AFTER South African car collector Louis Coetzer and his wife died in a car accident some four years ago, his children started selling off hundreds of the cars he’d collected in his lifetime.
Mr Coetzer, from Bloemfontein was well known among South Africa’s classic car fraternity.
He was known as a kind and friendly man and a highly respected collector.
His collection had more than 100 Mercedes-Benzes, some of them with a colourful history, including former Foreign Affairs Minister Pik Botha’s 300SE sedan and King Moshoeshoe II’s 600 Grosser limousine.
Most of the cars in the initial auction were in pristine condition, and among them were a 15-window VW Kombi Safari bus, a 1960 MGA and a super-rare 1971 boattail Buick Riviera.
However, months after those were sold, his children found he also owned a property in the Eastern Cape, and there were several barns on the land.
On opening them, they were stunned to find many more old cars: some 240 of them.
So they called in the auctioneers.
Jason Woosey, editor of the IOL Motoring website, reports:
“Surreal and staggering.” That’s how Joff van Reenen, lead auctioneer at Creative Rides, described the moment he first stepped into a barn in the Eastern Cape packed with classic cars that had been untouched for decades.
It all began with an estate sale initiated by the children of the late Louis Coetzer, who was known as South Africa’s most avid and prolific car collector.
Louis and his wife Hermien died in a car accident on a remote mountain pass in the Eastern Cape in early 2020.
Hundreds of his cars were auctioned later that year, and in 2021, his three children reluctantly let a large portion of them go due to the sheer magnitude of the task of preserving them.
The latest barn find brings Louis’ car collection up to a total of more than 600 vehicles, making it South Africa’s biggest car collection ever.
After discovering there were barns on a remote piece of land that the Coetzer family was auctioning off, the siblings decided that a barn inspection was in order. Because they knew their father all too well.
After being invited to the Eastern Cape to view the newly discovered vehicles, auctioneer Joff Van Reenen found himself facing a surreal scene.
“It’s difficult to put into words the emotion I felt taking those first steps over the threshold into the dim expanse of a barn at least the size of three tennis courts, and seeing row after row of cars disappearing into the distance like a slumbering regiment awaiting a call to arms,” Van Reenen said.
As it turned out, more 200 cars were hidden in the shadows of that barn, and subsequently also across a few farms near Barkly East.
“It literally took my breath away stepping over the threshold, sunlight behind me and ahead disappearing into the gloom row after row of cars; all coated in decades of undisturbed dust,” Van Reenen added.
“That first day, the dust lay so thick that we couldn’t even begin to guess at paint colours, never mind makes or models.
“What was clear, though, was the historic importance of the stunning find. Little did we know at the time, that this was just the first secret the barn would reveal.”
Creative Rides CEO Kevin Derrick said the true scale and global significance of the find only became apparent after the cataloguing process got under way.
“I’d struggle to name a single undiscovered, completely unknown barn collection of this size ever found outside of the United States.
It’s crazy; more than 200 cars! Collectors don’t know about any of them; they’ve never been on public display,” Derrick said.
The auction house is leaving the vehicles as close to “discovery condition” as possible so that collectors can better appreciate the historic magnitude of the find.
The cars are being sold very much “as is” and numerous engines and other components discovered in the same barn are also up for sale.
What’s in the collection?
It’s no surprise that around 70 of the cars bear the three pointed star. These include numerous Fintails, Pontons and even a few bakkies (utes), some of which are believed to be local conversions.
Muscular American metal is also on the menu, with a Cadillac De Ville Sedan, two Chevrolet Brookwood Station Wagons, Ford Fairlanes as well as various Pontiacs and Holdens.
You can view the vehicles on auction by downloading the Creative Rides app.
According to Creative Rides, the Lost Barn Find Collection marks the final chapter of Louis Coetzer’s 50-year automotive journey.
The online-only auction will take place over 10 days, starting at 8am Central African Time (CAT) on Monday, March 25.
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