13 Rarest American Sports Cars You’ll Never See in Real Life

There’s no doubt that while the sports car explosion is still scorching overseas, the smoke dies down here in the States. That wasn’t always the case. Americans have designed and built sports cars that are as mean as anything else out there.

Supercars have always been an experimental genre. But sometimes, our human hands have a hard time manifesting our vision–often, it’s due to limitations like resources, time, and a market. 

Regardless, some of the coolest sports cars ever designed never saw the light of day, at least not via retail. Here are 13 American sports cars so rare we might never see them in real life – but that won’t stop us from drooling anyway!

Shelby Series 1

In 1998, Shelby America built the Apple-Pie-American Series 1 supercar. The Series 1 was a roofless wonder powered by a 4-liter V8 capable of 170mph.

Shelby’s famous ’60s supercar, the one and only Shelby Cobra, inspired the Series 1. We’ll talk more about the Cobra in a few. For now, it’s enough to say the Series 1 honored the Shelby legacy with a 0–60 of 4.4 thanks to its 320hp. With only 249 Series 1s manufactured, we’ll be lucky if we ever see one. 

Oldsmobile F-88

In 1954, Oldsmobile was looking forward. They planned a far-out concept under the influence of the 50s Corvette, resulting in a single-concept model that qualifies as one of the earliest supercars.

The Oldsmobile F88’s Rocket 88 V8 was stuffed under the hood of a fiberglass body design. Complete with whitewall tires, a gold finish, and nuanced body curves, this classic two-seater is a rare sports car we can only see at the Gateway Colorado Automobile Museum.

Falcon F7

The Falcon F7 is a legend among car geeks. Michigan’s Falcon Motorsports designed the F7, but they only built seven, making it too rare to be seen by most people.

The Falcon F7 stocked a twin-turbocharged Lingenfelter V8 engine that went from 0 to 6- in 2.7 seconds. Why so fast? The Falcon constructed the F7 from kevlar and carbon fiber. Oh, and did we mention the twin-turbo-packaged F7 had a horsepower of 1,100? 

Hennessey Venom GT

Hennessy Performance Engineering does things the Texas way–modifying supercars with its rambunctious and raw re-tuning techniques. But Hennesy also has a few supercars of its own on the road, including the Venom GT.

Hennessy based the 13 Venom GTs in existence on the legendary Lotus Elite. But the Venom GT is a record-breaker, thanks to an up-tuned GM LS7 motor capable of throwing 1244 horses to the pavement.  

VLF Force 1

The rarely seen VLF Force 1 took the Viper chassis and V10 engine and upgraded it by 105hp for a finishing-move total of 745hp. The VLF Force 1 was always cued up to be exclusive, but its planned 50-unit run was canceled after five only five units were manufactured. 

The VLF Force had an all-star American team behind its design. Henrik Fisker was the lead designer, and Gilbert Villareal and Bob Lutz founded VLF. 

Saleen S7

The Saleen S7 was manufactured between 1999 and 2009, with a ‌slim mean rate of 10 cars a year. All 100 of these bad babes packed a 7.0-liter V8 engine capable of 550hp. That said, all post-2005 models stocked twin turbos for a 200hp jump up to 750.

The S7 was Saleen’s house supercar, but they started as a performance parts manufacturer with legendary up-tuning capabilities. Sallen made their name by upgrading Mustangs with custom parts and rowdy specs.  

Rezvani Beast Blackbird

The Rezvani Beast base model is already a rare treat for supercar geeks, with a 0–60 time of 3.5 and an output of 400hp. But the Rezvani Beast Blackbird, on the other hand, kicks off the pavements with 700hp.

Rezvani made its time with the Tank SUV, an all-but military vehicle. Both are rare to see, but you’ll likely hear the Beast Blackbird coming. 

SSC Tuatara

SSC won the car geeks over with the Ultimate Aero. But the Tuatara took their status to the next level of supercar. 

The Tuatara stocks a twin-turbocharged 5.9-liter V8 capable of 1350 and 2200 horsepower. SSC designed it to take the world’s fastest car title, but with a best time of 295mph, they’ve yet to break the 300mph record. 

Hennessey Venom F5

Now, back to Texas for another super rare, super-powerful supercar. The Venom F5 slaps the ground with the 1800 horses, putting 1200 ft-lbs of torque to the street thanks to a twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter V8.

Hennesy designed the F5 themselves, making it an independent build every step of the way. However, with only 90 F5s planned for production, the current price tag reads $2.1M. 

Shelby Cobra Super Snake

The Super Snake edition of the Shelby Cobra was almost illegal for street use, even in 1966. And while there are plenty of replicas, the original, twin Paxton supercharger-equipped cobra Super Snake was a two-of-a-kind 

The legend himself, Carroll Shelby, designed and built these special-edition Cobras back in ’66. Shelby made one for him and one for Bill Cosby, who gave it back after finding out how fast it was. Cosby’s was sold and totaled, so the only Shelby Cobra Super Snake left in existence was Carroll Shelby’s. 

Lucra LC470

The Lucra LC470 is a hand-built sports car available with a 430hp-pumping-6.3Liter LS3 or a 7-liter LS7 capable of 505hp. And while the LC470 resembles a vintage Euro performance car, both engines available are All-American, meat-and-potato V8s. 

The Lucra LC470 was designed by American entrepreneur Luke Richards, who founded Lucra with the vision of pushing the limits of technology without sacrificing style. It’s that exclusive spirit that only 63 LC470s were made. 

Packard Panther Roadster

We’ll end on a rare American super-classic, the Packard Panther Roadster. The Panther took the Cavalier’s steel chassis and fitted it with a 327-L-head straight-eight motor complete with a supercharger and a fiberglass body… in 1954.

The Packard Panther Roadster pushed 275 horsepower and looked like a Thunderbird had a kid with a Corvette. But with only four models produced and all sold straight to private owners, the Packard Panther is a rare classic sports car we’ll likely never see.