A Look at this Week’s Weird and Wonderful—May 15, 2026
Welcome to the Weekly Weird and Wonderful—a collection of the strangest, coolest, and most interesting cars on BaT in the last seven days. We’ve got a great mix for you this week, including two motorcycles and one motorcycle-ish creation, along with some seriously dangerous old racecars and a picture of the Queen Mum, God rest her soul. This list is by no means comprehensive, and there is plenty more to explore over on our live auctions page, which just topped 1,200 listings for the first time in 2026.
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–British Royal Family Parade Car 1951 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible
The Series 62 accounted for the bulk of Cadillac’s sales in the 1950s, and evolved along the way with thoughtful design change. As General Motors designer Bill Mitchell put it: “a traditional look is always preserved.” This particular 1951 Series 62 convertible carries royal provenance—it was used by the British Royal Family during Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s six-week Royal Tour of Canada in 1951. Most notable is its clear plastic top, which protected the royal couple from the elements while still offering crowd a crystal-clear view of the royal hats. It wouldn’t be the last Cadillac associated with the Royal Family, either; ahead of the Queen’s 1959 Canadian tour, Cadillac prepared a Fleetwood 75 landau limo and shipped it to her in advance, but that’s another story. This example was refurbished under prior ownership, and is offered by the seller out of Marietta, Georgia, with historical photos.
c.1968 Supercharged Hemi-Powered AA/FD Top Fuel Dragster
One look at this exhaust on this dragster, and you’ll understand why drivers of the period made their runs while wearing gas masks. This car comes to us from the waning years of the front-engine era, and in fact was the last front-engine dragster to qualify for an AHRA National event under driver Ron Martin (not of Sox & Martin fame) and his crew chief Bob “Cowboy” Smith. Its fastest quarter-mile time was 6.480 seconds at 223 mph.
Like many racers of the period, it was tweaked substantially over the course of its career, and the seller recounts the story of its recovery, refurbishment, and reunion with Smith and Martin in an 11 minute mini-documentary included with the listing. These days, it’s sole purpose is to make great noises, which it does very, very well. Check out the cackle video in the listing.
Maserati V8-Powered 1985 BMW 325e Coupe 5-Speed
We’ve seen plenty of period-correct, “M-powered” engine-swaps in E30s listed on BaT, but this Maserati V8-powered 1985 BMW 325e takes things in a completely different direction. With builds like this, “why” is usually beside the point, and “how?” is a much more interesting question to ask. In addition to the Maser mill, we’d ask the builder to explain what led to his pushrod suspension conversion. The build also includes a Pandem widebody kit, adjustable Fortune Auto front coilovers, a Chase Bays tucked radiator, and a medley of later-model BMW pieces like E92 exhaust components, an E36 five-speed gearbox, an E46 steering rack, and aluminum M3 control arms. Time to go blow some minds down at the local C&C.
“Jazzy Special” 276 Flathead-Powered Ford Model T Land Speed Racer
By the late 1940s, dry lake racing was back in full swing, and among the returning hotshoes was Jim “Jazzy” Nelson. He was best remembered for the flathead-powered Fiat Topolino that he campaigned during the 1950s, but before that mousetrap came this potentially-castrating torpedo (note the monoposto seating with driveshaft between the driver’s legs). This Ford Model T was built by Nelson and his brother Paul during the late ’40s. The brace across the cockpit? It wasn’t for safety—it supported an old tonneau that kept the profile nice and smooth during speed runs. This brute was pushed by Nelson to a 141.06 mph record in 1949, and Lee Titus later recorded a 151 mph run at Bonneville.
Dubbed the “Jazzy Special,” this land speed racer continued competing with Palms Garage before undergoing a refurbishment carried out by Chuck Sarno during the late 1990s. A 276ci flathead lump now powers it, and it is being offered by BaT Local Partner @hymanltd on behalf of its owner, who has kept it since 2008.
It must have taken some serious chutzpah to drive this open-top Model T at 140+ mph back in the day, and we’ll leave you with this driving video so you get an idea—just hold on to your hat.
Welcome to the future. We have replaced your crude two-wheeled “motorcycle” with this superior, three-wheeled design. Now you will steer with an ingenious hub-centric steering mechanism, and stop with eight-piston brake calipers. You will have ABS, an enclosed driveshaft, and even luggage space—two trunks. Your suspension will have many links, all of them exquisitely crafted. Your sidecar will open itself to receive you, and shield you with a motorized adjustable windscreen. Your BMW engine was just fine, so we kept it for you.
Also, your sunglasses now consist of one continuous lens. They look great with your mandatory-issue silver jumpsuit. You will like it here, in the future.
If you asked a genie for a kei microvan made in France, he’d deliver you this adorable Renault Petit-Panel. The little toaster-on-wheels had an ingenious layout, with sliding front and side doors, and a split tailgate with barn doors on the bottom. A low lift-over height and 60″ of headroom mean that this cutsie cargo van could do some serious work while navigating the narrowest streets of medieval French villages. It’s currently located in Florida, and we would pay good money to see it out-haul a modern quad-cab pickup down at the local home improvement store.
Devin-Bodied, Ford 302-Powered 1975 MGB Special 5-Speed
Usually, when a race car is built around a data plate, it’s not one cribbed off of an unrelated model. But you know what they say: necessity is the mother of all kludges. Under the MGB data tag, this is an MGA chassis carrying what may or may not be a Devin SS body and what is definitely a Ford small block and T-5 drivetrain. Does it need a little sorting and a chopped-down windscreen? Yeah. But this car has all the makings of a raucous weekend runabout.
1995 DM Minimoto DM1 SS Pocket Bike
The listing for this pocket bike says its for off-road use only, though the pocket bikes we remember from the ’90s and early ‘Aughts were used exclusively on the street by riders in packs, usually well outside of business hours. Grumble. But we can get past all that, because this little thing seems like it rips. Kudos to the seller for cutting between ride-on and chase car POVs for maximum hilarity.
36k-Mile 1990 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 Shinoda/Rick Mears Special Edition
Much respect is owed to designer Larry Shinoda. He quickly rose through the ranks of Detroit’s automakers, and his legacy will forever be linked to the Corvette Sting Ray and the 1969 Mustang Boss 302. Shinoda founded his own design firm in the 1970s, and by the 1980s he designed his own bodykit for the C4 Corvette. For the ZR-1, Shinoda teamed up with Jim Williams, and Rick Mears lent his name to the project. The end result was a wind-tunnel-tested bodykit consisting of 11 pieces. It was pitched to GM as a Regular Production Option, but it was later rejected, and only a mere 14 cars were modified with Shinoda’s bodykit. This example is said to have been the first one modified when new and was later used as a marketing vehicle in the early 1990s. Today, it’s being sold by Local Partner @p1_motorcars_ltd.
2000 Honda CBR929RR Miss Geico Promotional Bike
This flashy drag bike was not given to the winner of an insurance company beauty pageant. Here’s the real story; during the early 2000s, Miss GEICO was a powerhouse in offshore powerboat racing, winning multiple world championships and setting numerous records along the way. The team was of course sponsored by the old Government Employees Insurance Company, and they used this modified Honda CBR929RR as a promotional tool at shows and race paddocks. The seller inherited the bike from the team founder’s estate, and it’s being offered today out of Clearwater Beach, Florida. It has remained on static display since 2015, so don’t be a caveman and crank it up without doing your mechanical due diligence first.
Honorable Mentions:
If you have never seen a concours-winning AMC Pacer before, feast your eyes on this beautiful burgundy bubble-butt. It was owned by the manufacturer as a promotional example, was featured in AMC literature, and soon landed with an owner who kept it for 40 years, building its provenance by winning various awards. The basketry-print fabric inserts might be even cooler than plaid. Dream catcher not included.
350-Powered, Mystery Machine–Style 1968 Chevrolet GE20 Van
An enduring mystery of the Scooby-Doo series is that Hanna-Barbera never officially confirmed the year, make, or model of the Mystery Machine—to this day, noone really knows. Fans have long pointed toward the Dodge A100 or Chevy G-Body van. This tribute is, of course, based on the latter. Its interior is…pretty shaggy.
1978 Lancia Beta Montecarlo Rally 037 Tribute Build
The Rally 037 was developed to replace the Fiat 131 in Group B, and became a legend in its own right as the last rear-drive car to win a WRC Manufacturers’ title in 1983. This Beta Montecarlo was built as a tribute to the legend during the 1990s, and it has remained in Italy since.
Ex–Arie Luyendyk 1959 Rambler American Deluxe Club Sedan
It’s a wonderful thing when an elite racing driver embraces a perfectly normal road-going automobile (for example, see Carlos Sainz and his VW Golf). Even better, the flame job you see here was applied during Mr. Luyendyk’s ownership.
