A car collector and former coachbuilder recently passed away in Belgium, and he left an impressive collection of classic vehicles behind. Among them is this stunning Michelotti-bodied Jaguar XK140, of which only a handful are believed to have been built. It was in the process of restoration before the owner passed away, and now that car along with several other desirable classics are going up for auction. Find the full story here on AutoClassics.com.

This Ferrari 308 GT4 is one of the vehicles discovered, which also included a Citroen and a Wolseley among more desirable specimens detailed below. The XK140 is undoubtedly the prize of the collection, as only two or three were thought to have been built by Michelotti of Turin. This particular XK140 also features some desirable performance enhancements, including a cylinder head and side-exit exhaust taken from a Jaguar C-Type.

Photos reveal that a C1 Corvette was also housed in the collection. This is my favorite type of barn find discovery: a collection of vehicles that doesn’t necessarily have the best of any one kind of car, but the owner clearly knew a special vehicle when he saw it. Standing on their own, these are desirable vehicles but not necessarily the most expensive or valuable cars one could acquire. There’s a standout, or crown jewel, in the XK140, but the others appear to be driver quality examples of enthusiast vehicles.

The E-Type is a closed headlamp example, and what look like yellow lenses behind them could indicate its origins as a French market vehicle. None of the finds appear to be basketcases, but then again, the environment in which they were found could be questionable – or just messy. The entirety of the collection will be auctioned at the Bonhams Beaulieu Autojumble sale on September 1 in Hampshire, UK, with the unique XK140 going to market at Bonhams Monaco sale on May 13.

While the XK140 is certainly a special car, Bonhams is cautious in its sale estimates due to the lack of paperwork or history of any sort to validate the unique coachwork. Sadly, the paper trail is quite light, as the collector acquired the vehicle at a Brussels car show in 1999. Although he was purported to have concocted a tall tale about its celebrity ownership history, none of that has been validated. Bonhams has placed a wide range in terms of sale price expectations, but there’s no doubt this is a special car that is deserving of having its stalled restoration completed.