A VINTAGE spy car that sat in a barn for 40 years gathering dust has sold for an eye-watering sum.
The rare open-top 1952 220 Type A Cabriolet Mercedes-Benz was once owned by a British spy.
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The spy’s open-top car sold for £37,000 with a windscreen damaged in a riot after protestors threw rocks at it while it was driven by a British Army soldier serving in the Intelligence Corps.
He bought the car in Germany in 1960 at a time of Iron Curtain tension and took it to Cyprus where it was attacked two years later.
The soldier and his wife spent a month driving it home through Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Yugoslavia, Italy, Austria, Germany, Holland and Belgium.
Auctioneers Reeman Dansie said: “It has been stored ever since with the engine periodically turned over to make sure it stays free.
“It is a wonderful opportunity to buy a totally original very sound restoration project with very solid bodywork.
“The doors still shut like a safe and it has a fabulous history. This ultimate barn find is now awaiting its next adventure.”
The white car with green leather upholstery was sold in Colchester, Essex. The officer has died.
It came with an extensive collection of rare documents, including the original German 1952 logbook dated the 13 December 1952 listing two former owners, the 1960 bill of sale, and related documents.
It is understood the car was taken off the road in in the 1970s.
Meanwhile, an ultra-rare classic art deco Bentley fitted with a hand-wound clock could be yours for a whopping £300,000.
The Bentley Mark VI, the only one among 4,000 to have its coachwork completed by Mulliners of Birmingham, a renowned British coachbuilder from Bordesley Green, underwent a major paintwork change in 2010.
This Drophead Foursome Coupé features a 4.5-litre (4.6) six-cylinder engine.
The model was commissioned by Sir John Black, managing director of Standard-Triumph (The Standard Motor Company Limited), a car manufacturer founded in Coventry, England, in 1903.
The Bentley features red hide upholstery with grey piping and Art Deco-inspired door cards.
A hand-wound clock, mounted on the glovebox above a concealed tool kit tray, was also retained.
The car is now being auctioned off by RM Sotheby’s in London with an asking price of a whopping £300,000.
“This is an exquisite two-door Mark VI Drophead presented in three-tone grey over red hide,” reads the listing.
“It features unique coachwork; the sole Mark VI bodied by Mulliners of Birmingham.
“The car is a multiple award winner and was exhibited in the post-war Touring class at the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
It follows a 120-year-old ultra-rare sports car that went up for auction with a truly eye-watering price tag.
The vintage motor includes leather seats, side and rear brass oil lights, and even a wooden steering wheel.
This rarely-seen Rochet-Schneider motor from 1904 has been listed at auction for a cool £690,000 – and it comes with an incredible backstory.
Produced by Rochet-Schneider, a French company established in 1889, the car was originally sold in 1904 in France and is number 45 of the 215 units manufactured that year.
It was then imported to the UK in 1967, where it was owned and cherished by a handful of classic car enthusiasts, including Denis Wright and Peter Agg, as well as the Tierra Blanca Collection.