This is the one-of-a-kind 1997 Volkswagen W12 Syncro by Italdesign that was on display at the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show. In the year 1996, Former VW CEO Ferdinand Piëch collaborated with Giorgetto Giugiaro and his son, Fabrizio, in order to have Italdesign create an intriguing body to be fitted around an all-new Volkswagen Group 5.6-liter W12 engine. The first iteration, known as the W12 Syncro was presented during the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show. Volkswagen followed up bright red W12 Roadster in 1998, which remained a one-off variant. In 2001, Volkswagen introduced their most powerful iteration yet, known as the W12 Nardò. This example also featured a 12-cylinder engine, except this time with 6.0L and a whopping 591 horsepower. On October 13th of 2001, Volkswagen set out to the 7.8-mile Nardó track with this highly modified W12, and clocking an average speed of 183.5 mph (295.23 km/h) over 4,402 miles, they absolutely shattered the 24-hour speed record. The team set 9 other records during this run, including 500km (307.63 km/h), 500 miles (308.80 km/h), 1,000km (311.08 km/h), 1,000 miles (311.56 km/h), 5,000km (295.44 km/h), 5,000 miles (291.86 km/h), 1 hour (310.98 km/h), 6 hours (311.58 km/h), 12 hours (297.74 km/h). In February of 2002, the W12 Nardó test car managed to take the world record for all speed classes over 24 hours at Nardò yet again, where the car covered a distance of 7,740.576 kilometres (4,809.8 mi) at an average speed of 322.891 km/h (200.6 mph). A total of 11 other records records were broken as well, including 6 hours (325.58 km/h), 12 hours (324.87 km/h), 1000 miles (325.86 km/h), 5000 miles (323.03 km/h), 5000 km (324.85 km/h), 1 hour (328.16 km/h), 100 km (322.46 km/h), 100 miles (325.59 km/h), 500 km (324.67 km/h), 500 miles (327.39 km/h), and 1000 km (325.28 km/h).
How many made? 5 W12 cars total + 1 mock-up. (1 Roadster, 1 Nardo record car, 1 Yellow Syncro, 1 orange Nardo, 1 black Nardo, 1 styling mock-up)
Engine: 5.6L W12 - 414bhp
Debut: 1997 Tokyo Motor Show
Top speed: around 197mph
0-60: 3.9 seconds
Photo credit: @lambolog, @jamiedarling9
Research: @rarecarsonly