Fellow gearheads, this car is one that is actually available, unlike many of the awesome concept cars we have covered in the past.. This is a limited edition production car that is amazing. This is the Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus SCG 003. Their tagline is “Ultimate Race Car for the Road”, and they do seem to live up to that claim. Read on to learn about this super car called the Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus SCG 003.
The name is a bit long, but that does not affect the ability for the car to be amazing, The car is actually made in the USA, despite having a very European sounding name. Aside from the fact that it looks totally cool, let’s take a look at some of the vital specs on the SCG-003.
SCG 003S SPECS:
NHTSA Low Volume Compliant with a 17-digit VIN, at least 49 state legal (this means it is street legal!)
Carbon fiber chassis, body, and subframes
BMW 4.4 liter reverse flow twin turbo engine with racing dry-sump, with 590lb ft of torque and 700 HP at the rear wheels
1900 LBS of net down force and 2G’s of mechanical grip on road tires
Maximum speed in excess of 230MPH
0–60 MPH in under 2.9 seconds
Paddle shift Cima gearbox
Brembo carbon ceramic brakes
Forgeline centerlock wheels
Driver adjustable shocks with different settings for road and track
Race-inspired side mirrors with built-in side cameras and dashboard side mirror screens
Wooden sacrificial protective layer under front splitter and running the length of the bottom of the car
Driver operated front and rear lifters
Choice of exterior paint and interior leather or Alcantara colors
Optional clear-coated natural or tinted carbon fiber body ($115,000 extra)
Weight 2600 pounds
Race Car With A License Plate
Wait a minute – did I read that right? 2600 pounds and 700 horsepower at the rear wheels? This is street legal? Yes, that is not a typo. This is essentially a fully licensed and ready to race car that is also street legal. You could drive this to a race track and then run around the track in competition!
Since it has been made street legal, they have decided to make 325 of these cars each year in their US factory. These cars are exempt from some emissions regulations, since they are “limited edition” cars. You could potentially see one of these on the streets in your town!
Technological Marvel
In addition to the super advanced body and suspension, the interior is also adorned with the latest in LED lights and gauges that are hyper accurate. The digital dash is super accurate, which is fitting for a supercar. Some of the gauges are actually digital with needle overlays to give an appearance of an old-school analog gauge, which is really cool. I think the interior looks more like that of a space ship than it does a car, but I would not complain about sitting behind that wheel! Race-inspired side mirrors with built-in side cameras and dashboard side mirror screens also give it a more high-tech driving experience.
Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus SCG 003
This car looks like something out of a science fiction magazine, but it is not a concept car. The Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus SCG 003 is available for purchase on a special-order basis right now! I love the creative design for the rear-view mirrors – a great combination of aerodynamics and great aesthetics. This supercar is definitely one that was well thought out from top to bottom.
If you doubt the performance can actually live up to the hype, Road and Track magazine drove one of these pre-release to get a feel for what it had to offer. They had this to say about it..
“It has better build quality than some automakers that have been in business for decades. It’s also better to drive, even in this development phase, than products from supercar makers that have been around long enough to celebrate meaningful anniversaries.”— Road & Track, 2018
If you decide to order one, you better act fast. They are selling out faster than they can build them. I still cannot get over the fact that it is 2600 pounds and has 700 horsepower at the rear wheels from the factory!
Anyone in the US can order one…if you are willing to give them $2 million cash upfront and wait a while for yours to be delivered.
Let me know in the comments down below if you like this car, or if you own one!
If you like this article, please give us a star rating at the top of the article and like it on Facebook.
Fellow gear heads, today I want to showcase a fully-functioning concept car that, for some reason, never made it to production. This car is the 1980 Lamborghini Athon Concept Car. Wait, what? This car looks modern. This car was made in 1980? Take a look below to read about this amazing machine.
Something Is Missing…
The Lamborghini Athon Concept Car is a concept car designed by famous (and now defunct) Italian coachbuilder and car design firm Bertone. The Lamborghini Athon was introduced at the 58th Turin Motor Show, held in April 1980. Bertone introduced this stunning new concept car, which was based on a Lamborghini chassis . This was an odd choice, since Bertone was strapped for cash at the moment, and was close to bankruptcy. To choose such an expensive car was a gutsy move. The name Athon, often spelled Aton, refers to the Egyptian Sun God in ancient Egyptian religion . This name made sense, since the car was built without a top. Yes, this car was only good to drive during nice weather, as there was no top of any kind provided. Not exactly practical, but it was certainly unique, and received a lot of attention.
Technical Specifications
The Athon was essentially based on the Lamborghini Silhouette. Under the hood of the Athon resides a 3.0 L DOHC V8 engine with two valves per cylinder. The high revving V8 made 260 hp and 237 lb ft of torque. This little V8 had a compression ration of 10:1. Providing power to the wheels was a 5 speed gearbox with a hydraulic clutch. Independent front and rear suspension with vented disc brakes helped keep the car on the right path along the way.
The Lamborghini Athon Concept Car only weighed in at 2,390 pounds, so the little V8 could move it around quite comfortably, Top speed was 170 MPH, and it could go from 0 – 6o in 7.3 seconds, which was very good in 1980. The interior was a gorgeously crafted combination of leather and technology, which was also very unique for the era. The steering wheel and dashboard somehow remind me of KITT from Knight Rider. I would love to get a chance to sit behind that wheel and take it around the block a time or two!
Styling
The rear of the car shows the attention to detail and sculpting that went into this car. Somehow, it looks vintage and yet modern at the same time. The graphics are decidedly vintage, yet the styling looks modern. I love the exhaust exiting under the bumper, and the fact that they highlighted it rather than hiding it. If you think this car is amazing, it actually does exist.. The car never made it to production, but one of these prototypes still exists today. The RM Sotheby’s company auctioned off the only Lamborghini Athon ever made. The fully functional prototype was sold in Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este on May 21, 2011. The car sold for $487,000 US Dollars.
This is one of the rarest cars in the World – they only made ONE, and the designer is no longer in business.. If you are a fan of exclusive cars, this would be a great one to own. You never know, maybe someday the present owner will put it up for auction again. Comment down below if you think you would drive this supercar!
If you like this article, please give us a star rating at the top of the article and like it on Facebook.
I have covered a couple of rare cars lately – the rarest Plymouth ever, a super rare Camaro ZL1, and the Rarest Corvette. Today, we are going to cover the Rarest Mustang ever, and it is one that will leave you wishing there were more of them out there to buy. This particular monster is one that is legendary, even today. I think if more of these had been offered for sale, the course of automotive history may have been forever changed.
As we have discussed before, during the 1960s the car makers were all fighting for dominance at the race track. The way to do that was to create production cars that could be used in NASCAR and NHRA drag racing. Custom builders like Carroll Shelby made a living by customizing these muscle cars to make them even better. In 1967, Ford redesigned the Mustang to allow the big block 390 V8 as an engine option, which was a smart move from a racing perspective. However, racing teams and consumers wanted more, which is where Shelby came into the picture. Shelby partnered with Ford to provide the racers what they wanted, which was a street car that was track ready.
Time In The Spotlight
In addition to his partnership with Ford, Shelby also had the honor of being the West Coast distributor for Goodyear tires. In February 1967, Goodyear asked Shelby to be a part of their promotional event. This event would introduce the World to the new “Goodyear Thunderbolt” line of car tires. The event involved racing a car around a circle track at high speeds for an extended time. This was done to show the durability of the new line of tires.
Carroll Shelby thought the Shelby Mustang GT500 would be a great choice for this promotion, as this car would be capable of the extended high speed demonstration Goodyear wanted to do. A former employee of Shelby American, the company Carroll Shelby owned, brought another idea to the table.
Built Ford Tough
The idea was to make an even BETTER version of the GT500. Carroll Shelby loved the idea, and quickly signed off to get the project started. The team at Shelby went into the lab and created an entirely new monster. The plan was to run the tests at the circle track in San Angelo, Texas later that year for the publicitiy event. Shelby and Ford could then build 50 more for sale to the public.
Making 50 of these cars would qualify it as ‘production’ and allow it to be sold to race teams. This would be profitable for everyone involved, so the idea seemed logical enough. Shelby had to come up with a name for this new monster. He wanted to name it something to let everyone know it was different from the other Shelby Mustangs. Shelby also signed the dash and had a custom embroidered logo designed, which was emblazoned on the center console and floor mats. Check out the photo of the interior below. This was to ensure everyone knew this monster was different. He chose to call it “The Super Snake”.
Time To Get To Work
The engineers at Shelby agreed – the GT500 would be the perfect starting point for this new beast . They took a GT500 with serial number 544 off the lot and went to work. They stripped it down to the bare bones, and started replacing parts. Shelby developed a new configuration consisting of a special racing rear axle, special transmission, and Thunderbolt tires. Since the test track was an oval track, the Super Snake had stiffer shocks and springs on the passenger side of the vehicle. This was done to counteract the lateral forces that come with high speed cornering.
A Legend Is Born
The power for this new monster was a 427 racing engine, with the block, heads, and water pump being made of aluminum. All the parts inside were made for racing. The engine was built to sustain 6.000 RPMs for long duration runs. Next, they added an external oil cooler, braided lines, and a remote oil filter. This configuration produced 600 horsepower, and had the additions needed to let it run at high speeds for long periods of time.
The car was completed with special one of a kind chrome inboard headlight surrounds and a special LeMans paint job. This paint was Wimbledon white with two narrow blue stripes surrounding a wider blue center stripe. This was to signify that this car was different…which was an understatement! Once the car was complete, it was time to test it out.
Time To Test It
After the car arrived at the track in San Angelo, Texas, the team installed Shelby 10 spoke aluminum 15 inch wheels with 7 3/4 inch wide Thunderbolt White wall tires. These were the skinniest tires ever mounted on a Shelby. To put this into perspective, this 600 horsepower car was blazing around the track on 7 3/4 inch wide tires, whereas the modern Corvette comes from the factory with 12 1/2 inch wide tires! The tires were overinflated and filled with nitrogen instead of oxygen. This was done to prevent the tires from getting overheated on the long run. The only question that remained was one that worried the engineers. Would these skinny little family sedan tires hold up under the strain of 600 horsepower of American muscle for 500 miles on an oval track?
Rarest Mustang Ever Gets Its Day In The Spotlight
Carroll Shelby figured he would be the first to find out if the tires would work, so he personally took the car out for a few laps on the track, He thought it was the best GT500 ever made, and loved every minute of it. Goodyear was able to film their Thunderbolt promotion after all the testing was done, which was a success story for all involved. The public loved the tires, and people started buying them for their own family cars. Ford noticed an uptick in new orders for Shelby Mustangs, which meant Shelby would be busy building new cars. Ford, Shelby, and Goodyear saw the profits from this effort quickly.
The Shelby Mustang Super Snake averaged 142 MPH for 500 miles, reaching 172 MPH in the straights. Even more amazing was the fact that these skinny little tires performed flawlessly, and retained 97 percent of their tread after the 500 mile run! The fact that he went 172 MPH on 7 1/2 inch wide Bias Ply tires was phenomenal…and scary! This was a fact that Goodyear promoted heavily, of course.
15 Minute Of Fame
After all this track action, the rarest Mustang ever, the 1967 Ford Mustang Cobra Super Snake was shipped to California where it was made into a display piece at a Ford dealership. It had lived its time in the spotlight, and was officially retired. Meanwhile, the Shelby team worked on making a limited run of 50 Super Snakes so it would qualify as production. With all the extra equipment added to the car, making it a production car proved to be more difficult than anyone expected. The racing parts were not really street friendly, and building 50 of them presented challenges.
There were also concerns about meeting the requirements for NASCAR. Any car racing in NASCAR races had to retain a factory 5 year, 50,000 mile warranty, The special racing equipment made it impossible to honor any type of warranty. At over twice the price of the already expensive GT500, the Super Snake was also deemed way too expensive. It would be a major gamble to hope people paid the premium price for the car. This was a gamble neither Ford nor Shelby was willing to take. The project was dropped, and the other 50 Super Snakes were never made.
Forgotten Hero
Since it was no longer a prototype, the Super Snake you see here was bought by a man in Dallas after he saw it on display at the dealership. He replaced the original 2.73 oval track rear gears with 4.10 drag racing rear gears and started drag racing the car. After living a life in the fast lane as both an oval track and drag strip star, the Super Snake was sold again. It was subsequently sold a few more times over the years. The Super Snake was not street friendly, nor was it fuel efficient. It was a bare bones race car, not a daily driver. Ironically, these features made it difficult to sell. As such, it sat for years in various garages under a car cover. The rarest Mustang ever had been basically forgotten about.
Long Lost Legend
It could very well have remained forgotten about, had it not been for a twist of fate. In 2011, the legendary and elusive Super Snake was found in a near perfect state of preservation. A collector figured out what it was and bought it with the intention of preserving it. A light restoration was performed at that time to rectify some minor things needed to make it correct. It only needed a couple of period correct wires and hoses, an original fire extinguisher, Shelby 10 spoke rims, and Thunderbolt White wall tires.
The biggest challenge was finding original Thunderbolt tires, as they hadn’t been made in over 30 years. No one reproduces them either, so this was a problem. An exhaustive nationwide search to find these tires took place. Finally, an antique “picker” was looking through an old repair shop and found 10 of these Thunderbolt original tires, with the original stickers, in a tire rack in the back corner of an old warehouse. A deal was struck, and the tires were shipped.
The car was now complete. Aside from these minor details, it was a virtual time capsule and had not been modified. The car had 26,000 miles on it, and was basically perfect. Feast your eyes on the ONLY 1967 Shelby Super Snake ever to exist!
A Pedigree Like No Other – Rarest Mustang Ever
Carroll Shelby himself signed the dash, customized it with Super Snake logos inside, and participated in building this car. He even drove it on the track a few times to test it out. After a publicity demonstration on a race track for Goodyear, a career as a drag racer, acting as a display piece at a dealership, and years of sitting around, the old Pony car finally has a new home.
Granted, it was never a ‘production’ car, but it is still a unique piece of automotive history! It has been rescued and is in great condition to this day. I still believe if there had been more of these built, racing history may have been changed forever. The Rarest Mustang Ever, shown here today, was sold at auction for $900.000 in 2013. It remains in a private collection, retired from its wild days as a young star.
Comment down below to let us know what you think – is this the most Amazing Mustang ever? Would you want to own one of these? Should Shelby have made them production?
If you like this article, please give us a star rating at the top of the article and like it on Facebook.
You may expect that the most expensive Plymouth ever would be some sort of supercar or special car that was once owned by the President of the USA. Perhaps you think it would be some exotic car that you have never even heard of. You would be wrong on all counts. This is a car you probably HAVE heard of, and is still loved by many people today. We already covered a super rare Plymouth Indy Pace Car. I built the car we are discussing today as a model car a while back. Now let’s have a look at the Most Expensive And Rarest Plymouth Ever.
A Little History First
You know those 3 sweet little words every muscle car fan wants to hear….those 3 words that can cause the heart to stir…..no, not those 3 words….Hemi Cuda Convertible! Perhaps the most famous of all muscle cars, these amazing pieces of automotive history have caused generations of people to fall in love with Mopar. In 1969, Plymouth began offering a performance version of the Barracuda called the ‘Cuda. No, ‘Cuda is not just an abbreviation for Barracuda. ‘Cuda is a specific peformance package offered on the Barracuda. The difference in the logo that distinguished this car is pictured below, as is the original Barracuda logo for comparison.
Like A Kid In A Candy Store
The ‘Cuda package included engine options, suspension upgrades, and optional equipment that were not available in the base model Barracuda. In ’70 and ’71, the ‘Cuda had many optional engines to choose from, and they read like a ‘who’s who’ list of Plymouth power. The base Barracuda carried the 170 cubic inch Slant 6, the 225 cubic inch Slant 6, and the 273 cubic inch V8. Yawn! Don’t get me wrong, these were fine daily drivers, very reliable, and got decent fuel economy for their time. They were great commuter cars, and served their purpose rather well as transportation from place to place. However, that is not what interests us gearheads, so we won’t even go into detail about those grocery getters.
The ‘Cuda was where all the action was in 1970 and 1971. This option gave the buyer a buffet style selection of really good engines. This buffet list included the big boys, such as the 340 V8, the 383 V8, the 440 – 4 barrel V8, the 440 six pack V8, and the monster 426 Hemi V8. Any of these cars can fetch a pretty penny at auction today, as they are all desirable cars. However, there is one engine in that group that stands out.
That engine is the 426 Hemi. Mopar enthusiasts say you are supposed to stand up when uttering those words, as a sign of respect. The 426 Hemi really is that awesome.
Yeah, The Most Expensive And Rarest Plymouth Ever Has a HEMI
The car we are looking at today has the venerable 426 Hemi engine that was feared on drag strips around the country. This is where most of these cars died, in fact. They were usually bought for drag racing, much like the 69 ZL1 Camaro we recently covered. These 4 bolt mains Hemi head engines were “officially” rated at 425 horsepower and 490 lb ft of torque. With their beefy cams and hemispherical heads, that estimate was laughably low. These cars were made for speed. This engine made gobs of horsepower, and that number was WAY below the real number.
These engines even had a nickname at the track. People called them ‘The Elephant’ due to their massive size and amazing horsepower. If you ever hear a gearhead talking about an “Elephant Cuda”, this is what they are talking about. The 426 Hemi was actually designed for NASCAR. This was Richard Petty’s engine of choice, and he certainly had a distinguished career in racing to prove it was a worthy choice!
Rare Survivor
For some reason, despite this wide array of options, sales of the ‘Cuda and Barracuda were not so brisk in 1971. Chrysler went from selling a combined total of over 50,000 of the ‘Cuda and Barracuda models in 1970 to selling just 16,159 of them in 1971. Of these 16,159 Barracudas and ‘Cudas, only 108 of the hardtop ‘Cuda 426 Hemi Coupes were sold. To further limit our scope, only 11 of those cars were 1971 426 Hemi Cuda Convertibles. Out of those 11 Hemi Cuda Convertibles, only 2 of the 1971 ‘Cuda Convertibles were ever made with the 426 Hemi AND a 4 speed manual transmission.
Out of those 2, only 1 is a numbers-matching car with the original engine and drivetrain. This is the car you see here today. Behold the ONLY numbers matching, 1971 Plymouth ‘Cuda Convertible 4 speed 426 Hemi in existence! This particular car had very few factory options included when it was purchased new. It was a pretty basic car, as it had only the painted steel wheels, a shaker hood, and hood pins. The important options are the 426 Hemi, the 4 speed manual transmisison, and the drop top. That combination is what makes it the most expensive and rarest Plymouth ever!
Rare, But Mysterious Too
That option list is also what makes this car an oddity – no one bought cars with these options as Sunday drivers. These Hemi engines were made for the track, not the street. No one buys a convertible for racing, as that wouldn’t make much sense. A Hemi 4 speed would not make for a very comfortable commuting car, either. This car was a beast! It did not like sitting in traffic. It certainly wasn’t large enough for a family of 4. So, why did the buyer choose this option set?
The professional racers bought these, but they bought a hardtop coupe forracing. They even added a roll bar for added safety and rigidity. Safety regulations would not even allow this car on the professional track, so it must have been bought for street use. So why were there 2 of these cars ordered like this? They have all the racing equipment, just like a race car, and then they added the convertible option. No one seems to know the answer to that unsolved mystery.
If This Car Could Talk…The Stories It Could Tell…
What we do know is that this particular car has had a rather ‘colorful’ history. It was once owned by Russell Meyers, the cartoonist that draws Broom Hilda comics. After he owned it for a while, he sold it to another guy. Then, while in possession of yet another owner somewhere along the line, the car was seized by Police in a drug raid and sold at auction. I wonder how many times this car ran from Police in high speed chases? It lived with the new owner until that owner traded it to another guy for some old Corvettes. After the Corvette trade, that owner fully restored it in 2000. He recently put it up for auction, and now someone else bought it and currently owns it.
No one knows what else may lurk in the history of this car, but this car has had a fairly wild history at any rate. The amazing thing is that it survived all that time. Throughout its 47 colorful years, no one blew up the engine, raced it to death, or otherwise tampered with the originality of this lone survivor.
Most Expensive And Rarest Plymouth Ever
This one of a kind car was sold at auction to an anonymous buyer (sorry Jay Leno, you didn’t get this one!) for the record price of $3.2 million, making it the most expensive Plymouth ever to see the auction block. The new owner will probably keep it a few years, as the previous owners have, then let someone else enjoy it. This means it may be up for auction again in a few years, so start saving your pennies now if you want to bid!
If you like this article, please give us a star rating at the top of the article and like it on Facebook.
