The video above shows a moving scene. It’s a five minute tour free from narration, an online trip through forgotten memories. Uploaded to YouTube Dec. 5 by Artcurial Briest – Poulain – F. Tajan, the Collection Baillon shown in this silent tour is a rare treasure to find: a massive collection of rare cars, examples of exotic cars and marques long gone, set for a Feb. 6 auction in Paris.
Rusted, decaying and filled with overgrowth, 60 cars clustered together in a farm yard seem like something from an abandoned life. A Dec. 5 press release from Artcurial Motorcars details the find in full, likening its discovery to Lord Carrington and Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb.
“This collection was assembled during the 1950s by Roger Baillon, an entrepreneur who ran a transport company based in the west of France,” describes the release. “As enthusiast from the early days, he exhibited, at the Paris Motor Show during the 1950s, a roadster that he had built. His dream was to conserve the heritage of pre-war automobiles in museum surroundings. During the 1970s, before he could carry out the necessary restoration work, his dream was shattered when his business suffered a setback. He was forced to sell some fifty cars, and since that time, the rest of the collection did not move until this discovery. ”
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Stored “under makeshift corrugated iron shelters and in various outbuildings,” the find is a restoration enthusiast’s dream. Though tires are flat on many, the glass butted or broken on most, the rarity of these vehicles makes this collection’s value nearly immeasurable. Bumper to bumper, they almost seem huddled for warmth. Speedsters sit on cinder blocks, fallen hubcaps lean against stumps and ivy wraps in and out of eroded chassis, but some have withstood the test of time better than others. Take a five minute tour through this abandoned lot when you watch the video above, and prepare your plans for a restoration.
To better prepare for your restoration plans, be sure to view the full list of cars included in the collection, as listed by the Daily Mail:
- Amilcar C6 Berline
- Amilcar CGS
- Ariès Coach
- Auto Union Cabriolet
- Avions Voisin C15
- Avions Voisin Limousine C15
- Avions Voisin C7 par Gallé
- Ballot Limousine
- Barré Torpédo
- Berliet Coupé Chauffeur
- Berliet Type VIGB Taxi Landaulet
- Bugatti 57 Ventoux
- Citroën Trèfle
- Delage D6
- Delage D8 Coach
- Delahaye 135 Cabriolet Faget Varnet
- Delahaye 135 Coach Chapron
- 3x Delahaye 235 Coach Chapron
- 2x Delahaye Type 43 Coupé Chauffeur
- Delahaye GFA 148 L
- Delaunay Belleville Limousine VL8
- Facel Vega Excellence
- Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider
- Ferrari 308 GTS
- Ferrari 400
- Ferrari Mondial 3.2L Cabriolet
Hispano Suiza H6B Cabriolet Millon-Guiet - Hotchkiss Cabriolet
- Innocenti S Cabriolet
- Jaguar type S 3.4 L
- La Buire 12 A
- Lagonda LG45 Cabriolet
- Lancia Thema 8.32
- Lorraine Dietrich B3/6 Plateau, Lorraine Dietrich B3/6 Torpédo par Grumman, Lorraine-Dietrich Torpédo
- Maserati A6G 2000 Gran Sport Frua
- Mathis FOH
- Packard Cabriolet Super Eight
- Panhard-Levassor Dynamic Berline X77
- Panhard-Levassor Dynamic Coupé X76
- Panhard-Levassor Limousine X72
- Porsche 356 SC ex-Sonauto
- Renault AX Torpédo
- Renault Vivastella Cabriolet
- Sandford Cyclecar 3 Roues
- Singer Cabriolet
Talbot-Lago 11/6 Cabriolet - 2x Talbot-Lago Baby Cabriolet
- Talbot Lago Cadette 11
- 2x Talbot Lago Coach
- Talbot Lago T26 Grand Sport Coupé Saoutchik
- Talbot Lago T26 Record Coupé Saoutchik
- Talbot Lago T26 Cabriolet Saoutchik
(Source: YouTube, Artcurial Motorcars, Daily Mail)
