If one comes to think about it, what exactly are cars? Basically, they are transportation machines meant to ferry passengers from here to there...right? Some do it in style, some in grandeur, while some cars are the most basic and the cheapest of the lot, doing their job in the simplest possible way.
And yet, cars fascinate us. Cars have become more than just technical possessions; some manage to capture hearts and souls. People want to have the best their money can buy, and if they've got hordes of money to spend, they can afford to get the rarest and the most delectable of automobiles.
Some of the cars become rare because only a very limited number were produced. Some become collectibles because of the people who formerly drove them, like celebrity's cars that often sell for princely sums at auction. Some other cars become rare because of their presence in a movie.
Whatever may be the cause of their celebrity status, rare cars are a collector's fantasy, and the rarer, the better. But despite all this, some rare cars that may be worth a whole lot of money are often lost forever. Some are stolen in daring heists while some merely get lost in obscurity. Here are 19 such treasures lost in time, 19 rare cars whose disappearance became such a mystery that they are now invaluable in both money and memory…
19 A Presidential Ride: The Horch 855 Spezial
The Horch brand was created by a renowned German automobile engineer, August Horch, who is also dubbed as the direct ancestor of Audi. One of its popular models, a Horch 885 Spezial, was the glory of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych’s exclusive car collection.It is also a major rare collectible car that attracts a lot of diehard pre-war era car devotees. The 855 was sold between 1937 and 1940. It had a robust 5.0-liter straight-eight engine that was capable of cranking out 100 horsepower. After the 2014 Ukraine revolution, Viktor Yanukovych was ousted and had to flee the country. No one has seen this legendary Horch 855 since then.
18 Lost In Time: 1953 Buick Wildcat Concept
Buick is dubbed as the king of concept cars in the auto fraternity. Plus, it is one of the oldest surviving GM marques that helped lay the company’s founding stone at the beginning of the twentieth century.
The 1953 Buick Wildcat made its debut at GM’s auto show, Motorama, in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
GM created just two masterpieces under the aegis of Harley Earl, GM’s head of design that time. They were called Wildcat I & II and were showed in two different colors, one in white and one in black. Both the cars looked the same but were different from each other in many ways. The black Wildcat struck a chord with the public and attracted a lot of eyeballs. However, the car disappeared afterward and no one knows about its whereabouts.
17 Where In Time Is Doc Brown’s DeLorean?
The DeLorean time machine is based on one of the most legendary icons of the auto industry, the DeLorean DMC 12. The DeLorean is renowned for its legendary gull-wing doors, steel backbone chassis, and stainless steel body panels. In the Back to the Future film series, a total of seven DeLorean time machines were created, out of which only three of could manage to last until today. Two are parked at Universal Studios and are available for public appearances at their theme parks in Los Angeles, Orlando, Osaka, and Singapore. Another one was auctioned off to a collector from San Jose, California. One was crushed into pieces in a compactor. Another two were harvested for parts. The last one was turned into a wrecked shell and suspended from the ceiling of Planet Hollywood in Hawaii. But that restaurant closed its operation and since then, no one knows what happened to the last DeLorean.
16 That Car From Titanic: Renault Type CB Coupe de Ville
The classic disaster flick Titanic stole the hearts of millions of people all over the world. In 1997, it became an instant hit, winning many Oscars and Golden Globes. For the film, James Cameron and his team knew that there was a Renault Type CB Coupe de Ville onboard in the cargo area and so recreated a model.
The luxury classic car belonged to William E Carter, who fortunately survived the catastrophe and was able to cunningly convince the insurance company to pay for the loss of the car.
He even received a substantial paycheck from Lloyd’s in lieu of the damages caused due to the disaster. However, it is rumored that the Renault Type CB Coupe de Ville may never have actually been on the ship and that Carter was engaging in some opportunistic insurance fraud.
15 Lost At Sea: The 1956 Chrysler Norseman
The 50s decade in automotive history was dominated by concept cars. The Big Three were just crazy about showcasing concept cars at auto shows, as they attracted a lot of eyeballs. As a result, concept cars helped them sell their regular models. The 1957 Chrysler Norseman was one such example and included innovations like the lack of a B-pillar and an aerodynamic sloping roofline. The Norseman was designed by Chrysler and built by an Italian coachbuilder called Carrozzeria Ghia. But, the car was never seen by the people and in fact, even some of its design team never caught a glimpse. It went down with the sinking of SS Andrea Doria, an Italian passenger ocean liner, while it was being shipped to New York City from Italy for the 1957 auto show.
14 Christine's 1958 Plymouth Fury Is A No Show
Christine is a famous psychological thriller released in 1983 and directed by John Carpenter. The movie extensively used a Plymouth Fury in the flick, so much so that twenty of them were created by the producers. But, in the end, only four of them survived. Three went on streets for promotional campaigns and were eventually sold to car collectors.
The last one was purchased by a movie fan named Martin Sanchez who got it from a junkyard for just $900.
He somehow managed to harvest unspoiled parts from other Furys that were discarded during the filming process and restored it. Out of the three cars that went to the car collectors, one is on display at the Volo Museum in Illinois. The other one is parked at the garage of Bill Gibson in Florida. But, the third one went to the UK and is nowhere to be found.
13 Jim Morrison’s 1967 Shelby GT500 Faded Into Obscurity
Jim Morrison was the proud owner of this legendary 1967 Shelby GT500. The car was equipped with a 7.0-liter V8 powerhouse mated to a manual transmission. Jim Morrison, of course, was the lead member of the iconic rock band The Doors.
The car was something of a reward and was gifted to Morrison by Electra Records in celebration of The Doors' successful debut in 1967.
Painted in dark blue with a white interior, the car looked stunning and was a favorite of the singer. He even named it Blue Lady and featured it in his art film. It is rumored that one night he smashed his Blue Lady and left the car by the side of the road. And, when he came back later to pick it up, it was not there. Later on, after his tragic passing, the car was impounded and sold to an unknown figure.
12 The 1964 "Goldfinger" Aston Martin DB5 Went Kaput
James Bond’s cars are some of the most popular cars among car devotees. While most Bond cars have become the glory of car collectors worldwide, there is one whose whereabouts are not known.
This missing 007 car is actually the most iconic of all, the silver 1964 Aston Martin DB5 that featured in the flick Goldfinger.
The 1964 Aston Martin DB5 uses a 4.0-liter straight-six engine as its heart that was capable of thrashing out a massive 282 horsepower and a torque rating of 280 ft-lb. Plus, it was equipped with Bond’s exceptional revolving license plates, ejector seats, and all the spy gadgets it could fit, and yet no one knows where it is!
11 The Very Rare Ferrari 375 MM Chassis Number 0378AM
The Ferrari 375 MM was meant to be a high-ranking racing car. The number 375 in its names come from the per-cylinder displacement of its 4.5-liter V12 engine. And, the MM came from Mille Miglia, a popular open-road motorsport endurance car race. Ferrari has been one of the most sought-after of car brands among the classic car collectors all over the globe. And, over the years they have managed to unearth many classics that were lost and forgotten, but there is no clue about the 375 MM bearing chassis number 0378AM. A total of 26 of the 375 MM were sold between 1953 and 1955. 25 of them are in good hands of their esteemed owners, except for the one that's missing.
10 The Lincoln Futura's Gone Forever; Batmobile Survived
The 1955 Lincoln Futura was first designed by Ford’s leading designers and later hand-built by Carrozzeria Ghia, an Italian coachbuilding firm. The concept had a very futuristic design unlike any other of that era.
However, like many other concept car fantasies that were never truly realized, this one never made it to production.
Ford later sold the concept to the car customizer named George Barris who transformed it into the Batmobile that was driven by Adam West in his role of Batman. This customized Lincoln Futura was later auctioned for a neat $4.6 million. But, the original Futura was metaphorically lost and never made it onto the streets.
9 A Short Life: James Dean’s Porsche Spyder 550
James Dean still lives in the heart of millions of his fans all over the world. Regardless of the fact that he appeared in just three movies and left for his heavenly abode at a young age of 24 in 1955, he is still one of the most legendary icons of the film fraternity. He owned an equally legendary Porsche 550 Spyder that he, unfortunately, crashed at a crossing in California. The 550 Spyder was so badly damaged that engineers could only harvest its mechanical parts, including the engine, leaving behind the body. It finally went to Hollywood’s customizer George Barris, who gave it to a firm that used it to create awareness about highway safety, after which it just faded from the public mind and existence.
8 Poof! The End Of The Chevrolet Corvette Nomad
The Chevrolet Nomad was practically a Corvette station wagon with a powerful design statement. It is also dubbed as Waldorf Nomad because it was unveiled at the old-time GM Auto Show, Motorama, in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
Soon, the Corvette Nomad become one of the most famous concept cars to have been exhibited at Motorama and was added to the Chevrolet lineup of cars.
However, after the final GM Motorama motor show in 1961, most of these concepts, prototypes, and halo models disappeared from the car circuit. Some of them lived while a lot of them went to the crusher.
7 The Curious Case Of The 1935 Bugatti Aerolithe
The Bugatti name has always enjoyed a legendary status of being one of the best in the motorsports and racing arena, a stronghold that only a few other carmakers have risked to override, ever since the automobile industry was born. Unfortunately, Bugatti, as well as car devotees, have missed documenting many of their creations. Bugatti owners and car collectors did restore and preserve many of them, however, the 1935 Aerolithe is one of the most popular Bugatti concept cars that went missing and has been missing for more than 83 years. It has never been found. The legendary 1935 Aerolithe concept was designed by Jean Bugatti himself.
6 The One Missing Duesenberg SJ-506
The Duesenberg Motor Company, often dubbed as Duesy, is respected as one of the best automakers of all time. Their cars were hand-built and are still sought after by the classic car collectors all across the globe.
The 1935 supercharged variant known as SJ model was top-of-the-line Duesy that carried an eight-cylinder, 320-horsepower powerplant under the hood.
These figures were groundbreaking and unheard-of in the mid-30s. Duesenberg sold just 26 SJ models, and continued bettering it with later models and flooding the car market with more powerful cars. Most of them have been restored except just one SJ bearing chassis number 506 that went missing, and has remained so since the early 60s.
5 The Stolen And Never Found Bettencourt-Zupan Coupe
Custom car culture was in its nascent stage in the late 40s. A plethora of media buzz, including print and auto shows, gave the modified car industry a needed platform for marketing. The Bettencourt-Zupan Coupe was one such custom that gained worldwide appreciation among car enthusiasts. It was also covered by several magazines and that’s how it became a legend in car history. By the end of the sixties, however, the car was thought of as redundant. When its original owner passed away, the custom car went to a famous California car customizer, Dean Jeffries. However, someone stole the car from his garage in 1970 and it was never to be seen or heard from again.
4 Beauty Lost Forever: The Cadillac La Espada
The Cadillac La Espada is one of the most stellar concept cars of the mid-twentieth century. This beautiful Motorama concept was equipped with several state-of-the-art features, especially the fact that it had a powered convertible top that created a curved roof when closed.
The La Espada was motivated by a Cadillac V8 unit that was capable of cranking out a whopping 230 horsepower.
But, the Cadillac show car was fated for the crusher. It is rumored that, however, that instead of being sent to the junkyard, it was sold to a car enthusiast. He reportedly decorated his garage with this gorgeous Caddy and hardly drove it but no one has seen it since.
3 Colorful, But Missing: The Partridge Family Bus
The Partridge Family was a famous musical sitcom of the early 70s. It featured a multicolored bus that is actually a 1957 Chevrolet Superior Coach. In the series, this Chevy bus was painted in Mondrian-inspired patterns and was extensively used for performing live gigs by a traveling band called The Partridge Family. The Chevy literally steered this television series straight to fame from the very beginning. The series lasted for four seasons and after that, the rainbow family bus was left alone to perish. The last it was spotted was in a Los Angeles scrapyard in 1987. Since then, sadly, no one has seen or even missed this poor, lost superstar.
2 To Be Or Not To Be: The Oldsmobile Golden Rocket
The Oldsmobile Golden Rocket is dubbed as one of the most radical designs of the Motorama period. It had a larger-than-life appearance that gave it an intergalactic and subaquatic sci-fi aura. As the name suggests, it was designed to look like a rocket.
Plus, its fiberglass body incorporated built-in bumpers.
The 1956 Golden Rocket show car was armed with 5.3-liter Rocket V8 engine tied to a Hydramatic automatic transmission. This powerful V8 mill was capable of jetting out a massive 275 horsepower. However, no one knows whether it still exists today or not. During the mid-50s, GM had to let go of some of their concepts to avoid liability concerns.
1 The Ill-Fated Amilcar CGSS of Isadora Duncan
Known as the Mother of Dance, Angela Isadora Duncan was a legendary dancer and choreographer who was born in California but spent most of her time performing all throughout Europe. In her mid-20s she became a celebrity among the elites in the Art-Deco community.
Duncan’s beau owned a 1927 Amilcar CGSS sports car that they both used to drive around Europe.
Unfortunately, they met with a rather bizarre incident where her fluttering long silk scarf got entwined in the spokes of the car’s wheel and rear axle, causing fatal injuries to both of them. No one knows what happened to this particular car, and the poor man's Bugatti soon disappeared from the car market altogether.
Sources: AutoWeek, The Drive, Complex, Motor-Junkie