This Week’s Weird and Wonderful—January 30, 2026 You Should Know
Happy Friday! You’ve made it to the end of another week, and we’re sending you into a well-deserved weekend rest with a collection of interesting automobiles that we hope you’ll find as impressive, fascinating, and/or amusing as we do. With auctions creeping up to the 800-per-week range, there’s no shortage of vehicular goodness—so feel free to head on over to our live auctions page once you’ve finished touring the collection below.
Enjoy this week’s Weird and Wonderful, and let us know what else caught your eye in the comments!
Ford GT Concept Static Display Vehicle
We have sold Ford GTs with ridiculously low mileage and another that could never turn a wheel in anger, but nothing quite like this. That’s because this garage queen is GT1147, a full-scale fiberglass model of Camilo Pardo’s design that was built to work out any final kinks in the shape, and was then used to drum up public support for the concept. The sharp-eyed will notice the “GT40″ graphics on the wheels and rocker stripes; as it turns out, the name (ostensibly derived from the original racing car’s 40” roof height) was an informal designation, and was never formally trademarked by Ford. Safir GT40 Spares, Ltd. trademarked the name decades later, and received this mock-up as part of a limited licensing contract with Ford.
The model comes with some fascinating documentation, including the schedule for its original press tour in addition to care and handling instructions that sound much like the ones you’d get with a 1:18 scale model.
1976 AM General Jeep DJ-5E Electruck Project and 14k-Mile 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Crew Cab VIA Motors VTRUX 4×4
As Richard Feynman once explained, electromagnetism is the bedrock upon which all forms of energy transmission are built. By taking combustion out of the equation, EVs have thus moved transportation one step closer into the realm of theoretical physics. But these trucks aren’t content to ponder the mysteries of physical reality—they were made to get work done. The AM General Electruck mail Jeep is #10 of 352 built as part of a USPS electric vehicle pilot program. It’s interesting to see that the engineers embraced the packaging possibilities of the electric drivetrain, locating the the motor in place of the transmission and placing the (now missing) battery packs under the hood. Many of these Jeeps whirred down American streets in the late 1970s, though their service lives were shortened by the limitations of their lead-acid batteries. Curiously, this EV Jeep does have a gas tank, but it’s used to fuel the cabin heater.
This FXX Silverado was converted to an Extended Range EV by Bob Lutz’s now-defunct firm VIA Motors. The conversion replaced the transmission with an electrical generator, which relied on the stock 4.3-liter V6 for rotation. Add in a transfer case and two differentials, and the drivetrain had significant parasitic loss to overcome. At the end of the day, the hybrid system decreased fuel consumption by less than 20%, increased the complexity of the vehicles, and doubled the cost of the truck. Commercial fleet buyers took a pass, but we have to hand it to Lutz for accurately predicting a future in which EVs with range-extending piston engines are commonplace.
1976 Citroen HY Camper Conversion
Say hello to the first Citröen HY van ever listed on BaT! This particular one survived the hipster mobile coffee stand trend, instead being transformed for tailgating duty by the seller’s family after being imported from the Netherlands. The corrugated body has been wrapped in a Penn State motif, and the rear benches transform into an après gridiron bed—much preferable to spending a night in the panier à salade after having one too many. It also has a wet bath, but the iron-bladdered sellers have reportedly not used it during their ownership.
Fuel-Injected, 429-Powered 1965 Ford Mustang Panel Wagon Conversion
In the 1960s, ex-GM employee Robert Cumberford, Ford ad man Barney Clark, and fellow car nut Jim Licata spun up their own take on Ford’s idea of a shooting-brake Mustang. Through Cumberford’s connections, Intermeccanica in Italy fabricated the sheetmetal for the prototype; Ford passed in the end, and the idea was scrapped. Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, many home-built Stang wagon conversions have popped up over the years. This one presents a new spin on the concept as a 429-powered panel wagon, which was built by its longtime owner in the 1990s using components borrowed from a Fairmont station wagon.
Tell someone you own a “Humvee,” and this is the opposite of what they’ll picture. Here, the acronym HMV stands for High Mileage Vehicles, a short-lived microcar manufacturer based in Minnesota. The company was founded in the wake of the second oil crisis brought on by the Iran-Iraq war, and offered commuters an inexpensive vehicle capable of getting a claimed 84 mpg when equipped with the standard 453cc Tecumseh single and CVT combo—a snowmobile drivetrain with no reverse gear.
Seven hundred examples were built, and we’ve listed enough of them here that they have their own HMV make page. This one comes to us via Bullet Motorsports, who have graciously provided a full-throttle “acceleration” video for our amusement.
Texaco Service Station Replica w/ Pumps & Memorabilia
Pictures of old service stations are an entire sub-genre of American photography—relics of mid-20th-century, small-town America. Most are now gone, and many that remain are quickly returning to the earth within a stone’s-throw of the Interstate system that left them behind. This 1930s-style Texaco fillin’ station looks like one that would have sat beside Route 66 back in the day, but it’s never topped off a single car—it’s a replica that was built for the Gene Ponder Collection back in 2016. This is definitely the first free-standing structure we’ve ever sold on BaT, and it comes filled to the brim with period memorabilia, model cars, refurbished pumps, tire machines, and other goodies. All you need is a piece of land on which to put them, and as some commenters have pointed out, possibly the approval of your HOA.
The photo gallery shows more than we can succinctly catalog here; some images look like a page out of Walter Wick’s I Spy books. There’s something new to be seen with each glance, and we encourage you to leaf through the gallery for yourself.
68-Years-Family-Owned 1930 Cadillac Series 452 V-16 Convertible Coupe and 1940 Cadillac V16 Seven-Passenger Imperial Sedan
Between 1930 and 1940, Cadillac embraced what can only be called “poly-cylindricality,” and these two cars bookend that era. Their V16 made its market debut with a narrow-angle, OHV configuration shortly after the Black Friday stock market crash, and while sales started briskly, they soon tapered off and remained low for the rest of the decade. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Cadillac had previously taken a significant stake in Fisher Body, which also owned Fleetwood, effectively bringing coachbuilding capabilities directly under their purview. The company was able to offer over four dozen different body styles on their 148”-wheelbase chassis in 1930. This car is style #4335—a convertible coupe built by Fleetwood that was ordered new in Seattle, Washington, later making its way to Portland, Oregon, where it was bought by its late owner of 68 years.
The final model year for the V16 was 1940, and by that time it had been redesigned as a smooth-running 135º flathead with twin fuel pumps and a nine-main-bearing crankshaft. That’s what’s under the hood of this car, a Fleetwood-built Cadillac that is one of a reported 20 Seven-Passenger Imperial Sedans. That’s a small number, but it represents a significant percentage of the total production run of 51 cars.
It was intended from the start as a chauffer-driven limousine, with equipment like a roll-up glass cabin divider and a Motorphone intercom system to keep the staff at a safe distance. Other amenities include a Fleetwood-branded clock, a footrest, a robe cord, dual cigar lighters and ashtrays, and a fold-down rear armrest. Interestingly, we also have its successor—a V8-powered 1941 Series 75 Seven-Passenger Formal Sedan, which made just 25 fewer horsepower on half the cylinder count.
Built to commemorate Lamborghini’s 30th anniversary, the Diablo SE30 was more than just a special badge. It was a more brutal take on the Diablo that nixed what few creature comforts were previously there, cranked the V12 up to 525 horsepower, and reworked the body to be more in line with Marcello Gandini’s original vision. Some of the removed niceties could be added back in, and an optional Jota power kit was available. This one’s #77 of 150 examples produced and is back for its second time on BaT, following a 2023 service that included an engine and transmission rebuild to the tune of $159k.
2007 Mercedes-Benz R63 AMG 4MATIC
Don’t let the lack of sliding doors fool you—this is a minivan. And not just any minivan: it’s one of 200 R63 AMG versions built for a single year of production. For that limited run, we can only blame the global financial crisis that was happening at that time; in a welcome alternate history, the world could be awash in 503-horsepower minivans. Hopefully it’s not too late to get civilization back on track.
1958 Facel Vega FV4 Typhoon Coupe
The redundantly-named Facel Vega FV (the latter standing for Facel Vega) was designed by French industrialist Jean Daninos. After decades manufacturing aircraft components and automobile parts, he decided his company was done making hubcaps for Renault, sat down, stubbed out his Gauloises, and penned a stunning pillarless GT car, sui generis. This example is one of 67 FV4 Typhoon coupes with the hot 354ci Chrysler Hemi, and came to the US through Max Hoffman in 1958. The car comes to us from newly minted BaT Local Partner Hyman Ltd., and is the first Facel Vega we’ve sold that wasn’t a project.
Honorable Mentions
Vintage Reproductions Inc. Oldsmobile Curved Dash Light Delivery Replica
Arriving seven years before the Model T, the Olds Curved Dash was widely regarded as the first mass-produced gas-powered vehicle (mass production meaning 400 units in 1901). The commercial variant was also known as the “Pie Wagon,” and this example is a Dash Light Delivery replica built by Vintage Reproductions Incorporated. With its Tecumseh single-cylinder engine, it certainly serves up one angry flyby.
1985 F.W. Leisure Industries Semi Truck and Trailer Go-Kart and Mack-Bodied Custom Flatbed Truck
We don’t know why we need a tractor-trailer go-kart, but give us a minute and we’ll come up with a reason.
And if we can’t justify the go-kart, maybe this Mack-bodied dually pickup is an easier sell. We appreciate the clever door branding, @Competitioncars, and a BaT shop truck isn’t the worst idea…
The Indian Papoose was based on the Welbike—a collapsible mini scooter designed to be air-dropped with British paratroopers during WWII. If you’re anything like us, you pictured a paratrooper riding a scooter out of the sky, Dr. Strangelove-style, but in reality the scooters were dropped in cylindrical tubes, unfolded, and deployed. The civilian variant was called the Brockhouse Corgi, and Indian Motorcycle made a version known as the Papoose. This example was refurbished under previous ownership and is offered by the seller out of Florida.
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