Article | Rare "normal" cars

Every now and then you may come across a car of some kind and never really notice it. You might have even seen one before and never really paid attention to know that the owner of that vehicle is allowed to shoot a remark at a super car owner, he himself might not know that he has a rare car.

Here is a small list of cars that you can find on our roads.

Ford Sierra XR8

We all know this car from the mid to late 80’s. However, there is only 250 XR8’s produced, exclusive to South Africa, for the sole purpose of homologation, the process needed to be able to race in a specific category. This monstrous ford featured a 302ci 5.0l V8, with a top speed of 225k km/h.

Chrysler Crossfire convertible

It may not be the best car out there, but with a total of 1500 cars, you are allowed to brag with your rare piece. Just don’t say it’s a Chrysler

VW Passat W8 Wagon

To be fair, the wagon in itself is not very common in South Africa, but did you know there is a w8 version? There are only about 100 in circulation, so you may never see one, but knowing these ordinary looking cars has the potential to house a 4.0l eight cylinder engine with mind blowing power, might just make a man giggle.

Mercedes W124 E-class AMG series

Although towards the bottom, an unknown amount of these beasts were produced, this was in a tie when AMG was still separate from Mercedes, and it is thanks to this car with its body kit that Mercedes noticed, and took over the AMG badge. The W124 AMG model was expensive, but it produced power like nothing on earth back then, being compared to the Lamborghini Countach says a lot. Its nickname is also the hammer, which becomes very apparent when you realize this 1988 this car managed to clock a whopping top speed of over 295 km/h

Suzuki Kizashi

Yes, it’s the youngest in the line-up, it’s also the best looking. Produced between 2009 and 2014, with drastically low sales figures due to Suzuki’s withdrawal from the US market, and untold recalls in 2013, you can almost be sure that the chances of seeing one of these is lower than spotting a blond racing a Ferrari.

***update - just this morning I saw two Suzuki Kisazhi's while in traffic, although the most I've seen yet in one day, I guess seeing one of these is not as rare as a blond racing a Ferrari, however I was reminded of something that is.

Ford Mondeo ST220

Not Alot of information is available, except that its fast, slick, and stunning, and in all my motoring life, I saw only one. in fact, I saw more XR8's than this beast