Youtubers stumble upon 'absolutely mental' vintage car collection worth $1 million in secret bunker
SURREY, ENGLAND: Two YouTubers found historic automobiles valued over £1 million ($1.16M) in an abandoned subterranean bunker, including one that belonged to a former Malaysian Prime Minister. A video showed the moment Ben and Eran, who run the Lost Adventures YouTube channel, entered a Surrey building they had been eyeing for years and "stumbled" onto a collection of old cars.
The explorers discovered the automobiles in the bunker as owners were prepping the collection for auction. The two claimed to have never seen such vehicles on the road and described the subterranean parking garage as an 'incredible place'. A range of British classics, including a Formula 1 racer, Bentleys, and Bristol Cars, were featured in the "fascinating collection" of antique vehicles. Retro taxis, several prototypes, and numerous wooden copies were also discovered.
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In May 2020, as workers were prepping the cars for auction, Ben and Eran roamed the parking lot. "I'd had my eye on it for a couple of years, as it looked so interesting. We set out to explore the abandoned building with no idea what it was. We jumped down, only to find millions of pounds worth of cars underneath this place." The collection included some models so old that Eran said he "didn't even know half of what I'm looking at", along with other assorted parts and signs. Most notably, they found a Proton Perdana that had previously belonged to Dr Mahathir Mohammad, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia. He had allegedly sent the car to the UK to aid in hybrid fuel research. "You would never see these cars on the road, even if someone bought them. This was a one-chance glimpse of these cars," Eran explained.
"Those cars are underneath this thing. This is madness. Absolutely mental the amount of money those cars are worth. It's just crazy," he exclaimed in absolute amazement. David Fletcher, the auctioneer in charge of selling it off, estimates the collection to be worth over $1 million. He told The Sun that the "fascinating collection" was also "extremely sad" since it marked Bristol Cars' demise as an independent automaker. Fletcher stated that the bunker Ben and Eran discovered had been utilized as a warehouse for the business' unused inventory. The majority of the vehicles at the garage, according to him, were hauled in from the business' Kensington showroom.
Speaking of the auction, David Fletcher stated, "I'm presiding over the demise of the last independently-owned British car manufacturer, which is a very poignant, historical moment." It is, however, unclear when the automobile sale will take place.
The Bristol-based business was established as a division of Bristol Aeroplane Company during World War II, and it became independent in 1960. As the low-volume firm did not mass-produce, each of its automobiles was individually handcrafted. Before it closed in 2011, Bristol Cars, which was favored by rich auto enthusiasts, had a "cult following." The firm came back to life in 2015 and unveiled The Bristol Bullet, a new automobile, but it was never put on the market for purchase.
In 2020, Bristol Cars went bankrupt once more, and the majority of company assets were auctioned. However, it is still doing business as Bristol Cars 8.0. Ahead of the firm's 80th anniversary in 2025, it has revealed a proposal to relaunch the brand as a "British Electric Vehicle company."