1937 BMW 328 Veritas barnfind is on the cover of the new Autoweek, found in a barn, in Iowa of all places, where it had been forgotten for 46 years

This special BMW is a hybrid with a very rare BMW 328 lightweight racing chassis and a postwar Veritas body. The monetary valuable part is the racing chassis. To give you an example, the subsequent chassis number received a high bid of 4.3 million euros at an auction in Monaco in 2010, yet the owner decided to pass. Of course, the car we're talking about is nowhere in the same state as the 4-million plus 328, but it is still very valuable being so rare and with a great racing history.

This Veritas/BMW 328 was found by 2 car enthusiasts from Iowa: Dereck Freshour and Heath Rodney. When they bought the car from neighbouring farmer, they thought it was a postwar Veritas, worth a fraction of a 328, even though some Veritas were built using 328 parts (which their car obviously was). Yet, underneath the relatively mundane body lied a very special chassis. Chassis #85031 is a rare BMW 328 lightweight racing chassis that everybody thought was lost.

Out of the 434 328's produced by BMW between 1936 and 1940, only 61 were made to lightweight specs with a 70% more powerful engine (from 80hp to 136), a close-ratio gearbox, a 100-litre racing tanks, bigger drum brakes, and, of course, a much lighter and more aerodynamic body.

Chassis 85031 was raced at the 1937 24hr of le Mans, almost right after it left the factory, where it got into an accident.
Then it was shipped to England to enter the Tourist Trophy, where it was driven by racing royalty Prince Bira of Siam to 3rd overall and first in class.

The next year, it came 3rd in class at the Mille Miglia where BMW swept the podium in the 2-litre class.

After an unsuccessful run at the 1938 Tourist Trophy, the car was retired from racing by BMW.

Then it disappeared

The car became a Veritas after the war probably because the Americans forbid construction of new cars in Germany as a retribution of war.

So Veritas, the new company started by former BMW employees, used old BMW chassis to build new cars

Somehow chassis 85031, now a Veritas, found its way to the US, probably imported by some US Army serviceman in Germany reutrning to the states after the war and was used until around 1966 in Iowa.

The car was stored in 1966, then bought by a farmer in 1971 who thought of restoring it but never did and was finally acquired by Dereck and Heath.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?p=12030977