Video Reveals Secret Underground Bunker With Over $1 Million Worth of Vintage Cars. "Absolutely Mental."
Abandoned building holds hidden treasures.
When a pair of British YouTubers went foraging into a seemingly abandoned building, they were rewarded with a very viral discovery. Nearly $1 million worth of classic cars, including one belonging to a former prime minister, sat in the abandoned underground space. The find made for good video — "absolutely mental!" one host called the inventory — and a solid mystery: What in the world were such unique and expensive cars doing there? Read on to find out.
Ben and Eran, hosts of Lost Adventures on YouTube, had been eyeing a building in their hometown of Surrey, UK, for years. After deciding to explore it, they stumbled into a million-dollar car collection. The Daily Mail reports the space included a Formula 1 racer and a Bentley, along with original vintage British taxis and various prototypes and wooden replicas. Keep reading to see the video.
"I'd had my eye on it for a couple of years, as it looked so interesting," Eran told the Sun. "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." It turns out the vehicles were being held there in preparation for an auction.
Among the YouTubers' finds: A Proton Perdana that belonged to Mahathir Mohammad, the former prime minister of Malaysia. He apparently donated the car to the UK to aid research into hybrid vehicles. "You would never see these cars on the road, even if someone bought them. This was a one-chance glimpse of these cars," said Eran. "Those cars are underneath this thing. This is madness. Absolutely mental the amount of money those cars are worth. It's just crazy."
David Fletcher, the auctioneer in charge of the collection, said the "fascinating" lot is also "very sad" because it included the last cars manufactured by British automaker Bristol. "I'm presiding over the demise of the last independently owned British car manufacturer, which is a very poignant, historical moment," he told the Sun.
However, Bristol plans to relaunch as an electric vehicle company in time for the brand's 80th anniversary in 2025. This comes along with news that electric vehicle sales shot up 60 percent in the first quarter of 2022 in the U.S., which Car and Driver recently speculated may mark a "turning point" toward EVs. It's estimated that half of all vehicles on American roads will be electric by the year 2050. (Other nations are far ahead—86 percent of vehicles in Norway are now electric.)
