The Ford Mustang Cobra R shows up twice on this list, and both times Ford built it in very small batches. In fact, every car below came from a factory limited run or a homologation series built between 1987 and 2004.
Some existed so that a race version could compete. Others marked an anniversary or a championship. Either way, the production counts are small, and each one comes from the maker, a period magazine, an auction record or a specialist dealer.
1. 1987 Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth
Ford of Britain did not build the RS500 itself. Instead, it hired Tickford to assemble the cars at its Bedworth site, and Motor Sport magazine’s September 1987 issue set the public sales debut for August 1. Most of the 500 cars left in black, while 52 were white and 52 were moonstone blue.
Ford needed only 500 sales to homologate the changes for racing, Car & Classic explains. So each car got a bigger T04 turbo, a larger intercooler and eight injectors, although only four worked on the road. Motor Sport quoted 224 bhp at 6,000 rpm and a price of £19,950.
2. 1989 Pontiac Turbo Trans Am
Pontiac’s 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am paced the 73rd Indianapolis 500. Every one wore white paint, tan leather and gold honeycomb wheels. Enthusiast site TurboTransAm.com puts production at 1,555 cars.
Under the functional hood scoops sat a Buick-derived 3.8-liter V6 with a Garrett T3 turbo running 16.5 psi. Pontiac rated it at 250 hp. Even so, The Drive notes that Car and Driver recorded 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds and a 13.4-second quarter mile. By comparison, that year’s 5.7-liter V8 Trans Am GTA made 235 hp.
3. 1990 BMW M3 Sport Evolution
BMW built 600 Sport Evolution cars between January and March 1990, according to Austria’s automobile.at. Its S14 four-cylinder grew to 2,467 cc and made 238 PS (175 kW) at 7,000 rpm.
The front splitter and rear wing each had three settings, named Monza, Normal and Nürburgring. Meanwhile, brake cooling ducts took the place of the fog lights. Buyers chose gloss black or Misano red. Also, the German base price was 85,000 DM, against about 68,000 DM for a regular M3.
4. 1990 Nissan Skyline GT-R NISMO
Nissan built 560 of these R32 GT-Rs so the race car could run in FIA Group A, Hagerty reports. Its 2.6-liter twin-turbo RB26DETT carried an advertised 276 hp. However, Hagerty’s writer suspects the real figure sat in the low 300s.
The NISMO changes were practical rather than cosmetic. For example, metal turbine wheels replaced the standard car’s more fragile ceramic ones. Extra bumper openings fed cooling air, and a small ducktail sat on top of the main spoiler. Nissan also left out ABS and the rear wiper.
5. 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II
Mercedes built just 502 Evolution II cars for homologation, Silodrome notes. The engine story started with Cosworth, which gave the 2.3-liter four twin overhead camshafts and 16 valves instead of eight.
Later, the engine grew to 2.5 liters, and in street tune it made 235 bhp. That set up another round against BMW. In the early 1990s, both makers updated their sedans and built road-legal homologation specials of them.
6. 1992 Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione Martini 5
Lancia built 400 individually numbered Martini 5 cars, according to classic dealer Girardo & Co. The edition celebrated a fifth consecutive constructors’ title in the World Rally Championship.
Each car started as a Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione. On top of that, Martini stripes ran down both sides, and World Rally Champion badges sat on the tail. Inside, Recaro seats wore grey Alcantara with red stitching, and the seatbelts were red as well.
7. 1993 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra R
Ford built just 107 of the first Mustang Cobra R, Silodrome reports. The goal was a road-legal race car. Its 5.0-liter Windsor V8 made 235 hp at 4,600 rpm and 280 lb-ft at 4,000 rpm.
To get there, Ford cut about 450 pounds. Air conditioning, power windows, the stereo, sound deadening, the rear seats and the rear belts all came out. Some cars then raced in the IMSA Firestone Grand Sport Series and SCCA World Challenge. Many others, though, went to collectors and never raced.
8. 1998 Subaru Impreza 22B STi
Subaru built 400 22B STi coupes for Japan in 1998 to mark its 40th anniversary, Motoring Research reports. Another 16 went to the UK and eight went elsewhere. None came to the United States officially.
The widened body carried an adjustable rear wing, a larger hood scoop and 17-inch BBS wheels. Its 2.2-liter turbocharged flat-four had an official rating of 276 hp, with a five-speed manual and all-wheel drive. One example later sold on Bring a Trailer for $312,555 (£223,500) after about 76 bids.
9. 2000 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra R
Seven years after the first one, SVT came back with a second Cobra R, and this time it built 300. Carscoops covered number 252 of those 300 when it went up for sale on Bring a Trailer in the UK.
This time the engine was a naturally aspirated 5.4-liter V8 with aluminum pistons. It made 385 hp and 385 lb-ft, and it fed a six-speed manual and a limited-slip differential. The car in that listing showed about 10,000 miles.
10. 2002–2004 BMW M3 CSL
BMW built 1,383 M3 CSLs between September 2002 and January 2004, according to BMW Group Classic. That makes it the largest run on this list. Its S54 inline-six displaced 3,246 cc and made 360 hp at 7,900 rpm, or 17 hp more than the regular M3.
Lightweight parts in the body, chassis and engine cut the curb weight to 1,460 kg. As a result, BMW quotes 0-100 km/h in 4.9 seconds and a Nürburgring North Loop time of 7:50. In Germany, the CSL cost 85,000 euros new.
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