Incredibly Rare Classic Cars

While many of the rarest cars in the world seldom leave the garage, certain ones make cameos at car shows in an effort to win a gold ribbon. Some cars are rare because only a few of them were made, other cars are even rarer because they sit in a garage, hibernating for decades. These 12 cars are a combination of both. Many were scarcely produced and some have crawled out of the grave to impress car enthusiasts around the world.

Posted by David Galbraith

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1913 Helica

"The Helica was invented, developed, and manufactured by the Frenchman Marcel Leyat, between 1913 and 1926. Thirty are said to have been built, though I am not at present sure if this includes prototypes, of which there were several; only a few are shown here. Certainly some were built for sale, and two of these survive. "

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1905 Rolls Royce 15hp

"The Rolls-Royce 15 hp was one of four cars to be produced as a result of an agreement of 23 December 1904 between Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Badged as a Rolls-Royce, the 15hp was produced by Royce's company, Royce Ltd., at its factory in Trafford Park, Manchester. It was sold exclusively by Rolls' motor dealership, C.S.Rolls & Co., at a price of GBP500. The 15hp was exhibited at the Paris Salon in December 1904, along with the 10hp, 20hp and engine for the 30hp models, but as the new three cylinder engine was not ready the chassis was incomplete.

The car has a top speed of 39 mph (63 km/h). There is a transmission brake fitted behind the gearbox operated by foot pedal and internal expanding drum brakes on the back axle operated by the handbrake lever. Springing is by semi-elliptic leaf springs on both front and rear axles with an additional cross-ways helper spring on the rear of some of the cars. Artillery type wheels were fitted."

Out of the six that were produced, only one car is known to survive.

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1937 Bugatti 57S

The Bugatti Type 57S Atalante number 57502 is one of a batch of rare French sports coupe automobiles built in 1937 by the Bugatti company, a version of the Bugatti Type 57. Of the 710 Type 57 cars built, only 43 were Type 57S and only 17 of those were produced with the in-house Bugatti Atalante coupe body style (termed coachwork), (not to be confused with the Type 57 Atlantic body).

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1937 Horch 853 Voll & Ruhrbeck Sport Cabriolet

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1931 Packard 833 Sport Phaeton

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1948 Aston Martin DB1

"The Aston Martin 2-Litre Sports was a sports car sold by Aston Martin from 1948 to 1950. It was the first product of the company under new director, David Brown, and is retrospectively known as the DB1. The car debuted at the 1948 London Motor Show and was based on the "Atom" prototype. Just 15 were sold."

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1954 Oldsmobile F-88

"1954 Oldsmobile F-88 concept car was a 2-passenger model with recessed sports car-type seats, a panoramic windshield, jet airfoil wheel disks and a recessed license plate. The instrument panel started at the center of the dash panel and ran vertically to the floor.

Corvette-inspired descendant of the ’53 Starfire in brown metallic with pigskin upholstery, and powered by a 250 bhp 324 V-8, the F-88 featured cone-shaped clear plastic headlamp covers and a functional hood scoop. It was strictly a dream car, since the lukewarm sales of the Corvette precluded any sports car cloning by the other GM divisions. "

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1948 Tucker Sedan

"The first Tucker ever produced was a prototype sedan, known as the "Tin Goose". Fifty-eight frames and bodies were built at the factory. From these parts, 36 sedans were finished before the factory was closed. Since the factory closed, an additional 14 sedans have been completed for a total of 51. The majority of these vehicles are in excellent condition. When the cars appear at auction, which is rare, they command prices attained by only a few marquee cars. Tucker #1038 sold in August 2008 at RM's Monterey auction for the record-setting price of $1,017,500. Tucker # 1041 sold at the Clars Auction on June 7, 2009 for $750,000. With the auction house buyers premium added, the total price for the sale of the car was $853,100. The car was on the auction block for a total of 7 1/2 minutes. The previous owner paid $5,000 for the car in 1970."

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1954 Jaguar D-Type

"The Jaguar D-Type, like its predecessor the C-Type, was a factory-built race car. Although it shared the basic straight-6 XK engine design (initially 3.4L and eventually uprated to 3.8 litres in the late fifties) with the C-Type, the majority of the car was radically different. Perhaps its most ground-breaking innovation was the introduction of a monocoque chassis, which not only introduced aircraft-style engineering to competition car design, but also an aeronautical understanding of aerodynamic efficiency. The D-Type was introduced purely for competition, but after Jaguar withdrew from racing, the company offered the remaining, unfinished chassis as the road going Jaguar XKSS, by making changes to the racers: adding an extra seat, another door, a full-width windshield and primitive folding top, as concessions to practicality. However, on the evening of 12 February 1957, a fire broke out at the Browns Lane plant destroying nine of the twenty five cars that had already been completed or in semi-completion. Production is thought to have included 53 customer D-Types, 18 factory team cars, and 16 XKSS versions."

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1962 Ferrari 250 GTO

"The Ferrari 250 GTO is a sports car that Ferrari made for racing in the early 1960s.

The numerical part of its name denotes the displacement in cubic centimeters of each cylinder of the engine, whilst GTO stands for 'Gran Turismo Omologato', Italian for 'Grand Touring Homologated.'

When new, the GTO commanded an $18,000 purchase price in the United States, and buyers had to be personally approved by Enzo Ferrari and his dealer for North America, Luigi Chinetti.

36 cars were made in the years '62/'63. In 1964 'Series II' was introduced, which had a slightly different look. Three such cars were made, and four older 'Series I' were given a 'Series II' body. It brought the total of GTOs produced to 39.

In 2004, Sports Car International placed the 250 GTO eighth on a list of Top Sports Cars of the 1960s, and nominated it the top sports car of all time. Similarly, Motor Trend Classic placed the 250 GTO first on a list of the 'Greatest Ferraris of all time'."

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1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa

"In all, 34 250 Testa Rossas were built, from 1956 through 1961. The phrase 'Testa Rossa' means 'redhead.' The most well known, the 250TR, was produced from 1957 to 1958; only 2 factory cars and 19 customer cars were built. After the 250 GTO, the 250 Testa Rossa is the second most valuable Ferrari model, often valued at more than US$8,000,000. A 1957 250 Testa Rossa sold on May 17, 2009 for $12,100,000, a new world record price for a car."

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1972 Porsche 916

"The Porsche 916 never made it to production. 11 models were produced in 1972, and all were considered "pre-production." The car, as you can see, has a 914 body. Flared fenders were added, as were 15×7" wheels with 185/70×15" tires. The 916 had a steel roof, instead of a targa top, for added rigidity. It had fiberglass bumper panels, that were car color.

Underneath was the 911S's 6 cylinder, 190 horsepower engine, giving the 916 a top speed of 145 mph (233 kph). Stiffer springs, pressurized competition shocks, front and rear swaybars, and 4 wheel vented discs added to the package. Weighing 165 lbs less than the 911S, the 916 became the quickest accelerating Porsche yet, going from 0-60 in well under 7 seconds.

Only one 916 was shipped to the US. It was destined for Brumos in Florida, where the climate was so hot that A/C had to be special ordered on the 916. That car was the only one to leave the factory with the A/C option."

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