Want the oddballs in the automotive world? Well, brace yourself for the most eccentric cars off the roads. They are exotic. They are intriguing. But they are not for everybody to have and hold.
In today’s auto shows, manufacturers are shelling out a fortune to be part of the specialty market players that introduce the most eccentric cars. The recognition, regardless of the fact that the cars will not be allowed on the roads, is enough to make the automakers elated.
One of the exotic cars ever launched is the Artega, which was penned by Henrik Fisker, famed for being an extraordinary designer. The car is a fresh contribution from a new German automaker that plans to enter in the manufacture of high-performance sports cars for daily use. The 2008 Artega features a 3.6-liter Volkswagen-sourced V6 mated to the DSG twin-clutch gearbox of the company to produce maximum output of 300 horsepower via the rear wheels.
Another odd car is dubbed Carver One, which is said to be the “the world’s first commercially available self-balancing, tilting, three-wheeled vehicle.” Carver One is part motorcycle, part car; it is all about thrills over practicality. The contraption features a removable roof panel, 660-cubic-centimeter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, producing 68 horsepower and 74 pound-feet of torque.
Gumpert Apollo Sport is another eccentric car to behold. Apollo Sport is given the high-performing mid-engine supercar powered by a 4.2-liter Audi V8 engine. It also features a fixed rear wing, rugged body, and gullwing doors that flip up on their roof-mounted hinges. It resembles the looks of a race car straight out of the FIA GT European supercar series.
Make way for the Rinspeed eXasis, a drivable “glass” car that features an aluminum frame with a clear plastic body and floor. The car is powered by a 150-hp two-cylinder engine, which sits on the transmission. To note, the car’s power-to-weight ratio puts it in line with the likes of a Porsche.
The Spanish automaker A. D. Tramontana has set forth a carbon-fiber road missile as a melding of Formula One cars and fighter planes. The company said the Tramontana was “modeled on the streamlined curves of the Costa Brava’s winds.” The car is given a twin-turbo V12 engine that generates 720 horsepower, about as powerful as a race car. The full production version of the car will go on sale this summer in Europe.
