Anyone can drive to a dealership and buy a car off the lot, but it takes a lot more effort to build a custom car that is one of a kind. 2016 was a good year for custom cars, including not one, but two one-off Ferraris. The other cars on this list aren't specific models, but are unique creations based on previously existing models. One-off cars are amazing because the owners know that they will never see another one on the road, which must be an amazing feeling. So here are our five favorite custom cars from 2016.
The SP275 RW is one of the two unique Ferrari models that we saw revealed this year. The SP257 RW is based on the F12 TDF, and has been uniquely styled to look like the 275 GBT that won LeMans in 1965. This car was revealed at an event in Daytona for one extremely lucky owner. It shares the 6.3-liter V12 with the TDF, so it is very fast. We don't know what the owner paid for the car, but we know that it's extremely difficult to take part in Ferrari's one-off program. The program forces you to pick from an existing Ferrari chassis, so this owner was smart to pick what is arguably the best chassis available.
The first one-off Ferrari that was revealed this year was the 458 MM Speciale. The MM is based on the 458 Speciale with the same 4.5-liter V8 producing 597 horsepower. We think that the MM looks a lot like the Lotus Esprit Concept which never reached production. We wish that Ferrari could have made this one-off look a little more unique compared to the standard car, but even Ferrari's one-off cars have to be based on existing models. It may be subtle, but the differences on this car are enough to make it one of a kind.
The Jeep Wrangler Trailcat may just be a concept, but we had to throw it on this list because of its sheer madness. Stuffing the 707 hp 6.2-liter supercharged V8 from the Hellcat into a Wrangler couldn't have been easy, but we can't possibly turn down the opportunity to own a Hellcat-powered Wrangler, although we doubt that Jeep will ever decide to build one. We will be able to buy a Hellcat-powered Grand Cherokee soon, but this amazing Wrangler with its manual transmission is far more unique.
his next car is powered by a Ferrari engine, but it is actually a Toyota. Perhaps the coolest car at SEMA this year was pro drifter Ryan Tuerck's custom Toyota GT86. Dubbed the GT4586, this custom creation packs the 4.5-liter V8 engine from a 458 in a Toyota body. Getting the Ferrari engine to mount in the front of the car must have been a difficult task, but the results are stunning. SEMA is the largest collection of custom cars in the world, so it takes a lot to blow the competition out of the water, which is exactly what the GT4586 was able to do.
Custom cars do not have to be based on a new car. In fact, some of the coolest custom cars are older vehicles with a newer powertrain. This 1976 Toyota FJ is powered by a 1UZ V8 engine which was found in a variety of Lexus models including the LS400. In the FJ, this engine is now producing 300 hp on the original Lexus ECU. The car has some parts from Land Rover, Jeep, and Volkswagen, but most of the mechanical parts are straight from Toyota.
