Have you ever wondered what it would be like to find something hidden away that was worth a fortune? We seem to read about things like this happening regularly, but it doesn’t seem to happen to us! Of course, our day just might come, if we are lucky enough. After all, the possibility of buying something cheap and making a fortune off of it is not that far fetched.
Perhaps this possibility can be seen clearly with this brother and sister from Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Their uncle was a bit eccentric and when he passed away, he left them an old, dusty garage in his will. When they opened the garage, they couldn’t believe what they saw.
Dr. Harold Carr was 89 when he passed away. He left his property to his relatives, including a dusty garage.
He was quite eccentric and in his later years, had become a recluse. His family knew he kept cars but they didn’t know what he had been collecting. His nephew said it was a bit of local folklore that he had a Bugatti, but no one knew for sure.
When the niece and nephew cleared out the garage, they found that the rumors were true. Their uncle did own a Bugatti, but it was more than an ordinary sports car. It was a Bugatti Type 57S Atalante, estimated to be worth $8.5 million
The Bugatti is certainly one of the most splendid cars made, but this particular car was in a league of its own.
There were only 43 of these cars made, and the last one was made in May, 1937.
This particular automobile was originally purchased by a member of the British aristocracy.
Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe was the original owner. He was a member of Parliament and was a racing enthusiast.
To indulge his hobby, he has collected a vast array of sports cars throughout the 1930s.
This Atalante seemed to be kept away from the racetrack. It had remarkably low mileage for a vehicle its age.
Curzon sold the vehicle and it was sold several other times. Eventually, it was purchased by Carr in 1955.
His nephew remembers him fussing over the machinery of his automobiles. He fondly remembers his uncle wearing a rubber tube on his head to stop the oil from getting in his hair.
The license plate expired in 1960, after which the car disappeared into the garage.
For 50 years, it was out of sight inside of the garage. Carr continued to grow more eccentric as he got older and was a hoarder.
When the Bugatti was found in 2009, it was alongside a classic Aston Martin. It also included papers from collectors who had offered to buy the vehicle for large sums of money.
The Bugatti went up on the auction block several years later. It sold for around $4 million and the money was divided among his relatives.
Via: Little Things
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