Hidden in forests and fields around the world, the mysterious car graveyards home to rusting old vehicles worth up to £82,000 if they were restored
- German photographer Dieter Klein travelled the world to find vintage cars left to crumble in leafy forests and fields
- Came across range of graveyards hosting all sorts of vehicles, including Jaguar XK120 worth £82,000 if restored
- Dieter, 57, from Cologne, first came across a Citroen truck dumped in a bush six years ago and became hooked
Abandoned, rusting and desolate, the hulking remnants of these old bangers have been claimed by nature.
German photographer Dieter Klein travelled the world to find vintage cars left to crumble in leafy forests and fields.
He came across a range of mysterious graveyards hosting all sorts of vehicles, including a rare Jaguar XK120, which, if restored, could be worth £82,000, and a fleet of vehicles used by the Allies in the Second World War.
Many of the cars, often with doors, tires or windows missing, are parked on forest floors where nature has taken them over.
Dieter, 57, from Cologne, first came across a Citroen truck that had been dumped in a bush six years ago.
After witnessing how the foliage had grown in and around the man-made machine, he was hooked and began to track down other unusual resting places.
Part of a sculpture park in Sweden which contains 50 cars. Covered in moss and lichen, they appear to blend in with the woods around them
The sun sets over dozens of abandoned cars in 2014 in Colorado. Dieter has travelled the world for six years searching for scenes like this
Two old cars poking out of a barn in Arizona in 2014. Dieiter became hooked after finding a Citroen truck that had been dumped in a bush
Seemingly camouflaged cars are stacked on top of each other causing them to blend in with the landscape, in 2013 in France
Another view of the Swedish sculpture park. Thick foliage has grown up through the rusting shells which were once roadworthy vehicles. A Jaguar XK120 abandoned at the park could fetch £82,000 if restored
Another exhibit at the Swedish sculpture park (left) and a rusty red car abandoned in a forest in Germany, pictured by Dieter in 2014
Three cars that won't be going anywhere soon resting in a field in Oklahoma while a working vehicle cruises by in the background
This old car is barely discernible amidst at the bottom of a heap of rusty, overgrown junk in France, pictured by Dieter in 2013
A battered 'Stop' sign stands ironically in front of a rusting vehicle that clearly hasn't been driven for years in a yard in France
Dieter said: 'In Belgium I came across a place with about 250 cars, untouched in a little wood. The cars have rusted over time and the paintwork has dulled
'The place was founded by the Allies after WW2. They left these cars in a little wood, but they did not take them when they went back home.'
'Other graveyards are not as rich in history but make for eerie and stunning places to explore.
'While in many cases I cannot retrace the history of the vessels, some sites are more discernible and conspicuous than others.
'In Sweden, for instance, I visited a car yard where vehicles had been disassembled during the 1950s.
'Because the site stood a mere two miles from Norwegian border, the car parts were then taken piece-by-piece over into the neighbouring country, where the importation of whole cars was forbidden.
'The automobiles were reassembled - this was not prohibited. Only 30 miles from my hometown, Cologne, I discovered a special collection.
'A car dealer had a funny idea. When he turned 50 in 2000 he arranged 50 cars from 1950 as a sculpture park in his garden and made a big party.
'Some friends got really angry when they saw, for instance, an extraordinary Jaguar XK120 left alone on purpose.
'In restored condition this car could fetch $120,000 (£82,000).'
Dozens of cars lining forest a pathway in France appear to be sinking into the mud. Dieter is interested in how foliage can grown in and around man-made machines
These American cars have seen better days as they lie abandoned in the baking sun out in the Arizona desert, pictured in 2014
A yellow and black race car has clearly been battered by the elements before this picture was taken on February 27 last year in Germany
OId fashioned American cars and big yellow school buses site in quiet rows at a site in Texas. America is a favourite subject for Dieter
A few blotches of paint cling on to the rusty shell of this old banger in Colorado. It's hard to imagine it ever having been fit to drive
A Ford collection of Taunus, sold between 1939 to 1949, look the worse for wear, pictured on February 15 this year in Germany
A rusty yellow car abandoned by Allied forces after the Second World War pictured in 2012 in Belgium. Dead foliage litters the entire scene
Moss covers and old fashioned vehicle in Germany. Dieter first discovered his passion for such subjects in his home country
This car in Oklahoma looks more capable of running than most but it is doubtful it would be wise to go for a spin nonetheless
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