Six of the most rare and bonkers cars you can buy in Europe, right now

Browsing classifieds is a favourite hobby of every car enthusiast. Let's take a look at some of the more interesting things currently for sale in Europe.


If there's one thing a lot of us here at CarAdvice share in common, it's our love for strange, bizarre, and rare cars.

Regardless of the time, be it meetings, chat groups or even in person, we're always sharing and discussing strange cars that are currently for sale that we can't afford. AutoScout24 is a platform that collates classified ads from different legitimate websites over a large portion of Europe, and enables you to search through them as one database.

We apologise to your partners, coworkers, friends and kids in advance, as you'll likely be spending the next few hours browsing what's for sale, if you weren't already aware of this fantastic website.

We thought we'd share some of our picks with you. Be sure to tell us if we're mad or not in the comments below.


Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman 'Maybach'

This is a fascinating one, and I love it for how absurd the owner-slash-creator must've been. According to the advertisement, in 2007, the owner of this 600 Pullman requested it to be rebuilt by Mercedes-Benz via its Classic department. Not rebuilt to standard, but "rebuilt to the comfort and standards of a brand new (at the time) Maybach".

What a wonderful brief. The restoration bill came in close to an eye-watering EUR€3,000,000 (AUD$4,874,145), but this was truly a no compromises, no-expense-spared re-commissioning. Mercedes-Benz Classic even installed the same dimmable sunroof from the Maybach into the Pullman at request. Plus, many of the then latest Maybach components were specially redeveloped for this project. It took seven years to complete.

It can be yours for a lowly EUR€2,150,000 (AUD$3,492,267), some EUR€850,000 cheaper than the total restoration cost. Not a bad buy, if you consider yourself to be a bit of a dictator. View the listing here.


Italdesign Aztec

If you want to be the centre of attention at cars and coffee, then this is probably the car for you. The Italdesign Aztec was a significant car for the design house. It was produced in 1988 to celebrate 20 years of the firm's establishment. Giorgetto Giugiaro, the man behind the firm, is universally recognised as the best car designer to have lived. In 1999, he was crowned car designer of the century, and later in 2002, was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. if that's anything to substantiate the claim. Some of his best work includes conceptualising and designing variations of the Ferrari's stunning 250, Bugatti's special EB110, and Lancia's Group B rally hero, the Delta. He designed some oddities, too, including the Toyota Aristo (Lexus GS), and pretty much all of Daewoo's range in the mid-’90s, including the old Daewoo Matiz and Lanos.

The Aztec was a far departure from all of these regular road cars, however. It not only grabbed futurism by the horns in terms of its design, but more manifested it wildly at every possible touch point. Both the driver and passenger reside in separate cockpits and can communicate with each other electronically via intercom. What's more ridiculous is the exterior side panel of the car, which features a keypad. From here, you can punch in various codes, as printed on the side of the car, to activate features before you get in. We're not only talking about turning the headlights on here. We're talking about using functions like its automatic oil-draining system, inbuilt hydraulic jacks, fire-extinguisher, or 'digital thermo/pyrometer'.

Give-or-take 20 Italdesign Aztecs were built. Cost of entry into this exclusive club? EUR€999,880 (AUD$1,624,230). View the listing here.


Alpina E34 B10 Touring 4.6 – number six of 19 ever produced

Not only is this Alpina rare, but it's also incredibly tasty. To be specific, it is the rarest Alpina E34 variant of them all.

For those who like numbers – approximately 830 Alpina E34s were built over an eight-year production window. That number of 830 spanned across five variants in total. However, only 46 of the 830 were commissioned by owners, and Alpina themselves, to be B10 4.6 models.

Of that 46, only 19 were wagons. Amazingly, 18 of the 19 examples are currently documented and in known ownership.

Some may frown at the SWITCH-TRONIC automatic transmission, but hear me out here. SWITCH-TRONIC is terminology that Alpina coined to describe its then unheard of technology, which was the employment of buttons on a steering wheel to change gears and enable control of its automatic transmission.

It registered this with the Trademark and Patent Office in 1992, and became the first series manufacturer worldwide to offer a car with the ability to change gears via the steering wheel. Porsche followed on two years later in 1994 with the Tiptronic S. Quite a feat. I believe that makes this technology of such significance to kerb any premature frowning relating to the transmission.

Having undergone a full restoration and complete mechanical overhaul, it's being offered for EUR€87,999 (AUD$142,973).

Someone here, please buy it. View the listing here.


Gumpert Apollo Speed – ex-Nürburgring Nordschleife record holder

I hope we've all seen the footage. If not, please watch below. This is quite a special car. It is the same example that German racing driver Florian Gruber manhandled around all 170 corners of the Nordschleife in record time. It even wears its record-setting time – 7:11.57 – on its bonnet, as a memento to its feat. Enabling such performance is a Gumpert-developed twin-turbo version of Audi's magical 4.2-litre V8. Claimed power outputs are around the 700hp mark, or roughly 521kW. For a car that weighs around 1100kg, expect nothing short of a beast.

The colour scheme isn't for me, visually. However, I do enjoy that this colourway depicts the wild side of Germany's culture that's often overshadowed by its regimented, routine orthodoxy. I'd always make space in my imaginary garage for something with this level of significance. Even if it costs EUR€299,000 (AUD$485,934). View the listing here.


Courage C60/C65 – class-winning Le Mans car

Say you want to get into track days and some amateur forms of motorsport. But need a set of wheels? Let me present the ideal candidate to you – a Courage C60 that was later upgraded to C65 specification.

Courage Compétition is a French racing outfit and chassis manufacturer known for its Le Mans Prototype (LMP) offerings.

This particular car was originally a factory-owned race car, having competed at the 2003 1000km of Le Mans with Courage's in-house racing team, Courage Competition.

It was here where it finished first in the LMP675 class, which is now known as LMP2. Overall, it finished fourth at that event.

After that, it was passed onto a privateer team who used it at 22 events from the end of 2003 through to 2008. It still remains powered by a unique turbocharged engine created by Advanced Engine Research (AER) called the P03/07.

This was AER's first clean-sheet, in-house-developed engine. It produces 500hp, or 372kW, and is of 2.0-litre, four-cylinder construction.

This particular chassis remained successful, notching up high placings at various events, including the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.

What better car to attend your local hill-climb in, then?

It's yours for EUR€250,000 (AUD$406,290).


Smart Crossblade

Summer's coming, right? And you want to be cool, right?

What's cooler than a Brabus-tuned SmartFor2 with no doors, windscreen or roof? Welcome to the limited-edition Smart Crossblade.

Only 1881 of these two-seat Mercedes-Mokes were produced in 2002, and the listing is for number 1470.

Power from the 599cc three-cylinder turbo engine was increased to 52kW (from 45kW) and it weighed in at 740kg. Robbie Williams had one, what more needs to be said?

This is one of 24 Crossblades listed for sale at a reasonably affordable EUR€19,000 (AUD$30,877). View the listing here.


Have you found anything interesting in classifieds? Put your suggestions below to us, and be the star of a follow-up story.

Justin Narayan

After more than a decade working in the product planning and marketing departments of brands like Kia, Subaru and Peugeot, Justin Narayan returned to being a motoring writer – the very first job he held in the industry.

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