Some Of The Best Classic Cars To Be Found Underwater

Cars and water just don’t mix, but that hasn’t stopped scuba divers, investigators, and fishermen from coming across unexpected cars underwater. Whether it was an accident, murder, robbery, or simply still remains a mystery, some incredible classic cars have been pulled from the murky depths of lakes, ponds, and rivers. Unfortunately, all of these cars were well past the point of saving, but it was still worth rescuing what was left of them and trying to figure out their stories. 

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Some of the reasons that these classic cars ended up at the bottom of a body of water are difficult to pin down, while other rescued cars have a fascinating story. On occasion multiple cars have been found together in an underwater graveyard of sorts. Here are some of the most interesting classic cars to ever be dragged to the surface, and those theories as to what caused their sleep with the fishes.

The French sports car manufacturer, Bugatti, may be well-known for its luxurious and expensive supercars, but one model — a 1925 Bugatti Type 22 Brescia Roadster — is now displayed at the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California after being at the bottom of a lake for 75 years. This Bugatti once belonged to Grand Prix driver Rene Dreyfus, who ended up losing the car in a drunken poker bet to Swiss playboy Adalbert Bode. However, when Bode attempted to bring the car home, the Swiss border demanded registration tax for it. The wealthy Bode shrugged it off at the time and left the Bugatti there. 

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The story doesn’t end there — instead of destroying it, it’s said that local customs officials tried to hide the car by suspending it by a heavy chain near Lake Maggiore near the border, planning to come back later and take it for themselves. Unfortunately, the chain was badly rusted and a link broke, dropping the car 173 feet. 

A scuba diver found the legendary car in 1967, confirming the tale. The car became an attraction for decades, but the local diving club decided to salvage the Bugatti and auction it off for charity in 2009, with Mullin’s museum tabling the winning bid of $289,050.

For decades, there was a rumor about an Oldsmobile that fell through the ice of Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire in the 1930s, and remained at the bottom ever since. 

One curious diver, sharing his story via the Dive Winnipesaukee website, told of how he’d heard the tale in the 1950s or ’60s, thinking about it every summer until he became a certified scuba diver in 1981 so he could find the car himself. His first dive in 1991 was unsuccessful. Over time, and through local research, the diver found out that a man and a woman had been in the car when it went through the ice in 1937. The man had died, but the woman had been rescued.

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After continuing to search for information about where the car may have sunk into the lake, the diver finally found the car in 2004, about 25 feet underwater. After showing his photos to a General Motors Media Archive expert, it was confirmed to be either a 1929 or 1930 model of the Oldsmobile. To this day, the classic car is still underwater but the mystery has been solved. We know what happened to Oldsmobile, and now we also know the sad end for this rare car and its owner. 

Over in Oregon, a scuba dive team caught wind of a rumor about a woman who dumped her unfaithful boyfriend’s truck in a nearby river and decided to find out if there was truth to the tall tale. The team did indeed find a Chevrolet Luv pickup truck sitting under the water — believed to be the cheater’s truck — but even crazier, the truck was surrounded by five other cars. This included super popular vintage cars like a 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Fastback, and a Mazda RX-7 FB. 

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It’s not clear what led to this collection of cars to sink to the bottom of the river. The divers discussed whether it was possible to restore the classic Mazda, as a first generation RX-7 could be a fun project car for the right person — but it would require expertise and significant resources after it’s been submerged for so long.

A stolen car was found — but it was stolen 35 years ago. When Mirror Lake in West Cobb, near Atlanta, Georgia was drained, in 2019, it revealed the remains of a 1983 Pontiac Firebird. The Cobb County Police Department’s Underwater Search and Recovery Team went down to investigate the vehicle, only to discover that it was actually reported stolen back in 1989. After the car’s identity came to light it was pulled from the muddy depths. 

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Unfortunately no further details about the stolen car could be discovered, but what is apparent — and quite remarkable — is that the tires seem to have remained inflated for the whole time the classic car was submerged. The pictures, shared by Atlanta station 11 Alive, show a damaged vehicle that is missing its windshield and is covered, and filled, with a thick layer of mud. It’s unlikely anyone will have driven this 1983 Pontiac Firebird since it was exhumed.

A 1966 Chevy Impala was pulled out of the Pecatonica River and it contained the remains of two men who had been missing for 50 years. The sunken Impala (not pictured) was discovered by fishermen using sonar technology, according to NBC News, submerged in mud and water about 10 feet deep. When the car was finally on shore all these years later, over 100 human bones were found inside, and it was suspected that the bones belonged to Clarence Owens and Everette Hawley, who went missing in 1976, and had been seen driving a 1966 Chevrolet Impala before they disappeared. 

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Owens and Hawley were business partners that were last seen traveling to a farm auction, according to the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office. Owens was a salesperson and Hawley a real estate broker. At the time they went missing, they were 65 and 75 years old, respectively. The Winnebago County Coroner’s Office later confirmed the remains were of Owens and Hawley. 

While investigating a cold case, police discovered 32 vehicles under the surface of a lake near the Miami International Airport, including a number of vintage models — according to Fox News. The volunteer dive team who came across the vehicles has found 60 others underwater throughout the state of Florida that have been linked to crimes. To determine whether this discovery would lead to solving any mysteries, the cars were all removed from the watery graveyard, with the Public Information Officer speculating that they could be stolen or part of an insurance fraud scheme. 

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The graveyard had plenty of classic cars, including a Cadillac DeVille, a Ford Crown Victoria, and an Econoline E-350 (not pictured). The amount of time the vehicles may have been submerged has not been publicly disclosed, so it’s unclear if these cars were old when dumped or if the drowning happened when they were brand new off the lot.