Welcome to the Weekly Weird and Wonderful, a curated collection of standouts from among the 1,300+ auctions live on the site this week. Your long-suffering BaT authors have done the hard work of looking at Every. Single. Auction on the site, and we’ve come away with the vehicles and stories we want to share as well as the screen-induced eyestrain that we do not. So please delight in the selection of vehicles below, and if you enjoy yourself, why not take the plunge and subscribe to get updates when next week’s post goes live?
1983 Lancia 037 Evolution II
The Lancia 037 was an absolute legend on the Group B rallying stage, bringing the rear-wheel-drive platform to its fullest expression. This 037 was delivered in Corsa specification and spent its racing career with Spanish cider mogul and gentleman driver Jose Bernardo Cardin. By 1986 the car had evolved into Evo II specification, and it claimed victory in that year’s Rally San Agustin.
After a dormant couple of decades, Cardin campaigned the car in several vintage rallies before selling it on to a new US owner. The car wears a version of its El Gaitero Sidra livery and is nicely presented by the folks over at @OTSandCo, who have captured video of it kicking up dirt for us.
Ex–Neil Peart 1965 Maserati Mistral 3500 Spyder
In Neil Peart’s world, snares and toms outnumbered cars by a ratio of about 3,000 to 1. But he was nevertheless proud enough of his garage to publish a coffee table book about his collection, entitled Silver Surfers: Sports Cars of the Sixties. This Mistral Spyder was one of seven vehicles in the collection, and spent its time hanging out with Peart’s Ghibli, Lamborghini Miura, Jaguar XKE, C2 Corvette, Aston Martin DB4, and 289 Cobra. Oddly enough, the Mistral has no radio, but that’s probably for the best—it makes plenty of its own good noises, and we’d feel pretty self-conscious drumming on the wheel.
1953 Porsche 356 Custom Limousine
This might be the rearmost rear-engine Porsche we’ve ever listed. This oddball stretch looks exactly like what a Porschephile might commission for his daughter’s wedding, and indeed that is exactly what happened; Porsche collector John Dixon tapped Don “The Egyptian” Boeke (so called for his birthplace of Egypt, Ohio) for the build—a marked departure from Boeke’s typical kustom style. But Boeke knew what he was doing, and surgically dismantled three or four cars (including a basketcase bent-window Pre-A coupe) in order to source the panels he needed for this German centipede. The interior work looks every bit as tailored as any Rolls or Benz from the era, and the car stays in character with German gauges, semaphore turn indicators, and a traditional 356 parcel shelf at the back of the cabin. The fellas at the back of the reception hall have been cracking wise since the auction started, so if you’re here for the jokes, scroll down to the comments on the auction.
Prototype Callaway-Turbocharged 1984 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3 5-Speed and 1987 Alfa Romeo Milano Gold Callaway Twin Turbo
We’ve noted many times that Reeves Callaway spent a good 10 years turbocharging European performance cars before he struck gold with the Corvette. The Tons of Gas Collection currently live on the site contains many wonderful examples of Callaway’s early work, and these two cars are especially noteworthy. The 190E 2.3 is a one-off prototype collaboration between Callaway Engineering, Bilstein, Recaro, and BBS. When placed beside the 190E 2.5 homologation special, it’s hard to tell the difference, but this car began as a regular SOHC 190E, and became a sort of late-blooming sister to the factory hot rod. The Alfa Milano Callaway was another car that closely parallelled a homologation special, in this case the Alfa Romeo 75 Turbo Evolutione sold in Europe. Callaway’s spec was a little hairier than Alfa’s 1.8-liter four with a single turbo; without the constraints of displacement-based tax penalties, he was able to bolt twin IHI turbochargers and air-to-air intercoolers right on to the stock 2.5-liter Busso V6. The car now wears a Turbo Evoluzione-style body kit, HRE wheels, and host of other aftermarket goodies.
Widebody Euro 1987 Volkswagen Scirocco 5-Speed
OK, one more from the Tons of Gas Collection, but this is a car that was developed an ocean away from Mr. Callaway’s workshop. This Scirocco wears a body kit from the nascent Rieger Design und Tuning, and has more scoops than a Baskin-Robbins staffed by tabloid journalists. The ostentatious ’80s flavors continue inside the cabin with white leather upholstery, a polished roll cage, and custom audio equipment everywhere.
1990 Ford C8000 & 1996 Damon Hornet Travel Trailer
This former fire apparatus turned camper hauler is a Ford C8000, which in 1990 still looked much like it had back in the ’60s. A 26’ Damon Hornet travel trailer rides out back in a matching avocado green and white. Of course, as a former fire truck, the Ford retains its rearward-facing exterior seats—the seller says the seat belts are still there underneath, information the next owner can choose to take advantage of or not at their discretion.
1984 Fiat 131 Racing Volumetrico Abarth
Fiat had begun experimenting with supercharging by the mid-1970s, and their labors made it into production with models including the Supermirafiori Volumetrico and the Racing Volumetrico. This 131 is one of fewer than 50 second-series, late-production Racing models given the Abarth treatment, with a Volumex-supercharged 1,995cc twin-cam four-pot, larger front brakes, an anti-roll bar, and sporty suspension, among other things. Catch this little hot rod Fiat out of the UK!
1953 Alfa Romeo 1900C Sprint Coupe by Touring 5-Speed
What’s not to love about a beautifully crafted, coachbuilt Alfa Romeo? The carmaker handed their 1900 Sprint to both Pininfarina and Touring to build cabriolet and coupe versions, respectively. This Touring-bodied Sprint was built on the shorter Corto platform and features the coachbuilder’s famous Superleggera construction and Tipo II cues such as shorter doors and raised door handles.
1996 Toyota Classic
Retro styling was alive and well in the 1990s, though the Toyota Classic was a throwback to the very beginning, and referenced the company’s first passenger vehicle—the 1936 AA. The AA itself was inspired by the contemporary DeSoto Airflow, whose Art Deco styling later influenced the PT Cruiser—automotive design inception! Toyota produced just 100 examples of their Classic retromobile.
Pakistani “Truck Art” Vespa
This Vespa would have been a small canvas for the artist who decorated it, as this style of customization is more often found on large cargo trucks in Pakistan. Every last inch is covered in geometric patterns, floral themes, and vignettes of birds, landscapes, big cats, and other subjects. We imagine this paint job took a long time, and we can’t imagine how much work goes into painting an entire big rig. This is a new automotive subculture for us, and you’d better believe we’re going to go right down that rabbit hole as soon as we get a minute.
Honorable Mentions:
1978 Ford Pinto Squire Wagon
Today, the era of Pinto-bashing is mostly behind us, and let us put it to rest once and for all with this fresh Squire wagon. There is nothing but love in the comments of this auction—after all, the Pinto was a lightweight, affordable, and surprisingly spry RWD economy car that came along when the world needed it. Plus, this car is from 1978, and by that time Ford had remedied the much-hyped exploding fuel tank design.
1989 Chevrolet S-10 Tahoe Extended Cab V6 4×4 Baja
Sticker price for this 4×4 Baja S-10 was $17,357—$46,818 in today’s dollars—and roughly on par with a 2026 Z71 Colorado. All other things being equal, we’ll take this Baja S-10 pickup any day of the week.
1998 Volkswagen New Beetle GT6 6-Speed by HPA Motorsports
Among the handful of companies that juiced up the New Beetle was HPA Motorsports, which gave it the GT6 treatment by swapping in VW’s compact VR6. A Microsoft exec commissioned the build, which was #007 of 44 GT6 Beetles, even fewer of which came with the stroked ABT 3.1-liter version of the motor.
“Alumi-Rod” LT1-Powered, Aluminum-Bodied Custom Ford Roadster 6-Speed
When we look around at all the unfinished projects in our homes and garages, we find ourselves in awe of people who have the wherewithal to execute a complicated and beautiful vision like the “Alumi-Rod” here. Bare metal hides no mistakes, and the builder had the confidence to put his skills on full display.
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