In America, a wrecked car placed on Ebay for a starting bid of just $500 eventually sold last week for $226,521.63.

In the original item description, the seller admitted knowing little about the car and sounded almost apologetic about its condition. A string of emails and forum postings followed, and thankfully the seller soon realised what he was sitting on!

It turned out that the car, a 1963 Pontiac Tempest Super Duty Le Mans Coupe, was one of just 6 made by Pontiac as drag racing specials. This particular car was raced by Stan Antlocer from Detriot, Michigan.

Only 2 Super Duty Tempest Le Mans Coupes were thought to still be around, but some savvy Ebayers spotted this hidden gem about to change hands for a tiny sum of money, and promptly contacted the owner.

A flurry of interest followed, and 71 bids later the seller was looking at a final bid of nearly a quarter-of-a-million dollars. This is despite the fact that the car is in a sorry state of repair, lacking even an engine or gearbox, and was covered in rust and dents. The owner couldn't even unlock the boot (edit: trunk).