Understanding this Week’s Weird and Wonderful—August 14, 2026
During Car Week, it is easy to come to the conclusion that all of the interesting cars in the world are concentrated in Monterey, California. Well, we’re here to remind you that the world is a big place, and in fact many of the more interesting vehicles one might encounter are here on this very website. This is the Weekly Weird & Wonderful—our collection of the strangest, coolest, and most interesting cars to appear on BaT in the last seven days.
This is, of course, but a dollop from the overflowing bowl of BaT auctions currently live—around 1,200 as of this writing. So if you’re far from Laguna Seca and still in need of an automotive fix, we encourage you to ingest as much as you can from our Live Auctions Page. Enjoy the Weekly Weird and Wonderful, and let us know what else caught your eye.
Volkswagen Scirocco Styling Scale Model
The year is 1979. A man named Herbert Schäfer heads up the Wolfsburg design department of Volkswagen, and his first-generation Scirocco, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, has sold close to 500,000 copies. A crate arrives at the office, sent by Giugiaro’s Italdesign studio. Inside is this study for the next Scirocco, around five feet long and two feet wide. Its lines are familiar, yet alien—angular, but sleek. Schäfer sets it up on a table, ponders the design for several weeks, and…decides to leave well enough alone. The eventual Mk II Scirocco is an internally designed evolution of the first-generation car, and Giugiaro becomes a victim of his own success.
Five-Decades-Family-Owned, Boattail Roadster-Bodied 1924 Delage DI
The sweeping, tapered boattail design on many prewar automobiles were intended to evoke the speed of a racing vessel, but this 1924 Delage is more show-boat than go-boat. During the 1970s, the owner’s father built the boaty body with feedback from the Delage Club in France, mounting it over the chassis and running gear of a Delage DI. Most notably, the tail section houses a rumble seat with a pop-up porthole to echo the one in the convertible top ahead, for nautical bonus points. After decades appearing in various shows and museums, this Delage (currently in non-running condition) awaits its new owner at the Magnuson Superchargers headquarters.
1965 Jaguar S-Type 3.8 Coupe by Frua
This one-off Frua-Jag (Fraguar? Fruag? Jagfruar?) is the kind of car we live for here at BaT. Nothing makes us happier than seeing something cool that we didn’t even know existed. Here’s the backstory: in the mid-1960s, Pietro Frua was at the peak of his career when Italian distributor Fattori & Montani commissioned him to restyle a Jaguar S-Type for…reasons we may never know. At the time, Frua was also in the midst of restyling an E-Type at the request of one John Coombs, though the two projects were otherwise unrelated. The beangulated S-Type was unveiled to the motoring public at the 1966 Geneva Auto Show and remained unsold for months thereafter. Francesco Respono purchased the car and later sold it to former motorcycle racer Hans Haldemann; the refurbished coupe changed hands several more times in Europe before landing Stateside in 2025. We’re seeing some Lancia, a little E9 BMW, and even a foreshadowing of the XJ sedan when viewed in profile.
1969 B&Z Electra King Three-Wheeler and ca. 1950 Autoette
These two three-wheeled electric machines are separated by nearly 20 years, but are like two pods in a pod. Both the B&Z and Autoette followed the same low-speed, three-wheeled formula, aimed at local shoppers, golfers, and those in need of getting around. Robert Tafel pioneered the segment with Autoette beginning in the late 1930s, while B&Z entered the fray later with its Electric Shopper before following it up with the Electra King, billed as “the king of electric scooters”—a little on-the-nose, if you ask us.
British builder Jack Turner took a page from other European automakers when naming the 803 Roadster, with “803” referring to its Austin-derived engine displacement in cubic centimeters. The 803 was among the first offerings from his Wolverhampton-based outfit, and this example is one of fewer than 100 produced between 1955 and 1958. It’s now powered by a replacement 948cc four-pot and was campaigned in various vintage racing events during the early 2000s.
1933 MG K1/K3 Magnette Conversion and 20-Years-Owned 1965 MG 1100 Two-Door Sports Sedan 4-Speed
MG has always been known for lightweight sports cars, but they weren’t always produced by the bushel. In the 1930s, just 181 of their K1 Magnette touring cars were built, and even fewer of the racier K3. This car began as the former, and was converted into the latter with a shortened chassis, a Marshall supercharger (mounted in front of the radiator, Bentley-style), and an E.N.V. Type 75 four-speed pre-selector gearbox. The K3s were successful racers both pre- and post-war, and in the 1930s they were quite competitive—even winning the Index of Thermal Efficiency at Le Mans while finishing fourth overall in 1934.
Oddly enough, this is the first MG 1100 that we have ever listed on BaT. If it looks like a posh Mini, that’s because it (kinda) is. The 1100 was based on the slightly larger BMC ADO16 platform, also a front-wheel-drive coupe designed by Alec Issigonis, with bodywork from Pininfarina. BMC were the champions of badge engineering, so the ADO16 platform also underpinned the Austin America, Morris 1100, Vanden Plas Princess 1100 and 1300, Wolsely 1100, and Riley Kestrel.
Chevrolet Silverado NASCAR Race Truck w/Richard Orlinski-Designed ArtCar Livery
This red-white-and-blue NASCAR pickup is about as American as a baguette wearing a beret. NASCAR, eager to capture new eyeballs, has long looked to Europe for new fans, and occasionally there is cross-pollination between the American and Euro series. This truck raced in the 2018 Stratosphere 200 with Michel Disdier at the wheel, wearing a tricolore livery featuring artist Richard Orlinski’s signature “Born Wild” gorilla figure. Three years later, it went somewhere no stock car had ever gone before—the Prince’s Palace of Monaco, to be displayed during the 78th Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2021, where it was signed by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and his children. Now it’s back in the US, presumably on a mission to infiltrate the vintage racing scene and report back to the Monégasque intelligence services.
65-Years-Family-Owned 1926 Auburn 6-66 Wanderer Sedan
Before #vanlife, before the boogie van, and before the Baby Boomers were “parking” in their parents’ Galaxies, E.L. Cord marketed the Wanderer Sedan variant of his new Auburn 6-66. This road trip machine was kitted out with a sturdy Lycoming six, seats that folded flat to make a bed, and heater vents front and rear. Back in 1926, any cross-country trip involved a certain amount of overlanding; even with Route 66 beginning to connect large swathes of the nation, few roads outside of urban centers were paved.
1965 Chevrolet C50 4-Speed Draft Beer Truck
Last week, we mentioned that this Rat Rod Wrecker was the ride to have in Monterey this week. Welp, after you’ve survived the insanity, this is the ride with which to recover (though not while driving it, please). The Hackney Brothers Body Company of Wilson, North Carolina, insulated the body of this 1965 C50 Draft Beer truck back when it was new, and reportedly delivered refreshments for a Miller Brewing distributor all the way up through the 1990s. With a CO2 tank, six taps, and capacity for 20 half-barrel kegs, its current form is like a Good Humor truck made to lure neighborhood dads.
1990 Honda Civic RT4WD Wagon 6-Speed
For six glorious years starting in 1985, American Honda buyers could order the tall Civic “Wagovan” body with four-wheel drive and a five-speed stick shift with a low crawler gear. Drivers at the time probably viewed the RT wagon’s high forehead as a tradeoff for extra utility, but we have to say that its style has aged well. We wish there were more of them around today.
Honorable Mentions:
Ex-Shaquille O’Neal 2018 Vanderhall Venice Single-Seat Conversion
The Vanderhall Venice was never intended to be a single-seater—but for Shaq, of course. We know there are other ballers in our audience, so if any current or former NBA big men are lurking on this auction, now’s the time to jump in: headroom is literally unlimited!
Randy’s 1964 Ford Falcon Sprint Hardtop 4-Speed
In case you’re new around here, “Randy” is our esteemed BaT Co-Founder and Chairman. This is the Alan Mann-modified Falcon in which he has driven around Europe, including some wet laps at Monza as recounted on this episode of the BaT Podcast.
1970 Mercedes-Benz 600 and M112-Powered Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Replica 6-Speed
The Großer was long the car of choice for rock stars and murderous despots, but this one shows that you could own one and not be a bad guy. In fact, a previous owner of this car was precisely the opposite of a dictator: former UN Secretary General and Nobel Peace Prize winner Kofi Annan.
This 300 SLR replica, made-to-measure with aluminum bodywork over a tubular spaceframe, would be significant on its own merits—but it also has provenance to speak for it. The previous owner who commissioned the build was none other than Oscar Fangio, whose father raced an original 300 SLR in the Mille Miglia and at Le Mans. Fabulous presentation, as always, by @911r and @TheImageEngine.
The Italian motoring press nicknamed the Zagato-designed RZ Il Mostro (The Monster) for its radical styling. Somehow, the lack of roof makes it look tamer than the SZ coupe…but only a little.
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!
