The Samba had been left to rot in a field in the Eifel mountain region, near the Nürburgring and 30 miles from Kalff’s premises in Bonn. ‘The field’s owner didn’t even know it was there,’ said Kalff. But when the field was sold, its new owner cut down the overgrown scrub, uncovered the vehicle’s remains, and wanted them removed – in Germany, storing wrecked cars in such locations is viewed as a crime against the environment.