We’re already two Fridays into 2026, and that’s an exhausting thought. Most of us don’t get a vacation to recover from our vacations, so we will have to make due with some short-term amusement—like the Weekly Weird & Wonderful, which we have once again compiled for you upon this cold(?) winter’s eve. With almost 700 auctions live already since the holiday lull, there are treasures on this site in abundance—and today’s post is but a small fraction of the goodness available for your perusal over on our live auctions page.
Enjoy this week’s Weird and Wonderful, and let us know what else caught your eye in the comments!
Ex–John Oates 1984 Tiga SC84 Sports 2000
Today we’re starting off with a maneater formerly owned by British-American singer-songwriter John Oates. For those who have been out of touch, Oates is a life-long car geek like us, and his obsession with racing cars goes back several decades. This Tiga was built for Sports 2000-class racing in 1984. After a 2018 refurbishment, Oates scooped it up and sent it to Gunnar Racing, who gave him everything his heart desired, including a fresh transaxle and the custom vinyl wrap emblazoned with quotes from famous musicians. If you can’t go for that, it’s OK—the auction for this car closed yesterday, so she’s gone. (Picture via Road & Track)
Ex-Jacques Villeneuve 1995 Reynard-Ford Cosworth 95I
IndyCar was at a crossroads during the 1995 season—a prelude to the infamous split of 1996 and the introduction of the Indy Racing League. Nonetheless, the season was filled with its fair share of milestones and upsets. It was also a banner year for famed Canadian driver Jacques Villeneuve, who secured four wins and a string of podiums. While it isn’t the chassis used during his stunning Indy 500 comeback and victory, this Reynard 95I racer is the very car in which he took the Grands Prix at Miami, Cleveland, Portland, Toronto, and Vancouver.
The car was refurbished by Bud Bennett and RM Motorsports in the mid-2010s, and its turbocharged 2.7-liter Ford Cosworth XB V8 was overhauled and fitted with a MoTeC ECU more recently. The photo gallery offers a period glimpse into the yesteryear of Indy cars, but for those looking to get into historic racing, the sale includes a collection of spares as well.
Ex-Alamo Airways & Hughes Tool Company 1956 Ford Thunderbird “Crash Wagon”
This rather normal-looking T-bird has an unusual history as one of two ground-to-air refueling vehicles that supported pilots Bob Timm and John Cook during their record-setting flight of 64 days, 22 hours, and 19 minutes. Flying out of Alamo Airport in Las Vegas (now Harry Reid International) in a Cessna 172, the duo circled the area for weeks before they got bored and expanded their radius, and they took on fuel and oil (and hopefully toilet paper and deodorant) by descending over the road and dropping a line down to retrieve fresh supplies from the Ford. The car later became property of Howard Hughes when it was bundled into his purchase of the entire Alamo airfield, and was restored in the 1990s. Hear the BaT Podcast crew geek out over this Bird in this week’s episode!
37-Years-Owned 1971 Jaguar XKE Series II Coupe Project
This mangy cat gives new meaning to the term “survivor.” A few of its nine lives were clearly used up in an October 2024 garage fire, and six of its garage-mates weren’t as lucky. Amazingly, the car still runs, drives, and stops, though the lack of cabin glass and brake lights might hold up the process at the DMV. We’re sure the fire was heartbreaking for the seller, but it’s encouraging to see that this charred Jaguar has some life in it yet.
Think of the Cessna Bird Dog as the aviation equivalent of the eephus pitch. At a time when jet power was ascendant and militaries prioritized altitude and Mach numbers, the Bird Dog flew low enough and slow enough to look enemy troops in the eyes. The plane, an up-engined military variant of the Cessna 305 (itself a tandem version of the 170), was tasked with Forward Air Control—taking off from spare patches of dirt to go behind enemy lines and observe ground troops, mark targets, and direct air strikes. Their pilots were vulnerable, and protected themselves by sitting on flak jackets and firing small arms out the windows if necessary. These planes are most commonly associated with Vietnam, where their operators suffered a sobering 50% casualty rate, but this is an early example from the Korean War era, built just one year after the US military signed their first contract for the planes.
The seller states that a package of smoke rockets, bomb shackles, replica bombs, and a camera pod are available at extra cost for the new owner. Fluffy orange co-pilot is not included in the sale.
1935 Delahaye 135 Coupe des Alpes by Autobineau Project
The Delahaye 135 was both an elegant touring car and a fierce competitor—the “Coupe des Alpes” name a reference to a win in the Alpine Rally. This example survived the Second World War in France, and after a stint in Japan came to the US in the 2000s, where it was brought to its current condition. A Delahaye in any state of repair is a rare sight on these shores, and while more work is required to bring this one to full roadworthiness, we think the “ratatouille rod” look suits its Art Deco lines quite nicely.
1963 Fiat-Abarth Monomille GT Bialbero-Specification Race Car
The joyful little Monomille GT hit the market as a roadgoing variant of the Fiat 600-based Abarth 1000 Bialbero GT twin-cam race car. This faired-headlight example had its sub-liter four-pot outfitted with a Bialbero head, which also famously appeared on the 750 Record Monza. The founder of Fiat Abarth Zagato Allemano (FAZA), Al Cosentin, brought chassis 110-0380 stateside with the intent of displaying it at the 1963 New York Auto Salon. By the 1980s, the car made its way into the hands of marque specialist Mahlon Craft, who campaigned it in a number of vintage events for the next three decades.
The car is now offered by BaT seller @FantasyJunction, who has included this canyon-carving video of the little giant-killer moving along at full wallop for our Friday enjoyment.
Twin-Plug 3.6L-Powered LMK 917
Porsche’s legendary racing juggernaut barely needs an introduction, but if you’d like to refresh yourself on the history, we wrote a feature on the 917 back in September 2022. Built in the mid-2010s by Andrew Keiller of LMK917 in Australia, this re-creation is painted in homage to the “Hippie” 917LH that was campaigned in the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans. Since arriving stateside in 2018, this tribute has stretched its legs at several test sessions at Road America, and it’s the second car on this list from the folks at @FantasyJunction. Now, if you’ll excuse us—we need to rummage around for our copy of Le Mans.
If there is anyone who can consistently out-quirk the French in automotive terms, it’s the Czechs. The Tatra 603 is equal parts weird and wonderful, and its origin story is quite compelling: by the early 1950s, the Czechoslovakian government had ordered Tatra to stick to building trucks and left the luxury car market to Russian manufacturers. But Tatra had a real talent for producing well-engineered luxury cars, and its engineers continued to develop their newest model in secrecy. Luckily for them, the Czech elites became disillusioned with shoddy Soviet imports, and begrudgingly allowed Tatra to develop the 603 for their high-ranking officials.
This 603 is a second-series model with a slippery aerodynamic design, independent suspension, and most notably, a rear-mounted, air-cooled 2.5L V8. And while this example doesn’t mention it, the 603 could also be had with a gas-powered heater tucked beneath the front seat. Obviously, the idea of sitting atop a box of open flame is a little unnerving, but we’re sure the Eastern Bloc apparatchiki appreciated the warmth. The seller acquired the car in 2021 in Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia, and it was refurbished by technicians in its homeland.
302-Powered 1928 Ford Model A Tudor Sedan 4×4 3-Speed
By modern standards, any Model A is going to ride like a truck—but this one does so because it is a truck. Underneath this Tudor sedan lies the running gear of a 1969 Ford Bronco mounted to a custom ladder frame. The build itself is surprisingly restrained, the curious wheel/tire setup and Dana pumpkin underneath the front bumper being some of the few hints that things are not entirely as they may seem.
The mad genius behind this custom creation was one Jerry Eames, who was aided by an entire royal court of family members and small business associated with The Muffler Palace in Lake Tahoe.
Honorable Mentions:
1942 Packard Super Eight One-Eighty All-Weather Town Car by Rollson
By the early 1940s, coachbuilt luxury cruisers were falling out of favor and many American manufacturers had brought body building in-house. The Packard Super Eight One-Eighty was one of the final cars built in collaboration with an independent coachbuilder, and this example is reportedly one of three built with Rollson All-Weather Town Car bodywork from the abbreviated 1942 model year.
2.2L Flat-Six-Powereed 1976 Porsche 914 Convertible Conversion
Ever wondered what a Porsche Boxster would look like if it contracted Benjamin Button disease?
Twin-Engine 1987 Toyota Corolla FX16 Race Car Project
Here we have Lemons royalty: the twin-engined FX16 dubbed “MRolla.” The early-2010s build involved grafting the rear subsection of an MR2 onto the Corolla chassis; the result was formidable, but the rear engine’s fuel system caught fire in 2025. Still, the car finished that race on the front engine alone (it’s nice to have a spare). It’s now being sold as a project, but hey, it’s got a clean Carfax!
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!
