Trove of classic cars found decaying in a barn set for auction in Paris

A trove of nearly 60 classic cars found rusting in a barn in rural France will be auctioned Friday during the Retromobile auto show in Paris.

Collected from the 1950s to the 1970s by entrepreneur Roger Baillon, the vintage vehicles spent 50 years languishing in storage and were found covered in weeds, dust and rust in the western French town of Echire.

With dreams of one day building an automotive museum, Baillon collected the cars in hopes of restoring them to their former glory, but business struggles dashed his plans.

Among the cars set for auction are a rare Maserati, a Sandford Type S Cyclecar, a Packard Eight Cabriolet and a Facel Vega Excellence with suicide doors. A vintage Ferrari California Spider is expected to fetch between $11 million and $14 million.

The vintage auto auction is part of the annual Retromobile Car Show running through Sunday at the Paris Expo Porte De Versailles, which features 500 fully-restored and pre-restoration vehicles.