5 Special Edition Cars That Weren’t Worth the Money
Every now and then, automakers will come out with special editions of cars from their existing lineup in order to spruce up a little interest. Of course, some of the special edition cars are actually indeed special, however, others are simply not. For example, the Scion brand and all of their special edition models. And although owning a special edition model of any car might actually make you feel, well, special, chances are that they’re actually a waste of money. Here are five examples to show you why.
Jeep Renegade “Dawn of Justice” Edition
Branded partnerships are fun, aren’t they? At least that’s what the FCA group thought when they teamed up with the creators of the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice movie in order to produce the Jeep Renegade “Dawn of Justice” Edition. No, there’s no special Batman weapons loaded on board, nor are there any real tie-ins to the movie adorned on the car. There’s just black paint, and lots of it.
The Dawn of Justice Renegade came out in 2016 and it was based on the Renegade’s Latitude 4×4 trim level. Its special features included a choice between a Carbon Black or Granite Crystal paint job along with black 18-inch wheels and a black cloth interior. In the end, it also cost $27,245, which was about $3,000 more than the non-special edition Renegade Latitude.
Hyundai Kona Iron Man Special Edition
Do you like Iron Man? We like Iron Man. But not enough to buy a whole car decked out in an Iron Man paint scheme, which is exactly what the Hyundai Kona Iron Man Special Edition is. The car features a matte gray paint job with red accents to imitate Tony Stark’s superhero suit and 18-inch wheels with Iron Man center caps. That’s not all, though, this special Hyundai Kona also features LED headlights, Stark Industries logos, and giant Iron Man mask painted on the roof. You know, so the helicopter can easily find you in a police chase.
The treatment extends to the interior as well with red accents on the center console and dash and embroidered seats that feature the Stark Industries logo. It might not make you feel like Tony Stark, but you’ll likely want his money to waste on one as this special edition cost around $3,000 more than the highest trim-level Kona.
Toyota 86 TRD Special Edition
Toyota is no stranger to pumping out special editions of cars and the Toyota 86 is no exception. We actually like the Hakone Edition that came out last year, so we won’t knock that one. But the Toyota 86 TRD Special Edition is a different story. We like TRD-branded Toyotas, like the Tacoma, but the 86 TRD mainly consisted of black paint, red and orange decals on the sides of the car, beefed-up shocks, Brembo brakes, and stickier summer tires. It might have been a collector to some of the Toyota 86 faithful, but to us, it wasn’t really worth the extra $3,835 over the regular Toyota 86.
Subaru WRX Series White
Aside from the fact that there were only 500 Subaru WRX Series White cars produced, its main claim to special-edition fame was that it came with upgraded damper and brakes as well as stickier tires. That, and a special white paint job that made it more exclusive, even though it just looked white. Was it worth the extra $3,000 over the standard WRX Premium? Not to us, but maybe to some.
Gucci Fiat 500
Back in 2011, Fiat and Gucci came together to produce the Fiat 500 Gucci Edition in order to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy as well as Gucci’s 90th anniversary. We will say that it was well-executed in the sense that they made a Fiat 500 look kind of like a Gucci purse on wheels, however, we don’t think it was worth the $25,000 price tag. After all, it wasn’t an actual Gucci bag.
Special editions can be worth it
While these are just five examples of special edition cars that might not be worth the extra coin, there are plenty in existence that definitely are. As always, it’s up to the buyer to decide if the “special” paint jobs and extra aesthetics are necessary, however, when it comes to the aforementioned cars, we don’t think so. Although, we do respectfully understand that they could be worth it to someone, especially if they like superheroes.
