Twenty vintage Ferraris , known as the Lost & Found Collection , had been stored in a Florida barn before Hurricane Charley damaged the structure in 2004, and when RM Sotheby’s eventually brought the collection to auction, the cars generated more than $16.5 million in sales. According to RM Sotheby’s, the barn had partially collapsed in 1990, with the cars remaining largely unseen until Hurricane Charley struck Florida in August 2004 and exposed them to the elements and debris from the damaged building.




The collection included models with racing histories, rare bodywork, and notable previous owners, and some had competed in major events such as the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, and Le Mans. Their condition varied, but many remained close to the state in which they had been stored, and after the hurricane, the cars were moved to a warehouse in Speedway, Indiana, near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. They remained there for years before the auction house decided to sell the group during Monterey Car Week in 2023.



Hurricane Charley damaged the barn in 2004




Hurricane Charley made landfall on Florida’s southwest coast on August 13, 2004, as a Category 4 hurricane, and the National Hurricane Center estimated winds were at a maximum of 150 mph at landfall, with the storm causing severe wind damage across parts of the Florida peninsula. The Ferrari collection was in a barn along the Florida coast, with RM Sotheby’s account saying that the structure had partially collapsed years earlier in 1990, and that Charley’s damage exposed the cars to sunlight for the first time since then. Some cars were slightly damaged from debris inside the deteriorating building, and there were a small number of Ferrari collectors who knew the cars existed, but the group had remained largely outside public view. The damaged barn and the cars’ subsequent storage kept them away from ordinary circulation for years.



Rare models drove the auction total




RM Sotheby’s offered the 20 cars as the Lost & Found Collection during its Monterey sale on August 17, 2023, and the group included a 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider Series I, a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy and a 1956 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Coupe Series I. The 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy sold for $3.305 million, while the 1956 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Coupe Series I reached $2.81 million, and the 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider Series I fetched $1.875 million despite extensive damage sustained during its racing history. The 500 Mondial had competed in the 1954 Mille Miglia, where it achieved fourth place in its class, according to the auction house’s catalogue, and its later history included a racing crash and a fire that left the car heavily damaged. It was sold in its found condition rather than presented as a fully restored vehicle.




The entire collection brought in more than $16.5 million, with Sotheby’s year-end review confirming the total and identifying the Ferrari sale as one of RM Sotheby’s major results in 2023; it is important to remember that the figures reflected the prices that were paid for the collection, and not the cost of restoring the cars or the value of any future restoration work. The cars had spent years in storage after the storm damaged their former shelter, and their sale in Monterey brought the collection back into public view, with individual Ferraris attracting bids that ranged from heavily damaged racing cars to rare road-going models.