30 Truly Strange Cars That Made Us Do A Double Take On The Open Road

1929 Cadillac Hearse had huge ornate work with a lot of design elements borrowed from the gothic design. The car has had a spooky feel to it – and looked as if it was made for a member from The Addams Family.

This car, in our opinion, will look nice in a gothic music video or maybe for taking a ride in the neighborhood during Halloween. 1929 Cadillac Hearse is said to be designed by Harley Earl, when he was serving as the Design Chief at GM.

1934 Packard Myth boattail coupe was designed by Strother MacMinn and built by Fran Roxas, Scott and Dave Knight. The Knights trio took the help of cutting edge computer technology to produce the stunning bodywork.

1934 Packard Myth Boattail Coupe was however built in 2000 and was completed by 2010. The car’s chassis and full body are customized. Its other specifications include 500 cu. in. modified Packard V12 engine with three Weber two-barrel carburetors, GM 4L60E four-speed automatic transmission, dropped tubular front axle, 9-inch Ford rear end with four-link rear suspension.

Ford’s 1962 Thunderbird Mod took inspiration from the Algonquian folklore, which regards Thunderbird as the mythical creature that controls the upper world. The thunderbird as per the Algonquian culture is considered to be a supernatural entity of power.

Ford began producing Thunderbird Mod car in 1955 – first as a sporty two-seater convertible. The 1962 model of thunderbird featured a unique fiberclass tonneau cover for the rear seats. Called T-bird for short, the car’s gleaming design gave it a bullet like appearance.

Toyota’s EX III was the third car in its EX series after EX I and EX II (Type A, Type B and Type C). The car was first unveiled to the public in a 1969 Tokyo Motor Show. Toyota EX III was a gran Turismo for two passengers.

The car had an extended bonnet, tapered rear, and a peaked front. It also featured giant exhaust outlets that indicated the existence of a gas turbine.

Fiat 600 Multipla Eden Roc was a beach car designed by Pininfarina. The car was unveiled at the Turin Motor Show in 1956. However, only three models of the same were ever made – making it one of the super exclusive models from Fiat’s stable.

This stylish transporter drew inspiration from the yacht – and had curved slats made of teakwood. Fiat 600 Multipla Eden Roc was the brainchild of Gianni Agnelli, who wanted to own a stylish car to ferry around his guests from his palatial property to the beachside.

Chevy El Camino Ultimus was created by Tom Golden in the 1960s. Golden with his fired up imagination took inspiration from Chevy’s 1959 El Camino model and turned it to a cooler version that was the Ultimus.

The Ultimus featured a dash-mounted television screen, center armrest with telephone, tape recorder, a fully stocked mini-bar with every major brand of liquor, and bartending equipment. The Ultimus featured a hydraulic operated trunk with gas, water, and oil cans that were upholstered luxuriously.

Beetle truck was originally a pickup truck (but, a lot cooler than the other pickup trucks available in the market at that time.) Though VM halted the production of Beetle Truck completely in 2019, they are available via Smyth Performance.

Since 2019, Smyth Performance has been supplying Beetle Truck production kits for the DIY-ers. As per the various reports, their beetle truck kit is one of the highest selling ute (a vehicle designed to travel over rough ground) conversion kits.

Volkswagen Brubaker Box was a kit car that was designed to fit on the chassis of a Volkswagen Beetle. The car was conceptualized by Curtis Brubaker, thus earning the name Brubaker Box.

The Brubaker Box finds various references in popular culture – and can be seen in shows and films such as Car Kings, Ark II and Soylent Green. Recently Brubaker Box was in the news, as it was revived by two entrepreneurs: Tomo Bullum and Dale Davis in the form of reproduction kit.

1965 Peel Trident was a micro car that more or less resembled a shiny red toy car in many ways. The car looked like a mini spaceship and was called ‘The Terrestrial Flying Saucer’ on countless occasions.

It looked like a car the Jetsons characters would drive. 1965 Peel Trident was also seen in many shows and films such as Dragons Den, Monster Garage, and Top Gear. The car was launched in 1964 at British Motorcycle Show. In 2011, it was revived again by Peel Engineering.

Created by Rich Weissenhel, DeLorean Limo began as a drawing and an order for bespoke stainless steel frame when Rich met John DeLorean at the DeLorean Car Show in 2000. The stretch limo however took more than a decade (12 years!) to complete.

Rich wanted to give John a luxury ride in his creation. Sadly, his dream remained a dream as John passed away in 2005. Besides making a limo, Rich has made DeLorean truck, DeLorean hovercraft and a DeLorean convertible.

It’s quite difficult to ride a 1998 McLean Monowheel as it tests the patience of its driver, often requiring hours and hours of endless practice before one can gain mastery over it. Mclean Monowheel is the invention of Kerry Mclean who began testing single wheeled motorcycles in mid 1970s.

Kerry spent more than 30 years polishing up his concept. However, this concept is nothing new as many automobile designers have been enchanted with monowheel in the past.

Euclid Beach Rocket Car was built by Ron Heitman. The car is a perfect tribute to the concept of best out of waste, and to the popular saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.’’

When Heitman came across old Euclid beach rocket ships from the Cleveland amusement park; he turned it into this unique car. The 28 feet long Euclid Beach Rocket Car can comfortably seat up to ten adults or fifteen children. This car is also street legal and can be driven up to speed of 136 mph.

The Citroen C10 Prototype was a part of Citroen Prototype C vehicles created by Citroen in between 1955 to 1956. The Citreon C10 Prototype was designed by Andre Lefebyre, and was called Citroen Coccinelle in French, which meant ladybird.

The Citreon C 10 still exists. The design team was given a design brief to produce a super light small vehicle based on the shape of water droplets. The result was a car that was feather light and weighed just 382 kgs (the average weight of car is 1000+ kg.)

Royal N Ribet Square Wheel was introduced in the market in 1947. The vehicle had a square wheel – before the circular wheels came into vogue. The tractor was the invention of Royal N Riblet, an automobile genius who possessed an acute interest in farm machinery since childhood.

The Riblet Square Wheel promised to fit into the make of any tractor and deliver results on an uneven land texture or a snow covered path in different speed levels.

VM Beetle Rolls Royce looked like VM Beetle and Rolls Royce fused together. It was introduced to cater to the economical segment of buyers who had aspirations and wanted the ‘look and feel’ of a luxury car such as Rolls Royce.

But this didn’t sit down well with Rolls Royce as it once sued a company for making Beetles look like ‘cheaper’ versions of their cars. Not taking sides here, but they were very well within their legal rights to slap a lawsuit like this!

The Pulse Litestar Autocycle was manufactured from 1985 to 1990. A total of 347 autocycles were manufactured during this six year timeframe. The autocycle was branded as the vehicle of the future.

Its position as ‘vehicle of future’ was further cemented after it made an appearance in future themed movie Back to Future II. To us, the autocycle looks as if its bullet, rocket, airplane, and spaceship – all rolled into one.

2003 Jeep Treo debuted in late 2003 at Tokyo Motor Show. It featured dual electric motors, automatic transmission and 2+1 seating. The Jeep Treo was billed as an ‘urban active jeep’ – and the jeep from the next generation. The jeep was designed to operate in all kinds of environments from rugged to smooth.

Its name Treo (which meant three in certain languages) was based on the concept of 2+1 seating arrangement. Treo’s interiors were spacious with the generous usage of tactile surfaces and textures.

The Ferves Ranger first made its appearance in the 1966 Turin Motor Show. The car was positioned as an off-road derivative of Fiat 500 and Fiat 600. Designed by Carlo Ferrari, its name was derived from ‘Ferrari Special Vehicles.’

In 1968, they were offered in two and four wheel drive. The car had a maximum speed limit of 45mph. The company also offered a cargo version of Ferves Ranger with a load carrying capacity of 300 kgs.

Imagine driving this and grabbing all the attention you possibly can. This Datsun Motorcycle looks like a hybrid version of a bike and car that are merged into one, yet retaining their distinct identities.

Its front half resembles a bike, while its back half resembles a part of a four wheeler. We have a question though – how one is supposed to drive this? We are genuinely confused and this image is confusing us even more!

Daihatsu Midget II was introduced as a single-seat mini truck by Daihatsu. It was later (re)introduced as a mini-van. The Midget was first launched in 1957 as DK/DS/MP series. They were collectively referred to as the first generation of Daihatsu Midget.

The second generation of Daihatsu Midget was introduced from 1996 to 2001 as Kei vans. Daihatsu Midget II is therefore a second generation vehicle in Daihatsu Midget series. The second generation midget came in air conditioning options and became very popular among the bar owners of Japan.

The 1983 Lincoln QuickSilver was built in collaboration with the Italian design house Carrozzeria Ghia and the automotive company Lincoln. Lincoln QuickSilver made its debut in 1983 at Geneva Auto Show.

The car seated five passengers at a time and had a teardrop design. The specification of this stylish car included 3.0 litre V6 Ford engine. In 2013, this ‘rare’ car was sold for a measly sum of eight thousand dollars.

1990 Lincoln Mark VII Ute was originally called Lincoln Continental Mark VII. It was a rear wheel drive luxury coupe that was first introduced in the year 1984. After rebranding the cars to Lincoln Mark VII, Lincoln also brought in a few design changes in car’s subsequent models from 1986 onwards.

The 1990 Lincoln Mark VII model, for instance, had a driver side airbag and three point seatbelts to the outdoor rear seats. Lincoln, however, ended the production of its Mark VII cars in 1992 after selling a total of 1, 90,832 cars.

Sbarro Super 8 was a successor of Sbarro Super 12 (launched in 1981). Sbarro Super 8 came in flaming red, plush tan brown interior and exuded an ultra luxe vibe. The fact that Sbarro manufactured only one Super 8 added to its exclusivity appeal in the car collector’s community.

Sbarro Super 8’s specifications included five speed manual gearbox, 3.0 litre V8 engine from a Ferrari 308 GTB and a fiberglass body.

Toyota LiteAce launched in 1970 adding variants in the years to come. The car was developed by Toyota Auto Body, a Toyota’s subcontracting subsidiary. The 1988 Toyota LiteAce is the third generation car in the LiteAce series.

1988 versions also bore a few minor changes such as increased body length, a redesigned front and rear, from its earlier models. The third generation (3G) cars also came with four roof type viz standard roof, high roof, Skylite roof, and a high roof for the SW grade.

Toyota Previa Supercharged (SC) was a minivan that was produced for three generations of a family. Toyota ended up producing Previa SG in 2019. Previa SC debuted in 1990 and was designed by Tokuo Fukuichi and David Doyle.

The 1995 version is the first generation of Toyota Previa SC cars. All the first-generation cars had rear and all-wheel-drive versions with a seating configuration of seven to eight people per ride.

Volvo Phantom tries to go luxury in terms of design and specifications. The Phantom though being on the lighter side is long and wide than the rest of Volvo models. It thus ends taking up a major chunk of parking space in your garage.

The LED day time running lamps of this car is designed like Thor’s hammer while the Nappa leather upholstery in the car’s interior gives it a snugly vibe.

Ford Skyranger was produced in 1991. Only twenty of these skyrangers were produced to date making this car, a collector’s item. The car that you see is one of the earliest modified first gen rangers from Ford.

These were built by ASC Corporation at the behest of Ford, before Ford decided to change its mind and ordered to scrap its production entirely. If you have one of these lying in your garage think through before you sell it off as they might fetch you a super handsome price in the collector’s market.

Names can be misleading and Fiat Panda is proof of that. The car is nowhere cute as a panda in terms of performance or even design as per many car reviews on websites. Fiat Panda UTE has a 1.2 litre engine while its shape can be best described as a squirrel.

Interestingly, the model is named after Empanada, the Roman Goddess of travel. It was first designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro in 1980, which means that has been in existence for 40 years.

Ford Model T was the first car that could be afforded by the middle class population. The car was lovingly called tin Lizzie, leaping Lena among a host of other names. Though it was a roaring success, Ford discontinued its production in 1927.

Though the car was affordable; its performance was sub-par. Its brakes didn’t function properly making Ford Model T an extremely dangerous car. Nonetheless, it went on to be ‘one of the top ten car models of all time to be sold.’

There are two-wheelers. Then there are four-wheelers. Between the binaries of ‘two’ and ‘four’ wheeler lie three-wheelers – aka Reliant Robin. Offered in several versions in its thirty years production cycle, Reliant Robin is the second most popular fiberglass car in the history of cars (is it its funny looks? We wonder!)

It is something we would want Mr. Bean to drive – with his partner in crime (teddy) of course! The car finds mention in many shows such as Absolutely Fabulous where it is referred to as plastic pig. In 2019, it was featured in Amazon Prime’s Good Omens.