…This odd ‘collecting’ obsession with rare, limited edition & bespoke cars.

Being intrigued by the nature of a car that is different. Not the standard ‘fleet/lease’ approved spec, but more the ‘retired/sold up’ I’m having what I want specification. If it’s different in some way, with a great colour or odd one, then that’s good… The number of times when spotting a car I must have said: “Different Spec” or “Rare Spec” is beyond me!

This strange love stems from the manufacturers with their ‘special division’ department that created special order cars; Porsche Exclusive (special wishes), Mercedes Designo, Range Rover SVO, Rover Monogram, Jaguar Insignia, Audi Exclusive, Bentley Mulliner, BMW Individual, etc… then all the associated connections within the manufacturer that don’t have the special division but have options that aren’t normal, like Renault id for example…

Then, of course, the specialist manufacturers that do work on makes and models. Companies such as Overfinch, Wood & Pickett, Lister, Alpina, Tickford, Zagato, etc are genuine ‘coachbuilders’ of the day and acknowledged by their respective manufacturers. Another type of interest is dealer editions, these are commissioned by the dealer via the factory and sold exclusively by that dealer. The BMW F1 Williams edition is a good example of this. These were all commissioned by Sytner of Nottingham.

The line is drawn at the ‘add-ons’ companies though. If it’s basically been stapled on then it’s not of any interest. I won’t name names but I’m sure you know the types…

The intention is to hopefully show cars that you never knew existed. To give accurate figures for how many are made and to hopefully learn a few editions I never knew existed, with your help…

Here’s the kind of thing;

• The car has to be an officially UK-acknowledged vehicle by the factory.
• Low Volume Sales vehicle, either ‘didn’t sell well’ or Limited Edition.
• Ideally, less than 50 is the total produced number.
• A one-off vehicle for an interesting reason…
• A special order colour or specification variation.
• It doesn’t have to be a million-pound car…

There are a couple of other entries that will be included as we go along.

This whole ‘Unique Special Order Limited Edition Bespoke One-Off’ tag is unfortunately now quite common ground. I should have done the site years ago before the bandwagon set off but it’s here now and there are certainly a lot more interesting cars to be searched and talked about. I’ve been collecting ‘Spec’ & ‘Rare Cars’ for over 30 years now. Do give me a follow on Instagram for more interesting cars.

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Ok, interesting vehicles then;

• Range Rover has a wonderful history with interesting editions. The Holland & Holland, Harrods Edition, CSK, Autobiography, Chromaflair Paints, Braemer, Ultimate Edition, Holland & Holland (405) 2015 edition, Anniversary, Overfinch etc… One of their ultimate vehicles that encapsulate the whole site is the 1999 Range Rover Linley. It has an incredible history of quirks and remained the most expensive Range Rover until the Ultimate Edition in 2011.
• Only 6 were ever made worldwide. Read it here RANGE ROVER LINLEY 

• Mercedes AMG ‘Black Series‘. From the SLK, CLK, SL, GT, & SLS – All these in total UK sales don’t exceed more than 55 cars.
• Even including the C63 Black Series Coupe, of which 66 cars came to the UK, any Black Series is rare and only totals around 120 cars.
• Also a big interest in the many other variations including Designo, Brabus, and early AMG.

• Porsche and its many, many variations of the Marque are intriguing. The GT & RS editions, Speedster, SportClassic, Anniversary, Slant-nose, Turbo S versions, and Exclusive & Paint to Sample (PTS) editions.

• Jaguar /Daimler has various editions of interest. XKR Anniversary, XKR-GT, Insignia Editions, TWR, R, & LWB Editions, etc

• BMW / Alpina well these know how to do a good limited edition… Many variations are searched for including  M5 LE, B3 GTS, 30 Jahre, 25th Anniversary, GTS, DTM editions, etc…

• Bentley / Rolls Royce –  This is a tricky one as most Bentleys are fairly rare and certainly special. The more featured ones are Continental R,  T,  SC editions, Arnage T-24,  Mulliner, Special Commission, Le Mans, Brooklands Mulliner, Birkin, Arnage Final Series, and many others.

See the Bentley sections for details on the Arnage Final Series, SC & Bentley Brooklands Coupe

And then the rest… Aston Martin, Bristol, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Honda, TVR, Lancia, Lotus, Renault, Peugeot, ABARTH, Mitsubishi, Audi, Noble, and on & on…

A list I guess that will never end as the new cars keep coming out… but keeping a register of the rare ones and having a quick look site for accurate facts & figures is the aim.

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