The Rarest Of The Rare
Two rare things that get us really excited are steaks and cars. But while a rare steak is something any of us could easily get our hands on—the rare cars we're going to talk about here, will probably never be seen by any of us IRL. These aren't just rare cars—whether prototypes or custom-builds, these are cars of which there's only one model on the planet.
2017 Rolls-Royce Sweptail
Commissioned in 2013 by a Super-yachts and aircraft specialist, the design called for a two-seater coupe under a gigantic sloping panoramic glass roof. The Sweptail is based on the Phantom Coupé and took four years to hand-build. The car was also given the largest grill Rolls-Royce ever made and despite its coupe-ness, it certainly isn't lacking in power with its 6.6-litre V12 engine.
J Harwood Images, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2017 Rolls-Royce Sweptail
Not only was this beautiful specimen of an automobile a one-off—with a price tag of about $12.9 million, in 2017, it was the most expensive new automobile in the world. Sam Li, son of billionaire Hong Kong real estate mogul Samuel Tak Lee, is currently the proud owner of this one.
J Harwood Images, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2018 Ferrari SP38 Deborah
When it comes to their most exclusive cars, Ferrari doesn't just let anyone buy them—putting a bunch of written and unwritten rules in place for anyone hoping to be part of the VIP club with the brand. However, for those most special of customers, Ferrari put out a "Special Projects" program in 2007 that allowed these people to work with the company's design team to create amazing one-offs—which is exactly what the SP38 Deborah is.
Y.Leclercq, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
2018 Ferrari SP38 Deborah
While the powertrain and internals were based on the 488 GTB, the exterior of the car was completely custom designed (inspired by the F40). Even the color was custom. Ferrari dubbed it "Deborah red", and it is the only car to ever be painted said color.
Ank Kumar, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
2019 Bugatti La Voiture Noire
For those who don't speak French—"La Voiture Noir" translates to "The Black Car". But there is so much more to this amazing vehicle than its color. Unveiled at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, this magnificent one-off, designed by Bugatti designer Etienne Salomé, features a hand-built carbon fiber body with elongated front and back sections and six—count 'em, six—exhaust pipes. Although, the car they showed off at the show was just a display vehicle—the real version was, as they announced, still going to take another 2.5 years to build.
Y.Leclercq©, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
2019 Bugatti La Voiture Noire
The car sold for £9.5 million and in 2021 news reports had it registered in Zurich, Switzerland and owned by a member of the family of the late Ferdinand Piëch (Piëch is the one who commissioned it—although he passed away before it was completed). Yes, there were rumors and reports that Cristiano Ronaldo owned La Voiture Noir—but those were false reports and have been denied by Ronaldo's people.
Alexandre Prevot, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
1931-38 Hispano-Suiza J12
The J12 was the biggest and most expensive car ever built by the Hispano-Suiza company. Manufactured between 1931 and 1938, the J12 is pretty unique to this list—as it wasn't a prototype or a one-off. In fact, many were produced in those seven years. So, how is it such a singularly unique vehicle? Well, that's because each one was different...
QuinlanTerry, Wikimedia Commons
1931-38 Hispano-Suiza J12
You see, when it came to the J12, all that Hispano-Suiza built was the chassis. It was up to the buyers to go and find an outside coachbuilder to build a body to put on that chassis—making each one different from all the others.
questa_ta, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2010 Pagani Zonda Uno
As the "Uno" in the name suggests, there was only one of these built—and it was meant as a fond farewell to the Zonda model. The car used the same engine as the regular Zonda AMG-sourced 7.3L V12 engine, but when it came to the bodywork, that's where things got very Uno—taking its inspiration from the Zonda Cinque and R (both relatively rare in their own rights).
2010 Pagani Zonda Uno
The Uno was commissioned by a member of the Qatari Royal family—but after a year they were done with it, and sold it to a Chinese businessman in Shanghai.
Ford Super Chief
Imagine if your Ford truck could run on either gasoline, bio-ethanol, or hydrogen—and could switch between fuel types on the go. Well, that was the promise made by the Ford Super Chief—a concept car the company unveiled back in the mid-aughts. This Tri-Flex fuel technology was big for Ford and they had plans to produce hundreds of thousands of biofuel vehicles, including the Super Chief. But...
Rusty Cooper, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Ford Super Chief
But the 2008 financial crisis hit—which is one theory as to why the Super Chief never made it beyond the concept car stage. The recession forced many companies to pull back from non-core projects and many think that's what happened to the Super Chief and the Tri-Flex Fuel system.
Michael K, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Lamborghini Aventador J
Built in 2012 and sold in 2012 (immediately after being unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show)—Lambo fanatics are well-aware of this gorgeous one-off. Like the standard Aventador, the "J" was built with a 6.5L naturally aspirated V12 engine and could do 0-60 in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it 2.8 seconds.
Dwrgodden, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Lamborghini Aventador J
And speaking of 2.8... The car sold, back in 2012, for $2.8 million and word on the street currently puts it in the hands of a collector in Marbella, Spain—this one-of-a-kind car was last spotted on the road in 2016.
2010 Alfa Romeo Zagato TZ3 Corsa
As car enthusiasts know, Zagato and Alfa Romeo have worked together in the past—most famously on the TZ1 and TZ2 racing cars in the 1960s. Well, a while back, German collector and mega-fan of the brand, Martin Kapp bought up both the TZ1 and TZ2—and then, in the late-aughts, he commissioned a TZ3.
Brian Snelson, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2010 Alfa Romeo Zagato TZ3 Corsa
Using a carbon-fiber monocoque and hand-crafted aluminum panels, the TZ3 weighed in at a rather light 850 kg (1,873 lbs) and made its debut at the 2010 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. And for those wondering: It can do 0-62 mph in just 3.5 seconds.
richard, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Ferrari P80/C
Question: What car had the longest development time of any Ferrari one-off ever produced? Answer: The Ferrari P80/C. We don't know who commissioned it back in the mid-2010s, but we do know they wanted the design of this track-only race car to be inspired by the Ferrari 330 P3/P4 and the 1966 Dino 206 S.
Arione Leonardo, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Ferrari P80/C
Reports say that even the powertrain was customized to this collector's wishes as well—and since it was race track-only, and didn't need to be road legal, the design team had pretty much carte blanche as to what they could do. We don't know who the collector is or how much he paid for it (although we're thinking "a lot" is probably a good guess).
Maserati Birdcage 75th Pininfarina
To celebrate their 75th birthday, the Pininfarina design studio created this now-iconic Maserati Birdcage concept car with the one-piece canopy and no doors (the driver could just lift the roof up to get out). They even got together with Motorola to implement some very cool 3D rendering that cut the development time of the car down to just two months.
Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Maserati Birdcage 75th Pininfarina
The unique styling and design earned the Maserati Birdcage 75th Pininfarina multiple awards—including Best Concept Award at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show and the Louis Vuitton Classic Concept Award in 2006.
And while we're talking Pininfarina...
Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Pininfarina Cambiano
Known for their work designing cars for other companies, Pininfarina decided to create a concept car of their own back in 2012—the Pininfarina Cambiano. The car was a diesel-electric hybrid and the response was very positive. So much so that Pininfarina seriously considered going into production with the car under their own name. But...
Pininfarina Cambiano
A "high-performance, low-emission luxury [car]" seems like a no-brainer today—but back in 2012, it seemed that the Pininfarina Cambiano was maybe just a few years too early. The company's then-CEO Sergio Angori said that he was "evaluating the potential" of a small production run. But apparently buyer interest just wasn't there, so it never happened.
Sergei Sobolev, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
2017 Ken Okuyama Kode 0
Car enthusiasts will recognize the name Ken Okuyama as the automobile designer behind such iconic cars as the Honda NSX and the Ferrari Enzo. These days he runs his own design studio and back in 2017 he gave the world one of his most eye-catching designs...The Kode 0. Built for $1.5 million, the Kode 0 is an homage to the wedge-shaped style of the 1970s and cars like the Lancia Stratos and Lamborghini Countach.
Original Productions, Jay Leno's Garage (2015–2022)
2017 Ken Okuyama Kode 0
We don't know who Okuyama built this custom one-off for—but it was reported that whoever it was sold it after owning it for just a year and putting less than 1400 miles on the odometer. The car's new owner has also remained anonymous, but the car did make an appearance on Jay Leno's Garage for the world to see.
Original Productions, Jay Leno's Garage (2015–2022)
Maybach Exelero
This beast of a vehicle wasn't built for a collector or as a concept car. Instead, the Maybach Exelero was actually built as a test vehicle. Or more specifically, it was built to test tires—Fulda tires. The German division of Goodyear needed a heavy and powerful car to test their tires and they asked Mercedes-Benz to build them one. They gave them the 2-seater Maybach Exelero with a 5.9L engine, and twin turbochargers that could push the power up to 691 horses.
Simon Davison, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Maybach Exelero
The car remained a test vehicle for a few years—after which European entrepreneur and car collector Arnaud Massartic purchased it for his collection. Rapper Birdman did make headlines when he claimed to have bought the car for $8 million, but the money never actually changed hands and reports have the car still in the possession of Massartic.
LSDSL, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Hispano-Suiza H6B Dubonnet Xenia
The beautiful Hispano-Suiza H6B Dubonnet Xenia is a one-off luxury vehicle that began as the Hispano-Suiza H6B. French pilot and racing car driver André Dubonnet had a need for speed and a brain for innovation. Innovation that led to his creation of a steering and suspension system, known as the système Dubonnet—which he installed on a H6B chassis in 1932. From there Dubonnet moved on to aerodynamics and gained more speed and better fuel efficiency.
Sadly, in 1936 Dubonnet's second wife, Xenia Howard-Johnston, passed away...
Alden Jewell, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Hispano-Suiza H6B Dubonnet Xenia
After losing his wife he decided to develop that H6B prototype car even more as a tribute to Xenia—even naming the new creation after her. This Dubonnet Xenia had the système Dubonnet suspension, and the new aerodynamics—but all in a brand new body design drawn by Jean Édouard Andreau and built by coachbuilder Saoutchik.
The car survived WWII and the invasion of France, and has changed hands a few times in the decades since. However, since 2003 it has been proudly owned by American businessman Peter W. Mullin and on display at the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California.
Alden Jewell, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Rinspeed sQuba
Don't you hate it when you're driving along and you realize that the place you have to get to is located on the other side of a large body of water? Well, you know who wouldn't hate that? Someone who owned a Rinspeed sQuba—which the company described in a press release as the "world's first submersible car."
Rinspeed sQuba
If you're thinking that this all feels very James Bond, you aren't alone. In fact Rinspeed founder and CEO Frank M. Rinderknecht has admitted that 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me was an inspiration for the creation of this concept car—a zero-emission, all-electric vehicle with a water- and salt-resistant and marine-grade jets for the underwater part.
As of 2021 there has been no news as to whether this "toy for rich people" will ever actually make it into production.
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