7 Weird, Cool, and Rare Cars We Found on AutoTrader

The AutoTrader marketplace has hundreds of thousands of new and used vehicles for sale. While there are tons of great daily drivers and classic cars for sale, occasionally, a few weird gems get listed, from weird imports to rare collector cars and odd forgotten failures. There are always fun listings across Canada, but here are our favourite oddball vehicles we found while browsing the marketplace recently. 

2014 Lamborghini Veneno 

The Veneno was an extreme hypercar produced to celebrate Lamborghini’s 50th anniversary. Based on the recently discontinued Aventador, the Veneno made 740 hp, but its more notable feature was its impressive styling. It featured sharp, angular styling that made it look like a Batmobile. The Veneno saw a run of just 13 cars produced (four coupes and nine roadsters) and had an original price of USD $4,000,000. The Veneno on AutoTrader is one of the more uncommon coupes and was priced at the time of writing at USD $13,900,000, making it the most expensive car currently for sale on the marketplace. [Editor’s Note: Oh no! The listing for this hypercar has disappeared, meaning it might have sold! We still had to include it though, because it’s so cool.]

2009 Suzuki Equator 

It’s likely that you haven’t heard of the Suzuki Equator, and that's for a good reason: It was a rebadged version of the 2000s Nissan Frontier. Suzuki sales were declining at the time, and the Equator seemed to be a simple attempt at entering the lucrative pickup truck market. The Equator had a limited production run of just four model years in the U.S. and only two model years in Canada. Suzuki managed to sell only 5,808 in North America, with 481 of those being sold in Canada. For comparison, Nissan sold over 100,000 Frontiers during the same time, making the Equator a very rare sight.  

1963 GAZ Volga 

The GAZ 21 is a Soviet executive vehicle best known as the GAZ Volga, which was mainly used for taxi and KGB transport. It was styled to look like American sedans from the early 1950s but with an upgraded ride height and rugged suspension that could handle harsh Soviet roads. This gave the Volga distinctly Soviet styling, especially in the 1960s, when the design was already 10 years outdated. Publicly sold Volgas had 2.5L four-cylinder engines that produced around 70 hp, while KGB Volgas had 5.5L V8s, the power of which is unknown. The example on AutoTrader is very clean and has been restored to almost its original state. This is a car you wouldn’t expect to find in North America, which adds to its cool factor. 

1997 Kia Elan  

The Elan was a front-engine, front-wheel-drive sports car produced from 1989 to 1995 by Lotus. However, when production ended, cash-strapped Lotus sold the tooling for the Elan to Kia. The Kia version was nearly identical, with the only differences being the taillights and the use of a Kia engine instead of an Isuzu one. About 1,056 units of the Kia Elan were produced from 1996 to 1999 and they were only sold in Korea and Japan. How and why such an obscure car made its way to Canada is a mystery, but there is one for sale on AutoTrader listed for a not unreasonable $20,000.

1994 Mercedes-Benz E36 AMG Touring

Today AMG is a performance brand under Mercedes-Benz, but for a long time, it was a separate entity. AMG had worked with Mercedes for many years making high-performance and racing versions of its cars, and the two companies merged in 1999. Mercedes AMG models manufactured before this time were produced in very low numbers and, therefore, have become very collectible. One such car is for sale on AutoTrader: A 1994 Mercedes E36 AMG wagon with only 2,739 km on the clock. This is a W124 Mercedes upgraded with a 3.6L straight-six engine making 268 hp, and features upgraded AMG wheels and body kit. This makes the E36 AMG stand out from other Mercedes models from the period. Only 172 units were ever made, and the rarity of this wagon is reflected in its $400,000 asking price.

1984 Dodge Rampage Prospector

Many people likely haven't heard of the Dodge Rampage. The Rampage was only sold from 1982 to 1984 and was meant to rival the Volkswagen Rabbit Sport Truck and Subaru BRAT, two vehicles that most people likely haven’t heard of either. It was a small front-wheel-drive truck that had a 2.2L four-cylinder making between 84 and 99 horsepower, and had a load capacity of just over 500 kg. It was a decent attempt at a compact truck, but the likelihood of seeing one on the road is low, as only 37,000 units were ever made. The one on AutoTrader is a surprisingly clean final production year model with only 67,000 km, and the chances of seeing another like it are slim.

1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS

Isuzu is an often forgotten automaker that pulled out of the Canadian market in 2001. It was a brand known for making affordable, sensible cars that were often rebadged as GM models throughout their partnership. The VehiCROSS is a complete oddity, being a weird-looking two-door SUV that looks like nothing else out there. Seeing one in the wild will undoubtedly make you question what you are looking at, with its weird body cladding and round headlights. The VehiCROSS was never officially sold in Canada, as it was limited to just the U.S. and Japan. In total, about 10,000 units were produced, with about 8,500 going to the United States. The one on AutoTrader is one of the rarer Japanese models with right-hand drive, making it a cool alternative off-roader bound to turn heads.