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.