Rare Cars: Apal 1200 Coupe
Driving down any street in the world, it is easy to see four other cars that match yours. Automobiles are mass-produced, and almost everyone has the opportunity to “keep up with the Joneses” by parking an identical twin of your car in their own driveway. But for those with more discerning tastes, some extra cash and the desire to stand out in a car crowd, there are automobiles that fit into the category of “World's Rarest Cars.” Meet the APAL 1200 Coupe, one of the rarest of the rare cars, with a grand total of only 150 ever produced.
The APAL sports car company was founded by Edmond Pery in the early 1960s. The glass-fiber specialist wanted to build replicas of famous sports cars at the time, most notably the Porsche. APAL, an acronym for Application Polyester Arme Liege, created the Coupe 1200 at its headquarters in Belgium (the company later moved to Germany), giving it the notoriety of being one of the company's first models.
The Coupe 1200, like most of the coupes produced by APAL, was built on a Volkswagen Beetle chassis. Curvaceous lines were added to the body of the car to give it an undeniable sports-car edge and to remind car enthusiasts of the classic Porsche. The engine was also taken from Volkswagen, a 1200 cc air-cooled model. The rarest models of this rare car are those built with a Porsche power unit.
With only 150 of the APAL Coupe 1200 ever made, it is rare to see one of them driving down the street, or even in a car museum. But if you do happen to see one, you'll know you're seeing something special. The car does indeed resemble a classic Porsche, complete with a beautiful curved slope at the rear that begins at the top of the windshield, and is only interrupted to blend in the detail from the wheel wells and allow for the venting of the engine. The front view of the car is no less impressive, featuring a long hood with its own delicate version of the curved slope. The main headlights are carved into the slope, and an additional set of lamps is located on the very front end to help with illumination of the road. Larger windshields in both the front and the back, and four side windows (two in the front and two in the back, with only a sliver of a frame dividing them), give the driver the feeling of being ensconced in a bubble of sorts, riding above but in control of the curves at every turn.
This rare care would make any driver proud. You'd never see a duplicate of your car on the road.
