This Week’s Weird and Wonderful—July 3, 2026: A Practical Look
Happy Fourth to you all, and happy birthday to our union of 50 states on its sestercentennial or semiquincentennial, depending on your etymological preferences. Before you head off to your various barbecues and fireworks extravaganzas, we have prepared this list covering just some of the most noteworthy cars auctioned on Bring a Trailer in the last week. Today we’ve got an eclectic selection that includes an unlikely Bonneville racer, a tractor with Italian bodywork, a Porsche-powered Group C car, and a rare dealer-special Pontiac muscle car, among others. Car auctions are like deviled eggs though, at least for us–we can always find room for one or two more. If you’re the same way, we invite you to peruse the endless bounty of our live auctions page once you’ve finished the feature below.
Enjoy this week’s selection of Weird and Wonderful BaT auctions, and let us know what else you think should be on our list!
Ex-Bondurant 1959 Chevrolet Corvette Race Car
To date, we’ve sold a couple dozen vehicles that were either owned by Bob Bondurant, raced by Bob Bondurant, or associated with Bob Bondurant’s racing school. We will never get over the Taurus SHO instructor’s car that sold back in 2024, and we were psyched when the Trans Am Camaro he drove with Dick Guldstrand sold here a few weeks back, but this Corvette might be the coolest ex-Bondurant car yet. Bob Bondurant began to make his name in the late 1950s, racing Corvettes in Southern California SCCA competition. This is one that he drove for owner Paul Masse during the 1959 season, during which he and Masse won the West Coast Regional Championship in the B-Production class. His time in #51 was an important stepping stone into a professional career that included stints in Can-Am, Trans Am, and Formula One, as well as a Le Mans class win in Peter Brock’s Shelby Daytona Coupe.
Land-Speed-Record-Setting, Pre-Production 1993 Lincoln Mark VIII
If auction results are any indication, there are quite a few fans of the Fox and FN10 T-birds and Lincolns around here. The Lincoln Mark VIII was the final evolution of the FN10 platform, and it was always a better performer than anybody in the marketing department at Lincoln was willing to admit. The Mark VIII got independent rear suspension in 1993, six years before the Mustang, along with a 32-valve version of Ford’s new modular V8 good for 280 horsepower in stock tune. The engineers who worked on the car knew its true potential, and program manager Jim Kennedy gave them the green light to see what it would do with minimal modifications—taller rear end gearing, a blueprinted stock engine, a roll cage, and removal of components like the side mirrors and rear brakes. After a run into the 170s at the Michigan Proving Ground oval, the team decamped for Bonneville, where by evening they had clocked a top speed of 182.694 mph. In 2021, the car received a tuneup and updated safety equipment, then went off and set two Spring Fling class records.
Fuel-Injected, 383-Powered Land Speed Lakester
We’ll stay in Bonneville to talk about one more car, this one classified B/GL—B indicating an engine of 373–439.99 cubic inches, G for gas-powered, and L for “lakester,” meaning a car with an enclosed body and exposed wheels. The seller purchased it complete in 2012, and over the past several years it has been a regular at Bonneville Speed Week. The car earned a Class B license, meaning that tech inspectors cleared it for operation between 175–200 mph, and the seller believes that the double-century is an attainable figure. Thankfully the special Mickey Thompson Bonneville tires are rated for a heady 300 mph.
Ghia-Aigle-Modified 1957 BMW 503 Coupe
The BMW 503 had a bit of a Ghia-esque look to begin with, so turning to Ghia for a custom front clip after an accident in 1965 was probably a logical step for its owner at the time. But Ghia-Aigle, the Swiss subsidiary of the Italian coachbuilder, was given limited artistic license; they were asked to make the new front end resemble a Carozzeria Touring design, the Maserati 3500 GT. In translating the look to the more gracile Bimmer, Ghia crafted a fascia that resembles a sort of “greatest hits” of 1950s Italian sports cars. If we squint at it, we see some Lancia, a little Fiat, maybe some Ferrari a la Pinin Farina, and a touch of OSCA. Anything we missed?
ca.1979 Case 2470B Traction King Tractor
This Brazilian-built Case might just be the most serious piece of ag equipment we’ve seen on BaT to-date. The thing that drew us to it initially, of course, was the Karmann Ghia do Brasil manufacturing tag. Turns out that the factory set up in São Bernardo do Campo as a joint venture between Karmann and Ghia didn’t only make VWs. They also did some work with Case, and designed and manufactured the bodywork on this big eight-wheeled row crop tractor. We’re not going to pretend we are farmers and try to hit you with some impressive tractor lingo—there are plenty of folks in the comments who know exactly what they’re talking about, and are asking the right questions.
There was a time when “three-wheeler” wasn’t synonymous with the Morgan Motor Company; BSA, for instance, also experimented with the configuration in the early 1930s. This trike is charmingly quirky, with vinyl body cladding, reversed brake and gas pedals, and the shifter sprouting from the firewall between the driver’s feet.
1991 Courage Cougar C26S Porsche
FIA Group C racing was a breath of fresh air following an era hamstrung by complex regulations, waning manufacturer involvement, and increasing costs. In fact, the new rules were simple: you had a certain amount of fuel for a certain distance. The rest was up to you—go! The result was some of the most diverse and competitive racers in endurance racing history. This Courage Cougar C26S hails from that wonderful era as the second chassis built by Courage Competition, and ran its way around the endurance stage from 1984 until the 1991 season. It remains in C26S specification and is powered by a twin-turbo Porsche engine, which replaced a Cosworth V8 in 1988. BaT seller @samhancock_cars of the UK brings us this wonderful piece of Group C history, and we strongly encourage you to dive into its racing accomplishments and period photos.
McNamara Tri-Power 421-Converted 1963 Pontiac Catalina Sports Coupe 4-Speed
Originally built with a 389ci V8, a Hydramatic, and A/C, this 1963 Catalina seems to have been quietly refitted with a 421ci HO V8 and a four-speed manual transmission at the factory before heading out to be used as a demonstrator at Daytona Speed Week. Later fitted with a Tri-Power intake setup and sold to the public, it eventually found its way to the seller in 2016 and has since been refurbished.
1955 Chevrolet Bel Air 2-Door Sedan Drag Car
This 1955 Chevy isn’t some field car, and that much becomes obvious the deeper you dig in. Tri-Fives have been synonymous with drag racing since their inception, and this example is said to have been raced in Florida in the 1960s before eventually finding its current owner in 2003. Today it wears a “Crane Cam Special” motif on its refurbished body, which sits atop a Jim Meyer Racing chassis and houses a replacement 355ci lump with Crower eight-stack injection. There’s less than a week left on the auction, and it’s rarin’ to go!
1964 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible
The left-hand-drive convertible version of the iconic Aston Martin DB5 is as rare as hen’s teeth, and the provenance of this example is impressive. After being displayed at the 1964 New York Auto Show, it eventually wound up in a Massachusetts barn before being rescued by Aston Martin chairman Peter Sprague (widely credited with saving the Newport Pagnell marque itself) in 1976. Sprague fitted the drop-top with a Vantage-spec 4.0L DOHC inline-six with triple Webers, and it stayed with his family until 2020.
Honorable Mentions:
1-Kilometer 2014 Honda Z50J Monkey Kumamon w/Sidecar and 1-Kilometer 1984 Honda Z50 NMR Super Monkey
The perfect two-bike solution for monkeying around. With just one kilometer showing on each odometer, it seems their journeys are just beginning.
1931 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Town Car by Hibbard & Darrin
The Phantom I Town Car was peak luxury for its era, and this two-tone “Lady Lavender” has impressed for years with a variety of awards to show for it.
1911 Ford Model T Open Runabout
If your idea of a good time in the early 1910s consisted of running about in a sporty runabout, this was as good as it got.
Thanks for checking out this edition of the Weekly Weird & Wonderful! Follow this page to get updates when new installments post, and tell what caught your eye or what you think we’ve left out!
