Family of a deceased collector finds 200 classics in a remote shed

“Surrealistic and astonishing,” is what a South African auction house calls the discovery of more than two hundred classics on an estate in the east of the country.

It all started with the legacy of Louis Coetzer, known as South Africa’s greatest car collector. Louis and his wife Hermien died in a car accident on a remote mountain pass in 2020.

Four hundred classics auctioned

Soon after his death, hundreds of his classics were auctioned off, and some went under the hammer again in 2021. His children didn’t know that Louis owned other classic cars. A bit like the Dutch barn find from a while back.

Derelict barns

They found out when they found several dilapidated barns on Louis’ vast estate containing another two hundred old cars, including about seventy Mercedes and a large number of American Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford and Pontiac brands.

In total, Louis Coetzer had more than six hundred vehicles in his collection. “I had to catch my breath when I saw so many classics,” said Joffe van Reenen from the Creative Rides auction house.

Louis Coetzer

Louis Coetzer was nicknamed “Uncle Louis” and began collecting model cars in elementary school. He was not a collector who never did anything with his classics, but regularly appeared with one of his collectibles at meetings and events in South Africa.

Louis also had a private museum where he occasionally guided visitors personally. Somewhat bizarrely, he also had one of the largest hubcap collections in the world.

Classics under the hammer

Creative Rides is auctioning off Coetzer’s barn find between March 25th and April 3rd. 286 items will go under the hammer, including not only cars, but also wheels, engines and spare parts.