Usually, abandoned autos end up at scrap yards. They are disassembled there, sold for parts, and ultimately crushed. However, some owners choose to retain their abandoned vehicles in their backyards. This junkyard is a little unique because it was constructed as an outdoor museum in the forest.
German historic vehicle dealer and enthusiast Michael Frohlich is the owner of the Auto Skulpturenpark, sometimes known as the “car sculpture park,” a space that resembles a junkyard. It also isn’t the result of abandoned cars being dumped in a forest. All of these rusty vintage pieces have been painstakingly assembled and given more weathering.
Why would someone do that, you ask? Well, Michael is the kind of guy who believes that no matter how much something costs and its sentimental value, nature will reclaim it one day. This car park was built to reflect that. But it’s also a tribute to his birth year. Our host claims the park includes 50 cars from 1950, but as shown in the video below, some vehicles are much older than that.
The junkyard includes both rare and mundane classic cars. Arguably the rarest piece of automotive history parked here is a pair of race-spec vehicles sporting Jaguar and Porsche badges. One’s a Jaguar XK120 sporting “218” roundels on its doors. There’s no word about where it was raced, but XK120s are highly sought-after nowadays, fetching six-figure sums at public auctions. When in good condition, of course.
The 3.4-liter inline-six-powered XK120 was the fastest production automobile in the world when it was first released. A factory variant reached 124.6 mph (200.5 kph) in 1949. The record remained in place until Mercedes-Benz unveiled the 300SL in 1955. Through 1953, it also established a number of other speed records.
Additionally a successful race vehicle, the XK120. It placed fifth in the 1950 Mille Miglia and won the Tourist Trophy and Alpine Rally. It participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well, setting the way for the subsequently successful C-Type and D-Type cars.
The other race-spec rarity parked in this yard is a 1950 Porsche 356. The vehicle is also in derelict condition, but as an early 356, it’s rare and desirable as well. Porsche built only 7,627 early 356 cars, and less than 400 saw daylight in 1950. These cars make Michael’s collection a bit controversial. His refusal to restore them resulted in “some very unfriendly comments,” he told our host, YouTube’s “The Bearded Explorer.”
The old Rolls-Royce with a King Charles dummy cut in half in the back seat may also upset a few people. And speaking of art, the junkyard also includes a piece of the Berlin Wall.
The footage also shows a 1930s Mercedes-Benz that’s relatively scarce today and what appears to be a BMW 326 four-door from the same era. These Bimmers were built in almost 16,000 units from 1936 to 1941, but only a few are still in one piece and running in 2023. This is one of the BMWs that inspired the early Bristol luxury cars in the UK.
The yard includes a few American rigs too. I spotted a 1950s Buick and an old Jeep wagon. You’ll also see a couple of Volkswagen Beetles and iconic French cars such as the Citroen 2CV and Traction Avant and a Renault 4CV.
Michael also accumulated a sizable collection of vehicles from vanished European automakers. A Tatra 600 that was produced in Czechoslovakia between 1948 and 1952 is part of the collection. Few of the 6,000 rear-engined flat-four fastbacks that were produced have survived. A DWK, an IFA, and a Borgward are also present. The latter business vanished in 1961 and reappeared in 2008 with Chinese funding; nonetheless, it declared bankruptcy in 2022.
Frochlich’s collection is not only about derelict cars, though. His dealership in Dusseldorf is also loaded with rare and iconic classics.