RM Sotheby’s for Rudi Klein: When Rust Turns to Gold

Occasionally, an auction breaks all the rules. I remember the Italian auction in 2016, called "2000 Ruote", where every car was sold without reserve, or the Sáragga collection auction in Portugal in 2019 by RM Sotheby's. All cars were sold without reserve, and the event was a success. Today, we’re talking about RM Sotheby’s latest auction of the unique Rudi Klein collection. Klein, a junkyard operator in Los Angeles in the ‘60s and ‘70s, amassed a collection of "high-quality junk" — Porsches, Ferraris, Mercedes, and Lamborghinis. After years of silence following Klein’s death, RM Sotheby’s auctioned 67 of his most prized cars on October 26, with an estimated value of $16,833,000. But the final tally shattered expectations, totaling $28,837,480 — 171% of the estimated price. Remarkably, the average sale price of these rusted treasures was $430,410.

Instead of starting with the most decrepit of rust piles, let’s dive into the most spectacular deals. First up: the 1964 Iso Grifo A3/L Spider by Bertone. Initially, the Iso Grifo came in two versions—the “C” (Competition), which later became the Bizzarrini 5300GT, and the “L” (Luxury), the famed Iso Grifo. Owning a Grifo L is rare enough, but Klein had the first and only prototype of the Iso Grifo Spider. Purchased by Klein in 1980 from the famous Greg Garrison, it had never left his eccentric warehouse. The last Iso Grifo “non-C” prototype sold for $1,760,000 in 2018, setting a benchmark. The estimate of $1-1.5 million for Klein's Spider was accurate, but it ultimately sold for $1,875,000 — a new record for the model and the second-most-expensive Iso sold.