Creating the list of the top five rarest cars is not easy, since the category is so great and wide any car that has been built in limited numbers, modified to suit the owner’s tastes, auctioned to a very expensive price, or is a remnant of a vintage or classic edition, may qualify. So to satisfy all the conditions, perhaps two of each category may be sufficient.
Price
The actor James Coburn’s 1961 Ferrari 250GT Spyder sold in 2008 at an incredible $10.9 million, which makes it the most expensive car ever. Only 36 units were built, so while it does not make the car very rare, its price does. The Spyder was considered to be one of the best-looking cars ever built, and looks similar to James Bond’s Jaguar.
Next is the 1931 Bugatti Royale Kellner Coupe, which sold at a whopping $9.7 million in 1987in a Christie’s Albert Hall auction. (It may be worth double that today.) The car boasts of a 12.7-liter aircraft engine. Only six were built, which makes it truly rare.
Number
In terms of numbers built for a stock car, the 1967 and the 1970 Dodge Coronet R/T Convertibles top the list. Only two were built for each model. Of course, many racing cars were of single-car editions, but they were built for other purposes than selling to the public.
American Muscle
This means the rarest and most powerful American stock cars, and the best were the 1969 ZL1 Camaro, and the 1968 L88 Corvette. The Camaro packs 500 horses under its hood that enables it to accelerate from 0 to 60 miles in 5.3 seconds, making it a popular muscle car for drag racing.
Meanwhile the Corvette has an engine made for racing that produces 550 horsepower and pushes the car to 170mph top speed. Because General Motors does not want this car on the road due to its muscle, it was offered without the airconditioning or radio as standard features.
Futurism
Among the American cars that were considered ‘advanced’ in design in their time, two concept cars come to mind: the 1954 Oldsmobile F-88 and the 1938 Phantom Corsair. The F-88 was built by General Motor’s Oldsmobile Division and was a radical departure from the trend at the time. It sat low, had pigskin upholstery, large front grill, the rear deck was unusual, and it has a 250-hp V8 ‘Rocket’ engine. Only one was built, although three other versions followed, but these were different from the original.
Among the American cars that were considered ‘advanced’ in design in their time, two concept cars come to mind: the 1954 Oldsmobile F-88 and the 1938 Phantom Corsair. The F-88 was built by General Motor’s Oldsmobile Division and was a radical departure from the trend at the time. It sat low, had pigskin upholstery, large front grill, the rear deck was unusual, and it has a 250-hp V8 ‘Rocket’ engine. Only one was built, although three other versions followed, but these were different from the original.
Meantime, the Corsair was anti-trending in that it was a completely closed car; even the front wheels were covered. The nose was lowered, the headlights were small and its body was made of beaten aluminum. Entry was electrically controlled via panels above the windows. But it also boasted of features now standard in contemporary designs: a console to tell the driver a door is open, or the radio or lights were on, and an altimeter. However, the design made it look like a gigantic bug on casters.
Sadly, the creator Rust Heinz died in a car crash after the car made its promotional debut, so only one was ever built, but the concept was truly futuristic for the 1930s.
There are of course other rare cars, and they might be cited in other lists, but those above are the ones in this.
Author Bio:
This was a guest post by Peter from Fozmula a producer of liquid level sensors and measurement equipment for automobiles.
This was a guest post by Peter from Fozmula a producer of liquid level sensors and measurement equipment for automobiles.