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Top Ten Cars You Will Likely Never See on the Road

3K views 16 replies 14 participants last post by  PAULSTS1 
#1 ·
Top Ten Cars You Will Likely Never See on the Road
By Myles Kornblatt @ MotoBullet

This list started from an innocent conversation in our office about the Chrysler Norseman, a concept car that was aboard the Andrea Doria when it sank in 1956. The Norseman was on its way from the Italian coachbuilder Ghia to the New York Auto Show. Only a handful of people ever saw the car in person before it was lost at sea forever.

The Norseman talk sparked a new conversation about cars that few people have ever seen. Then we realized a lot of the road cars viewed in museums we’ve also seen at historic rallies and track days. There are only a select few classic cars that the entire line has less outdoor sightings than Bigfoot. It takes a combination of a car being ultra rare, very expensive and/or an odd occurrence to disappear from the roads. So we compiled the top ten cars that most people will likely never see roaming the neighborhood streets.

We set some parameters for this list. All cars had to be built during or after the Great Depression (before that time everyone with a home garage and a decent set of tools was a carbuilder.) The car couldn’t be a prototype as defined by only one example built and/or the producer being in business for less than two years total. Then we started debating different vehicles, and the ones we found most intriguing made the list:
AC 3000 ME
Bristol (any model)
Bugatti Type 41 Royale
Chrysler Turbine Car
Citroen GS Birotor
Leyland Force 7
Mohs SafariKar
Morgan Plus Four Plus
Rover SD1 Estate
Tucker 48

DETAILS AND PICS: http://www.motobullet.com/news.php?id=10204 (motobullet)
 
#9 ·
The big three had a lot to do with the failure of Tucker. They didn't want to compete with him, as he literally was building a far better car than anything they had any hope of offering back in the day. The big three liked their stream of profits from parts replacements.
 
#6 ·
Seeing a freaking Duesenburg rolling down the highway was one of the most exciting things I've ever seen on the road. It was so regal, so imposing, so massive, so...other worldly. Imagine: a $1,000,000,000 sculpture moving under its own power down the pavement among $900 beaters. It was almost surreal.
 
#7 ·
I've seen a Tucker and a Chrysler Gas Turbine car, but indoors. Another car you may never see on the road is a Ferrari 166, or a McLaren F1, purely because there are so few of them.
 
#10 ·
I saw a 1988 model go through Ebay about six months ago. It looked mint, and I came very close to buying it, just for the sake of owning a forgotten little car.
 
#11 ·
I have driven a Leyland Force 7 but it was so long ago I cant even remember what the inside looked like -there are still a few about though maybe 10-14. I was given it as a loaner on my 21st birthday when i had to get a disc replaced on my Alfa. I was on holiday in Adelaide and the dealer took pity on me I think.
We still have a few Bristols on the road here but no Bug 41. We do have Type 5&C that is road registered. I saw it at a Bugatti display at the National gallery of Victoria. lovely car it is.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I've seen a Force 7 but I can't remember where.

I had a friend who had two P76's - a kermit green V8 with a tan vinyl roof which was his daily driver and a blue V8 Executive that had less than 100 miles on the clock in 1990. It was his misplaced superannuation plan...

They actually drove OK, they were just butt ugly.



Although the Targa Florio was pretty cool
 
#13 ·
Coolest car I ever saw on the road was an Auburn Speedster.
I do like Jensen Interceptors and Iso Griffos and the like.
When I was at school in the 70s one family had a thing for Ramblers, they had a Rebel and a Matador (?) both had the big flares - it was the 70s. Then there was that bizarre Rambler coupe that came out a little later - was that a Matador X or similar? Did they use the Chrysler 360 V8?
 
#15 ·
I have wondered about this for a long time - Is this a professional, manufacturer's photo? If so it blows. They have a period George Lucas lookalike and the car has a dent and either a misaligned or not fully closed hood.
 
#16 ·
Part of getting old is being able to say that I've seen a "Chrysler Turbine Car" on the street. Can't remember where, but it did attract a crowd. Of course it was in the days before cell phones or cell phone cameras.
 
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