While GM is known for making practical vehicles, the company has created some rare models over the years.
While General Motors has had its share of hard times in the last 20 years, the company is still one of America's most significant automakers. Over the last century, GM has built many iconic cars—including the Chevy Corvette, Buick Riviera, Pontiac GTO, and Oldsmobile Cutlass—that are loved in all corners of the world.
GM has produced countless cars over the course of its 100-plus-year history. However, there are some models you may not have come across before. If you're a car enthusiast, then this article is for you.
We've compiled a list of the top 10 rarest GM cars.
The muscle car segment was in decline in the 1970s and early 1980s. Strict emission regulations forced automakers to detune their engines, producing some of the worst muscle cars ever made.
Thankfully, The mid-'80s saw the return of several great muscle cars, like the 5.0-powered Mustang, the Camaro IROC-Z, and the Buick Grand National. But one car stood out from them all: The Buick GNX. Based on the 1987 Grand National but with upgrades by McLaren, this excellent muscle car had an underrated 276-hp 3.8-liter V6 engine under the hood.
RELATED: The 5 Best Buick Muscle Cars
The Pontiac GTO is widely considered among the most excellent muscle car models of all time, with one of its defining features being its distinctive styling. The GTO showed how a muscle car should look and perform in the eyes of many gearheads.
The Pontiac GTO Judge Convertible was the rarest and most desirable of the GTO models. It came with a 400- or 455 cubic-inch V8, depending on the year, and a host of unique graphics. Pontiac built 287 Judge Convertibles from 1969 to 1971.
RELATED: The 7 Best Years for the Pontiac GTO
When the Chevrolet Chevelle debuted in 1964, it was meant to compete against the Ford Fairlane as a sensible and reasonable midsize car. Still, when the Ford Mustang and Pontiac GTO debuted in 1964 with more power than the Chevelle, Chevy knew it had to respond appropriately.
So, Chevy built a special 200-unit limited run of Chevelles equipped with the new 396 CID engine in 1965 and called it a Z-16. With its powerful engine, this was a super-fast car.
The 1969 ZL1 Camaro is a classic muscle car that's still popular today. It was the most powerful Camaro you could buy in 1969 and came with a number of factory modifications for drag racing, making it the ultimate factory-built drag racer.
The ZL1 was outfitted with an engine that is considered by many to be a masterpiece—a race-inspired all-aluminum V8 that produced 430 horsepower, but it is believed by some to have actually made more.
RELATED: The 7 Best Chevy Muscle Cars
Even though most people are only just starting to see the benefits of electric vehicles, car manufacturers have been experimenting with battery-powered vehicles since the late 19th century. In the 1990s, California's impending emissions legislation spurred several major car makers to release low-volume EV models.
The S-10 Electric was a pickup truck that used an 85-kW induction motor instead of an internal combustion engine. General Motors planned to build 492 but ended up making only 60.
The Impala was an affordable full-size car from 1958 to 1963, but in 1963 Chevrolet introduced the high-performance Z11 as a special package available under the Regular Production Option (RPO).
The Z11 was almost identical to the regular Impala but was made of aluminum instead of steel, which helped it lose a lot of weight. It also had a 7.0-liter V8 engine that produced 430 horsepower, so it was definitely among the most feared drag racing cars of its day.
The Chevrolet El Morocco is among the rarest Chevrolets ever built, with only ten produced in 1956 and 16 in 1957. The car was built in a few different body styles, including two and four-door hardtops and convertibles made of either aluminum or steel. They are sought after by collectors today.
The Corvette has spawned many special editions over the years. One such model is the ZR2, a special edition that's also one of the fastest Corvettes ever built.
The ZR2 came equipped with the "LS6" 454-cubic inch V8 engine, which produced 425 horsepower—enough to make it a joy to drive. Of the 1971 Corvettes that were built, only 12 were ZR2s.
The Corvette ZL1 was introduced in 1969 and was the most powerful version of the third-generation Corvette you could buy.
The ZL1 was equipped with a 427cid big-block V8 engine, producing 430 hp. At the time, that was enough to make it the fastest production car available in America. Only two people chose the ZL1 package, though, because of its price: The ZL1 cost $4,700 more than the base Corvette price, essentially doubling the price of the car.
When the Chevy Corvette debuted in 1953, it was a huge hit. However, many gearheads felt that six cylinders and 150 hp weren't enough for a sports car. Oldsmobile also held this view, so they decided to build a more powerful version of the Corvette called the F-88.
The F-88, which was a sporty coupe based on the Corvette's chassis, used a 5.3-liter V8 engine instead of a six. Experts believe that Oldsmobile built only two F-88s, but only one survives; at a 2005 Barrett-Jackson Auction, the sole surviving F-88 concept car sold for $3.2 million.
RELATED: 10 Rarest Cars in the World
| Rank | Company | Country |
|---|---|---|
| #1 |  Volkswagen |
Germany |
| #2 |  Toyota |
Japan |
| #3 |  Stellantis |
Netherlands |
| #4 |  Mercedes-Benz Group |
Germany |
| #5 |  Ford Motor |
United States |
| Rank | Company | Country |
|---|---|---|
| #1 |  Michelin |
France |
| #2 |  Bridgestone |
Japan |
| #3 |  Continental |
Germany |
| #4 |  Goodyear |
United States |
| #5 |  Sumitomo |
Japan |
