Terminally rusted ‘barn find’ Ferrari Dino at auction

“Barn finds” are all the rage at collector-car auctions. Dirty relics pulled from long-term storage have become an auction staple, with sought-after classic cars earning top dollar despite their derelict conditions.

Ferrari Dinos are also hot. The V6-powered, mid-engine sports coupes have soared in value after spending years in the bargain basement. Today, they’re featured classics, such as the Keith Richards’ Dino at auction this week.

So, who wouldn’t get excited over the prospect of an ultra-low-mileage Dino barn-find car coming to auction? Well, except that this one comes with an asterisk.

The 1973 Ferrari Dino 242GT is far, far away from being an aesthetically patinated piece of vintage charm. Just look at the photos. It’s a scary rusted wreck, probably good only for its low-mileage parts. If that.

The Dino is being offered by Silverstone Auctions at its May 24 sale at the Silverstone Circuit, in Towcester, England.

The rust-bucket Dino has only 13,942 miles on its odometer, and it does come with a colorful back story, according to the auction house.

It seems the late owner was a motorcycle racer with a penchant for blasting around quiet British streets in his cool Ferrari. One day, he got the attention of the local police who were not impressed by his high-speed exploits.

Rather than pull over, he took off and outran the police. He arrived home and stashed the car in the garage, afraid to drive it again for fear of getting caught. And there it sat untouched for the next four decades, under a leaky roof that obviously took its toll.

Silverstone describes the car in typical British understatement.

“As you have probably expected, the idea of finding a low-owner, low-mileage rare-optioned Ferrari Dino with an interesting story of being untouched for the last 39 years is, unfortunately, too good to be true,” the auction company writes in its Dino description.

“A leaky garage roof has meant the car has suffered from a severe case of what some may call water staining whilst others would say it’s simply rotten as a pear.”