While there are many sports cars that are instantly recognizable, there are others that are so obscure that you wouldn’t have even heard about them unless your attention was drawn to them. From the Netherlands, to Japan and the USA, many great, incredibly rare and downright weird sports cars never caught on for a variety of reasons, but that doesn’t mean to say that they’re not worth knowing about. Here are 10 of the most obscure sports cars of all time:
Spyker C8
Country of Origin: The Netherlands
Number Built: Unknown
The C8 has been in production in various guises since the year 2000. Powered by a 4.2-liter Audi V8, Spyker Cars has made numerous variants of the model in the years since production commenced. The model is most notable for its lavish interior, featuring quilted leather in the footwells, and exposed gearshift linkage and machined aluminum everywhere. A new C8 was introduced in 2016, and it can be yours for a base price of $350,000.
Jiotto Caspita
Country of Origin: Japan
Number Built: 2
At the end of the 1980s, the supercar car market was going from strength to strength, thanks to the likes of the Porsche 959 and Ferrari F40. This inspired two gentlemen to build a Far Eastern version of the supercar, and thus the Caspita project was born. The two prototypes that were constructed before the plug was pulled on the project were developed by Dome Co. Ltd of Japan. The first car is powered by a Motori Moderni flat-12 engine, while the second has a Judd V10 in the back. The first car built is pictured.
Spectre R45
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Number Built: 2
The man who conceived Spectre achieved fame in the automotive world thanks to his incredibly accurate replica constructions of the Le Mans 24 Hour-winning Ford GT40 racing car, and in fact, the road cars he built share their dimensions with that iconic car. The R45 was preceded by the R42, of which 23 were sold, but only two R45s exist, and that’s because the company went bankrupt before production began. The two cars are powered by 4.6-liter V8s.
Covini C6W
Country of Origin: Italy
Number Built: Currently in production
This oddball car, which features four turning wheels at the front, was inspired by the crazy Tyrrell P34 Formula 1 car of 1976. In fact, Ferruccio Covini, the man who conceived the C6W, took almost 30 years to actually realize his vision, and it finally went into production in 2003. Amazingly, if you fancy owning one of these cars, you can have one built to order. The car is said to be capable of reaching 186 mph (299 km/h).
Yamaha OX99-11
Country of Origin: Japan
Number Built: 3
When Yamaha threw its hat into the Formula 1 ring as an engine supplier in 1989, it also decided that it wanted to build a money-no-object, road-going supercar that was based on actual Formula 1 technology. It’s unique in that it has a tandem seating arrangement, and also has a single cockpit-style door for getting in and out. Sadly, infighting over the budget for the car and a recession in Japan meant that the plug was pulled on the project following the construction of just three prototypes.