic Maserati listings

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Lot 156

1965 Mercedes-Benz 300 SE Cabriolet : sold 119 200 € / 88 500 £ / 135 000 $ (estimate : 80 000 – 120 000 €)

View Mercedes-Benz 300 listings

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Lot 153

1958 Porsche 356 A Speedster : sold 298 000 € / 221 000 £ / 337 000 $ (estimate : 230 000 – 280 000€)

View Porsche 356 listings

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Lot 174

1973 De Tomaso Pantera GTS : sold 133 500 € / 99 000 £ / 151 000 $  (estimate : 110 000 – 140 000 €)

View De Tomaso Pantera listings

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Gallery

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(Source: Artcurial) (Images courtesy of Artcurial)

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