10 bizarre cars you can buy this week

Weird and wacky classics, all without reserve

Most car auctions tend to trumpet their biggest lots. You know, the rare classics worth countless millions.

Sometimes, though, even the biggest sales turn up something unexpectedly quirky.

Take the RM Sotheby’s London auction this Wednesday: the star-studded event is set to see a host of near-priceless historic motors change hands – and whole lot of weird ones, too.

Here are 10 bizarre cars you can buy on 5 September.

1974 Zagato Zele 1000

Estimate: £5-10k (no reserve)

Famed for clothing rare and stunning sports cars – think the Aston Martin DB4GT – this diminutive mid-’70s machine is a far cry from Italian coachbuilder Zagato’s usual efforts.

Built to combat a shrinking market for thirsty GT cars, the all-electric Zele (of which just 500 or so were made) had a range of 50 miles and could hit a speedy 25mph in the right conditions.

1974 Zagato Zele 1000 (cont.)

Powered by a 1000W Marelli motor, the boxy glassfibre wagon was distantly related to the Fiat 500 and Fiat 124 – though you wouldn’t find its four 12V batteries in either of those.

Stabled with its original owner for 11 years, it was sold in ’85 and passed through several pairs of hands, before being purchased by the current owner and comprehensively restored in 2011.

1968 Autobianchi Panoramica

Estimate: £10-15k (no reserve)

Stretching a compact city car into a glassy two-door station wagon might seem a misguided move, but Autobianchi’s Panoramica was the face of upmarket urban transport in the late ’60s.

It might have been derived from the working man’s Fiat 500, but this boxy estate had its heart set on the fashionable centres of Italy’s cities.

1968 Autobianchi Panoramica (cont.)

Both fashionable and utilitarian, this example has suffered little of the hauling often inflicted on these mini machines (with a mere 16,500km on the clock).

Unrestored, original and still as oddly stylish as it was in the ’60s – complete with red upholstery, wood-tone dash strip and beige exterior – with a little care and attention it could become quite the fetching estate.

1975 ACOMA Mini Comtesse

Estimate: £5k-10k (no reserve)

France's answer to the microcar, ACOMA's Mini Comtesse was so small that it fell within the 'L-Category' – meaning it could be driven by anyone, regardless of whether they had a licence.

Aping the Isle of Man's Peel P50, it was a dinky three-wheeler equipped with a 49cc single-cylinder engine good for a mere 3bhp and a top speed of 20mph. Two forward gears were your lot, with no reverse.

1975 ACOMA Mini Comtesse (cont.)

Unlike the P50, it had two doors: a standard one on the right and a gullwing number on the left, in case you felt like parking sideways between two cars.

Some 18,000 were built across several model variants between 1975 and '84, and all that still exist today retain their propensity to roll.

1963 Fiat 600D Multipla

Estimate: £25-35k (no reserve)

Where the Multipla of the noughties was a bulging monstrosity, the bonny 1960s original was a remarkable feat of miniature engineering: though its wheelbase was a mere two metres – just 50cm longer than a Mini – it could theoretically seat six people.

A rear-mounted engine and folding seats in the back maximised the limited space to create a truly useful machine.

1963 Fiat 600D Multipla (cont.)

Where the original model shipped with a 600cc motor, the 'D' variant (like the one up for auction) carried a 767cc good for 25bhp, making it only more capable.

This glorious, grey 1963 example of the early MPV has just 3400 miles on the clock and underwent a thorough service in 2013, leaving it in fine condition today.

1979 Lada Niva 4×4 Paris-Dakar

Estimate: £50-75k (no reserve)

Fancy driving from Paris to Dakar in a dinky Russian city car? Us neither, but at least a dozen folk thought it was a good idea in 1981, with 12 Lada Nivas entering that year's Paris-Dakar rally – including this 1979 example, going to auction in entirely original, unrestored condition.

1979 Lada Niva 4×4 Paris-Dakar (cont.)

Despite the iron-like durability of the average Lada, this example of the 4x4 didn’t make it to Dakar – though another one finished the event in third place.

Specially prepared for the desert crossing with plastic bonnet, doors and boot, as well as heftier suspension, this unusual machine is now in need of some serious TLC.

1982 Tuk-Tuk "Octopussy"

Estimate: £30-40k (no reserve)

OK, so this one's not technically a car, but it's certainly bizarre: vehicle of choice for much of South Asia, the humble Tuk-Tuk has had several big-screen outings – but none quite as dramatic as when a fleet of the things pursued Roger Moore's James Bond through the streets of Udaipur in 1983's Octopussy.

1982 Tuk-Tuk "Octopussy" (cont.)

This 1982 number – built on the frame of a Honda 250R ATC – was one of the Tuk-Tuks that took part in the Octopussy street chase, complete with uprated motor.

After the film, it spent a while stabled in the 'Cars of the Stars Museum' alongside several other Bond vehicles, before being sold to the current owner.

2011 Peel Trident

Estimate: £10-15k (no reserve)

Successor to the equally weird Peel P50, the Trident was marketed as a 'saloon car' for the cost of a scooter.

Unveiled at the '64 Earls Court Motor Show, it retained the P50's single-cylinder motor and three-speed gearbox, albeit wrapped in a new shell – complete with plastic dome with 360-degree visibility.

2011 Peel Trident (cont.)

Supposedly capable of seating two and hitting a top speed of 38mph (though perhaps not at the same time), the Trident was originally built for just a year, with fewer than 50 built by 1966.

Come 2011, Peel Engineering Ltd began building the space-age Trident again with modern components – and this 2011 example is one of those modern reincarnations.

1921 Peugeot Quadrilette

Estimate: £15-20k (no reserve)

At a distance, this car could pass for a proper 1920s speedster. Stand next to it, though, and you might you have trouble fitting into its diminutive frame: built in the mould of the Ettore Bugatti-designed 'Bébé', Peugeot's 'Quadrillette' was a properly petite cyclecar.

Conceived as an affordable alternative to the big machines of the era, cyclecars carried tiny engines that made them both fuel and tax efficient – even if space was an issue.

1921 Peugeot Quadrilette (cont.)

This Peugeot Type 161 was no exception, carrying a four-cylinder 668cc engine complete with a single carburettor good for roughly 6bhp, paired with a three-speed gearbox.

Formerly part of the Karl Ritter Museum, it's been comprehensively restored and goes under the hammer resplendent in a two-tone blue colour scheme that's '20s to the core.

1968 Fiat 500 Jolly

Estimate: £35-50k (no reserve)

The humble Fiat 500 came in many forms, but none were quirkier than Italian coachbuilder Ghia's Jolly iteration – a roofless 500 equipped with a striped fabric roof, wicker seats and a good sense of humour. 

Not one for colder climates, the chop-top Jolly was truly a child of the Mediterranean and ought to be as much of a '60s icon as the Mini Cooper.

1968 Fiat 500 Jolly (cont.)

This particular Jolly – recently refinished in a glorious coat of red – is a late-'60s example in fantastic condition, complete with ubiquitous wicker seats and utilitarian dashboard.

Its four-cylinder motor might need a polish, but everything from the decals to the gear-shift instructions on the steering wheel are present and correct, making this one fine 500.

1972 Bond Bug 700ES

Estimate: £20-30k (no reserve)

Last but no less bizarre is this 1972 Bond Bug – an example of what happens when a three-wheeler concept deemed futuristic in the '70s makes it into production.

Penned by Tom Karen of Ogle Design, the Bug was brilliantly bonkers – from the wedge-like aerodynamics to the front-hinged canopy to the black decals along its length.

1972 Bond Bug 700ES (cont.)

Built first by Bond Cars, then Reliant, fewer than 2300 of the micro machines were produced between 1970 and '74 – and all of them were bright orange.

This 1972 example has been treasured for most of its life and is arguably in better condition than when it left the factory, having spent many years in private collections. It remains just as inexplicably desirable as when it was immortalised in die-cast Corgi form.