If there’s one thing everyone in the classic car world dreams of discovering, it’s the elusive ‘barn find’ — a car hidden by its owner and entirely forgotten for decades. Gooding & Company recently struck gold when it unearthed a Ferrari 275 GTB and Shelby 427 Cobra untouched for 26 years…

Time capsules

Gooding & Company’s Amelia Island auction is shaping up rather nicely. The Californian auction house has consigned not only the Porsche 911 RSR Turbo that finished 2nd at Le Mans in 1974 but also two rare 1960s sports cars discovered languishing in a garage in North Carolina. The 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Long Nose (a rare alloy-bodied example) and the 1967 Shelby 427 Cobra have remained untouched for 26 years and are, thus, presented in time-capsule condition. They’re estimated to sell for 2.5–3.25m US dollars and 1–1.3m dollars, respectively, when they cross the block on 9 March in Amelia Island. Don’t let the dust and general disrepair fool you — the market is mad for barn finds, and to find two cars as significant as these, both in wonderfully original condition, is quite something.

Photos: Gooding & Company