This Is What A Billionaire’s Junkyard Looks Like

Earlier this year, all eyes were on an auction that RM Sotheby’s dubbed “The Junkyard.” A collection of disused and some thoroughly crashed classic exotics previously owned by salvage yard owner Rudi Klein and holed up in Los Angeles, it was truly the barn find of a generation. Will we ever see anything like it again? Well, perhaps we might, just not in the locations we expect barn finds to be. The next Rudi Klein collection might actually be somewhere north of Dubai, where fantastic junkyards filled with imported salvage cars offer just about everything your heart desires, from modern American performance cars to exotics to Land Cruisers. Lots and lots of Land Cruisers.

Renowned photographer Larry Chen recently came across this astonishing compound of junkyards while traveling in the United Arab Emirates, and we’re lucky enough to be able to share more of his photos with you. As Chen wrote on Instagram,

There’s something beautiful about this organized chaos. For those of you folks wondering and hitting me up about this place it’s called the Emirates Industrial City in Sharjah. It’s blocks after blocks of these sort of places that specialize in certain cars. Most of the cars are from insurance salvage companies from all over the world. Many of these cars are from the US, Japan, Europe and Korea. People come from all over the Middle East to purchase parts here. Most of the deals are done in person or over the phone. Very few of these places have an online presence due to how much work it would take to post this stuff for sale. While we were there it was a non-stop stream of people coming in purchasing parts to restore or fix their own cars. Very cool to see. I don’t have any contact info for any of these places, so please don’t ask ????????.

This makes a whole lot of sense. Sometimes, when cars are damaged in particular ways, they’re issued irreparable titles, meaning they can never be put back on the road again. Obviously, many of the parts on these vehicles are still functional, but if they’ve been in an event like a flood, the liability of selling those parts in America is a risk fewer people want to take on. So what do you do with a totaled performance car that can’t go back on the road and can only be parted out by so many people? You export them, of course.

Let’s start outside. There’s a technicolor Nissan GT-R just up the rack from a fourth-generation Pontiac Firebird, two fifth-generation Viper clamshells stacked atop a sixth-generation Camaro, a C3 Corvette one level down from a previous-generation Mustang, a bright yellow Camaro ZL1 next to a pile of engines. You might see junk, but I see several possible ten-second cars.

In another shot, two C6 Corvettes appear adjacent to a Ferrari 360 Modena and another, more obviously damaged R35 GT-R. All just sitting outdoors in the desert, ready to be chopped up for parts to revive a fallen brother. However, this is nothing compared to what lies deeper inside this junkyard complex.

Is that most of a Ferrari 458 Italia bodyshell stacked atop a sliced-up Aston Martin Rapide? Yes, yes it is. Oh, and that’s before we get onto the cars on the racks — another Aston Martin Rapide, a Rolls-Royce Ghost, a third Rapide, a Ferrari California, a Maserati Levante. What were once the playthings of the wealthy are now simply spare parts. Wild.

Oh, and there are more Ferraris where that came from. How about a white F12Berlinetta next to a damaged 488 GTB, both adjacent to a Rolls-Royce Phantom with its trunk mostly missing? There’s another 488 GTB on an elevated rack at the back of this unit, right next to a white Rolls-Royce Cullinan.

In another photo, two crashed McLarens box in what appears to be a Bentley Mulsanne, while the walls are racked with cut-up exotics and parts. Check out that Rolls-Royce Cullinan bumper on the wall. More tasteful than buying a fake Mansory kit off AliExpress, right? Make it fit, spray it right, job done. Nothing wrong with a good used part.

Speaking of, I’m a huge fan of this shot, just a quilted Aston Martin seat being used to hold a screwdriver amid an indoor field of gearboxes, differentials, and engines. There’s a fantastic contrast to it, ornateness amid industrial-looking pieces. A reminder of the transitory nature of life.

How about more Bentleys? Flying Spur sedans make up a considerable percentage of the cars found in this particular junkyard, and it makes sense. After all, they’re fairly popular by Bentley standards, which means there are simply more of them out there to be crashed than say, Arnages.

I’m not even going to pretend I understand what’s going on here. At first, it seems like a body kit for a mid-engined Ferrari mocked up on a buck, until you realize that vital bits like the interior are still in the car, and we’re most likely looking at a chassis without a roof or windscreen. Truly bizarre.

Weirder still, it just appears to be a resting place for various bits of flotsam and jetsam. One can really only imagine the story behind this thing, because in all probability, it’s likely bonkers.

Zooming in, the array of parts on offer here is overwhelming. Want airbags? Is this for a Bentley, a McLaren, a Ferrari, a Maserati, or a Rolls-Royce, and which color do you need? Nearly two dozen are laid out on this glass media center, a slightly more explosive sight than an Xbox.

How about engines and transmissions? You can find them piled high on racks in this room, rows punctuated by the odd differential or loose intake manifold. Despite the tendency for brick floors to go slightly uneven, there’s still a cherry picker here for easy access, likely in case a rush order comes in.

Or how about a pile of heat exchangers, delicately stacked next to a rack holding various pieces of automotive glass? This definitely isn’t something you’d want toppling over, but when the building’s full of exotic car parts, you just have to make room wherever you can. Find a little order in the chaos.

Looking for body parts? This place has candy-colored bumpers and doors literally up to the rafters. Also, check out that Ferrari 812 on the rack back there. That’s a car that costs as much as a house, now reduced to spare parts and a carcass, the prom king of the junkyard. You probably won’t see that at your local Pick-N-Pull.

I take it this isn’t quite what people mean by “arm day.” Still, seeing an exercise machine next to a rack full of suspension arms, knuckles, brakes, and dampers serves as a reminder of how physical the junkyard business is. Some of these ultra-plush power seats are no joke when it comes to weight, so it helps to have a little muscle mass on you when you’re pulling them.

Oh hey, a Bentayga. Weirdly, I have a feeling you might eventually see one of these in your local junkyard. As far as Bentleys go, they’re super popular, and I’ve seen heavily neglected ’80s Bentley models pop up in yards around me from time to time. I guess we have a few more decades to go before we see if that’s a reasonable call or not.

This insane assortment of high-end junk is a great reminder that almost all cars reach the ends of their lives eventually. Whether a Nissan Versa or a Ferrari 488 GTB, junkyards work for everything, harvesting usable parts from cars that just aren’t usable anymore to keep other examples on the road.

(Photo credits: Larry Chen)

Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.

• This Michigan City Took 30 Cars From An Alfa Mechanic And Now They’re Sitting In A Junkyard

• The Pathetic ‘Pintara’ And A Minivan Called The ‘Prairie’: A Look At The Strange Nissans I Saw In An Australian Junkyard

• I Went To A California Junkyard After Spending A Decade Fixing Cars In Michigan. Here’s Why It Blew My Mind

• This $16.5 Million Ferrari Junkyard Is The Strangest Thing I Saw At Car Week

• Here’s A Tour Of An Australian Junkyard Filled With Fords You Probably Know Nothing About

Please send tips about cool car things to tips@theautopian.com. You could even win a prize!