“One Sunday about two years ago I took a call from an older guy in Lanzarote. He had a right-hand-drive 1979 Ferrari 512BB – a rare car with just 101 built. He said he’d had it from new and had taken it to Lanzarote about 30 years ago, and that it hadn’t been driven for at least 15 years.

“I flew straight out there. The owner met me at the airport and drove me to his house, which was way inland in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by absolutely nothing. The car was in the garage, but it was surrounded by so much stuff that I could barely see it. It took us at least an hour and a half to clear all the clutter out of the way, but even when that was done the car was so covered in dust I couldn’t tell whether it was red or brown.

“Anyway, it was a totally original one-owner car with just 20,000 miles from new, so we struck a deal. I then found two local garage mechanics and paid them €100 each to come over and get the car running, which they did. By this time it was approaching midnight, but I was on a roll so I drove it the 15 miles to the docks in the hope that there’d be a shipping company there that could bring it back to the UK.

“It didn’t drive too well. The lights were dim, the brakes were lousy and the throttle kept sticking open so I had to use the clutch and handbrake to slow down. With help from the team in the office I located a shipping firm, left the car with them and flew back home.

“Once back in the UK we treated the car to a full restoration which took about a year. The engine, suspension and all mechanicals were rebuilt by Graypaul Ferrari, while other specialists dealt with the cosmetics, bringing it to the condition it’s in today. “Sadly I don’t have any photos of the car as I found it in Lanzarote as I’ve changed phones twice since then, but it’s listed on our website under Current Inventory.”

CARL HARTLEY, CO-DIRECTOR, TOM HARTLEY CARS LTD.

FERRARI 512 BB

“The car was so covered in dust I couldn’t tell whether it was red or brown”