The Top 16 Most Unusual Cars Created of All Time

Throughout the year’s car manufacturers have been at the forefront of producing automobiles that not only look great but are recognized as high-performance cars. While constantly trying to break new ground, many companies have come up with some strange and unusual-looking cars. To celebrate these unusual cars, this article looks at 16 of the weirdest and wackiest. 

From the Back to the Future starring DeLorean DMC 12 to the oddly shaped Fiat Multipla, these are some of the most unusual cars you will ever see in your lifetime. 

1. Stout Scarab

Designed by William Bushnell Stout and manufactured by Stout Engineering Laboratories, the Stout Scarab is a weird kind of minivan. Many believe it to be the first production minivan ever built, with the Stout Scarab resembling a super stretched van. There are only believed to be five running Stout Scarabs still in rotation, with this unique car much sort after by collectors. 

2. DeLorean DMC 12

Thanks to Back to the Future, the DeLorean DMC 12 became much more popular than many expected. This futuristically designed automobile is notable thanks to its stainless steel outer body and gullwing doors. It was known for a lack of steering and poor quality build, but thanks to featuring in the previously mentioned Back to the Future films, it has become big amongst fans of the film and car enthusiasts in general. 

3. Lancia Bertone Stratos

While it might not look too strange, the Lancia Stratos does have a weird aerodynamic body and was built as a rally car. It was actually quite successful and won the 1974, 1975, and 1976 championship titles. There have been a number of concept Stratos built over the journey, with the latest being the New Stratos that was first produced in 2018 with a small 25 car run. 

4. Tesla Roadster

The Tesla Roadster is all curves and one of the most modern vehicles to feature on this list. The creation of Elon Musk and his cronies, this electric car is trying to revolutionize the car industry. The Roadster is set to hit markets next year and is touted as being one of the fasted street-legal cars ever produced. There has even been talk of a special edition that comes with 10 rocket thrusters for extra speed. 

5. Buick Centurion (1956)

The first thing you notice about the Buick Centurian is how the front grill is indented. Then there is the red and white two-tone paint job and see-through roof. Other features this concept car came with included rearview cameras, a sunroof, bucket seats (not big in the US at that time), and the addition of headrests. While this concept car did eventually come to fruition in the early 70s, a number of changes were made to the original so it looked quite different.

6. Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic

This classic from Bugatti is the type of car you can imagine 1930s gangsters getting around in. Despite its appearance, the 57SC Atlantic is quite lightweight thanks to the materials used for its body panels, which are also durable in nature. Only four of these Bugattis were ever manufactured.

7. Reliant Robin

This three-wheeled creation is one ugly-looking vehicle. Built by British company Reliant, there have been a number of different models produced over the years, although they vary little in the way of shape or performance. The Reliant Robin is best known for its appearance in the Mr. Bean series. Bean’s unseen nemesis drives a blue Robin that often ends up on its side after run-ins with Bean. While no longer in production, they are still seen on the roads throughout the UK. 

8. Amphicar Model 700

As the name suggests, this car can be driven on both land and sea. Why anyone would want to build a car that also moonlights as a boat is anyone’s guess, but that is exactly what designer Hans Trippel came up with in 1960. As you can imagine, the car wasn’t much of a success and less than 4,000 were ever made. 

9. BMW Isetta

This Italian-made three-wheeler might navigate the streets of small Italian towns well, but that’s about all it was useful for. Despite this assessment, the egg-shaped car was surprisingly popular and was the top-selling single-cylinder car in the world, with an incredible 161,728 units sold. A number of different versions were created for other markets around the world, each with its own upgrades and improvements. 

10. Cadillac Cyclone XP-74

This is a concept car built by Cadilac that resembles some sort of spacecraft. It was never officially produced, with the sole Cadillac Cyclone XP-74 now residing in the GM Heritage Collection. It had several innovative features along with a bubble top and a huge engine exhaust resembling that of a fighter jet. 

11. Devel Sixteen

The Devel Sixteen is a prototype hypercar that resembles something from the future. While it has long been a mystery, footage of the car in action was finally leaked last year. The UEA hypercar has a 5,000 hp, 12.8-liter V16 engine, and while it will most likely never see the light of day as a production car, it is still an impressively fast car.

12. Plymouth Superbird

The first thing you notice about the Plymouth Superbird is the massive rear spoiler. While it doesn’t really do much, it sure makes the Superbird stand out. This short-lived creation was also known for its horn (that played the Road Runner theme) and aerodynamic shape. The Superbird came equipped with a 7.0-liter Hemi engine and a pair of four-barrel Carter AFB carburetors capable of producing 425 hp. This eye-popping car could also reach 0-60 mph in an impressive 5.5 seconds.

13. Thrust SSC

It will come as no surprise to anyone that the Thurst SSC isn’t a production car. The British jet car was built to test the speed limits and currently holds the world land speed record, set on 15 October 1997. Driven by Andy Green, the Thurst SSC achieved an eye-watering speed of 763 mph and in the process became the first land vehicle to officially break the sound barrier.

14. Fiat Multipla

Part sedan, part minivan, the Fiat Multipla was a big hit in China during its production years. It looks something like a box with lips and won the Top Gear ‘Car of the Year’ (2000), as well as the ‘Ugliest Car’ in the same program’s awards, which is remarkable. It is certainly a strange-looking automobile that is even displayed in MOMA. 

15. AMC Gremlin

Despite only being in production for eight years, there were many variations of AMC’s Gremlin manufactured, with each year bringing about new upgrades and improvements. Marketed as an economical car, it was very popular and would go on to sell 671,475 units. The two-door appears to have the front of a typical sedan with the rear of a wagon, although squashed into a small shape. 

16. Plymouth Prowler

This retro-styled sportscar was manufactured between 1997 and 2002. The look of the Plymouth Prowler came about after Chrysler designers were given free rein to come up with something that mixed the classic hotrod silhouette with a modern sportscar. The result was this head-turning two-door powered by a 3.5-liter Chrysler SOHC V6 engine with a top speed of 118 mph.