Special edition variants of existing automobiles are strange creatures. Some manage to live up to the name – proving to be remarkably special cars in their own right – but the vast majority are merely blatant attempts to extend the shelf-life of ageing vehicles.
Shame on you, automakers, for thinking that weâ€
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Of late, an altogether new breed of limited production cars has also emerged: the so-called “First Editionâ€. Kia did it with the Sportage, Alfa Romeo did it with the 4C, and Mercedes-Benz did it with the AMG-badged A-Class, CLA and GLA. And now Volvo is doing it with the XC90. Rather than trying to revive a vehicleâ€
But today weâ€
What sort of purpose do they serve? Well, we wish we knew…
1. Smart ForJeremy
Back in 2012, the Daimler-backed car-maker whipped the covers off the Smart ForJeremy showcar at the Los Angeles Auto Show. We pointed, we laughed and then we laughed some more. With a pair of outrageous wings (yes, actual wings – not spoilers) tacked to the back of the electric ForTwo, it looked utterly ridiculous. So silly, in fact, that we wrote it off as a concept weâ€
We were wrong. Turns out it actually went into production in 2013 – and retained the outlandish wings that lit up “like igniting rockets to form avant-garde rear lightsâ€, the shocking white leather interior, and the excessive use of chrome bit and bobs. So, thereâ€
2. Range Rover Evoque Special Edition with Victoria Beckham
In standard form, the Range Rover Evoque is undoubtedly a posh vehicle. So swanky, in fact, that parent company Land Rover decided the world needed a special edition built with a dash of input from “Posh Spice†herself. Yes, Victoria Beckham is the pseudo-celebrity behind this awkwardly named limited series Evoque, which features hand-finished matte grey paint and contrasting gloss black roof, wheel arches and 20-inch alloys.
The vehicle – which was unveiled at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show –also features loads of rose-gold accents, ostensibly because Mrs Beckham was sporting a “rose-gold man’s watch†at her first meeting with Land Roverâ€
3. Citroen DS3 By Benefit
Weâ€
One of the modelâ€
4. SEAT Mii by Mango
In an apparent bid to carve out a niche for the Mii city car, SEAT hooked up with Spanish design company Mango to conceive the SEAT Mii by Mango, which arrived on the scene at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. What sets this little vehicle apart from its siblings? Well, it boasts a “nude†paint colour (whatever that is), specific exterior side mouldings, dark grey 15-inch alloys, heated electric door mirrors, rear tints, and a handful of exterior badges.
Inside, thereâ€
5. Volkswagen Harlequin Golf
Thankfully, 1996 was a fairly long time ago. Otherwise we may be forced to look at the Volkswagen Harlequin Golf more often. Which would be bad for our eyes. You see, each special edition model – created exclusively for the North American market — was made up of panels of various colours, resulting in a sort of patch-quilt effect. Even the fabric used to cover the seats featured a similar pattern. Why? Depends on which rumour you believe.
In total, there were four colours used on any one vehicle: Tornado Red, Ginster Yellow, Pistachio Green and Chagall Blue (interestingly, the latter two were not available on Golfs in the US at the time). Apparently, the interchanging of panels took place at the factory in Mexico only once each car was completely assembled in one solid hue. And no panel was ever allowed to border another in the same colour. Strange.
6. Audi A1 Diamond Edition
Ever yearned for your car to, um, look more like jewellery? You know, all sparkly and encrusted with various types of gems? No, us neither. But apparently there was a market for this sort of thing in Norway back in 2011, when the German automaker teamed up with (renowned?) jewellery designer Thomas Heyerdahl to create an A1 to appeal to “sophisticated women who value uniqueness and high qualityâ€.
The A1 Diamond Editionâ€
