These strange beasts aren’t custom cars built in someone’s garage. The plans for the odd looking motor vehicles featured here were actually drawn up by automobile manufacturers, for the most part, and put together on some kind of assembly line. The actual number produced might be small, but that doesn’t make them any less cool, or bizarre.

From cars that fly to automobiles that can cruise across the water, the imagination and quirks of the designers who came up with these unique modes of transportation are very apparent. Here are 10 of the strangest, and most creative motor vehicles ever made.

Terrafugia Transition

Andrew Burton, Getty Images
Andrew Burton, Getty Images
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Most of use have dreamed of owning a car that turns into a plane. How else do you expect to beat that terrible morning traffic? Well, the dream of a flying car can now become a reality with the Terrafugia Transition. This car and plane, all in one, lets you land at your local airstrip, fold up the car’s wings, and complete the rest of your commute by road, all the way home to your own garage. Of course, you’ll need a pilot’s license in addition to your normal driver’s license if you want to operate one of these transforming vehicles.

WaterCar Python

If flying isn’t your thing (maybe you’re afraid of heights), why not opt for an amphibious car instead? Watercar produces a variety of vehicles that work in water as well as on land. If you want to cruise around with the top down, and then head out into the lake without getting out of your car, you ought to think about purchasing the WaterCar Python. If for no other reason, it might be worth buying one simply so you can enjoy the openmouthed looks you’ll get from the people you pass by.

Bubble Car  

exfordy, Flickr
exfordy, Flickr
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You can’t get much cuter than the vintage Messerschmitt KR175 Bubble Car. Messerschmitt was a German fighter plane manufacturer up until the end of WWII. After the war, for obvious reasons, the company was prohibited from building more planes. With this restriction in place, the designers and engineers at Messerschmitt turned their attentions toward the three-wheeled KR175 Bubble Car. The narrow body, tandem seating, and the bubble canopy, which opens up like a cockpit canopy on a fighter aircraft betray the aerodynamic mindset of the Germans who once worked for this company.

Tucker Torpedo

Rex Gray, Flickr
Rex Gray, Flickr
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The Tucker Torpedo was a strange, but intriguing car built in the late 1940s by Preston Tucker. In many ways, it was a vehicle ahead of its time. The frame was designed to protect the driver and passengers alike from collisions. The Torpedo also made use of a third, directional “Cyclops Eye” headlight that illuminated when the car turned at angles of 10 degrees or more. The design was extremely aerodynamic, hence the “Torpedo” name, as well as very modern looking and stylish.

BMW HR2

If you want to drive fast, you have the cash to spend, and you’re also concerned about the environment, you can’t beat the liquid-hydrogen powered HR2, built by BMW. This is one glossy, hi-tech machine. It burns clean fuel, has virtually no drag, is constructed out of lightweight material, and looks like it should be featured in a James Bond movie. If you ever manage to get your hands on one of these babies, you’ll be the coolest cat around, and still able to brag about how ecologically friendly you are.

Donkervoort GT

This Dutch built car will definitely turn heads when it zips on by. The Donkervoort model has been around since the late 1970s, but the GT is the first of these cars with a hardtop roof. The car is fast, low to the ground, with the wheel suspension open to the air. It’s a distinctive looking, high performance vehicle, billed as the “lightest GT” in the world. Perhaps you’d like to buy one someday, and take it our for a spin — or better yet, out onto the race track?

Dodge Tomahawk

Bryan Mitchell / Getty Images
Bryan Mitchell / Getty Images
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Okay, this concept car, or motorcycle, or whatever you want to call it might not be street legal, but it sure looks cool. The Dodge Tomahawk is more evocative of the light cycles in the movie Tron than anything you’ll see driving around town. In actuality, the Tomahawk is a quadracycle that makes use of a powerful Doge Viper engine. What does that mean for anyone who owns one of these speeder bikes? It means someone could theoretically push one of these puppies past 300 miles per hour. Of course that wound never happen (wink, wink), because only a few of them were ever built, and they aren’t legal to ride on public highways anyway…

Colim Detachable Caravan

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This is a concept caravan, or motorhome, that is ecologically friendly, sleek in design and color, with a space-age aura about it. The Colim Detachable Caravan features a pod in front, which is also a detachable car. You can tour around the county without having to deal with the pain of towing another vehicle behind your motorhome. Anyone who loves camping and efficiency should be delighted by the combination of both in this extraordinary vehicle.

The Cupcake Car

amitp, Flickr
amitp, Flickr
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If you have some extra money lying around, and you’ve always wanted a cupcake car of your very own, your dreams can now come true. Neiman Marcus once offered a $25,000 dollar cupcake car for sale in one of the company’s famous catalogs. The lucky guy or gal driving around his or her neighborhood, albeit very slowly, in a motorized cupcake will be sure to turn heads. This might not be as appealing to adults as the Dodge Tomahawk, but your kids should love it. The only negative, aside from the steep price, is the fact that you can’t eat this cupcake after you’ve finished driving it.

The GM Futurliner

Telstar Logistics, Flickr
Telstar Logistics, Flickr
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GM produces only a handful of these retro-buses in the 1940s. The company paraded these Twinkie-shaped vehicles around the country, showing off new automotive and industrial technologies. The side of the buses opened up, and folded out into a stage, in order to display the technologies contained within. Some of the buses known to exist are now used as motor homes, or for advertising. A few of them are damaged beyond repair. If you happen to own a Futurliner that hasn’t been found yet, and it’s in decent condition, it could potentially be worth millions. If only you should be so lucky.

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