Special editions give automakers a chance to make some of the crazy stuff that they know most of their market wouldn’t dare to own. Sometimes, as is the case with these ten cars, they really go all out.
10.) Fiat Panda Italia ‘90 Football World Cup Competition
With its soccer-ball hubcaps in all of their glory and greatness, the Fiat Panda Italia ‘90 Football World Cup Competition Edition will indeed go down in history as one of the most ridiculous special edition cars the econobox segment has ever seen. If you were an Italian rolling up to a 1990 World Cup game, forget the Ferrari 348 or the Lamborghini Diablo, this was the car of choice.
Suggested By: Fl1ngstam, Photo Credit: Fiat via MSN
9.) Ford F-150 Harley Davidson Edition
Many think of the Ford F-150 Harley Davidson edition as the truck that you’re supposed to carry your Harley with. Nope. Those people are wrong. These trucks have never actually been able to fit a Harley in their bed. They’re like the man purse of trucks.
Suggested By: Mark Bour, Photo Credit: Ford via Jalopnik
8.) Mercury Villager Nautica Edition
Ever wonder why you never see anyone rocking Nautical brand clothing anymore? You can probably thank this van. The Smoking Tire’s Matt Farah has an explanation.
My first wheels when I turned 16, a hand-me-down from my mom: I present the Nautica Edition Mercury Villager. Hot on the heels of the success of the Eddie Bauer Edition Ford Explorers, which took over the carpool pickup lines in the northeast in the mid-1990’s. Ford’s attempt at getting proper fashion companies like Ralph Lauren involved failed miserably, so they decided to choose mid-level oceanic clothier Nautica and decorate the van like a capsized sail boat.
Stupid colors and embroidered sailboat headrests aside, the villager (and its twin the Quest) were really, really good minivans, some of the first of their kind to “drive like a car.” But man, this van has got to be a top-three reason no one wears Nautica anymore.
Suggested By: TheSmokingTire, Photo Credit: Mercury
7.) Jeep Wrangler Dragon Edition
Apparently, this is what it looks like when Jeep decides to give their customer-base “exactly what they ask for.” I’m thinking from the looks of this one, maybe their buyers don’t actually know what they want. Good effort though!
Suggested By: Daily Drives a dragon, Photo Credit: Jeep via Jalopnik
6.) Toyota Corolla Altis ESport Nürburgring Edition
Where did Toyota get the balls to celebrate a seventh place victory at the Nürburgring with this thing? Just because you slap on some sporty looking bits, retune the suspension, and paste a couple Nürburgring ADAC badges on the sides, does not mean you have the right to call this a “Nürburgring Edition.” Come on.
Suggested By: mr_bots, Photo Credit: Toyota via Jalopnik
5.) Porsche 911 Turbo S 918 Spyder Edition
For those elite Porsche 918 Spyder buyers who just couldn’t wait for their supercar to arrive in their garage, Porsche gave out the opportunity to buy a 918 Spyder edition 911 Turbo S in coupe or cabriolet form to tide them over.
Yes! Give us another $160,000 and we will make another limited production model car, just for you, while you wait for your hypercar! What a nice gesture?
Suggested By: marshknute, Photo Credit: Porsche
4.) AMC Levi’s Gremlin
Back in the ‘70s, AMC and Levi’s jeans partnered up to create the denim hatchback for the ages. I don’t think there could’ve been a better car for Jay Leno’s early stand-up comedy years.
Suggested By: DennyCraneDennyCraneDennyCrane, Photo Credit: via Heddels/Jalopnik
3.) VW Golf Harlequin
The VW Golf MkIII Harlequin was the perfect option for those buyers who just couldn’t mentally nail down which color they really wanted most. If you can’t choose one, why not have them all?
Suggested By: Stig-a-saw-us-wrecks, Photo Credit: VW
2.) Smart Fortwo Edition By Jeremy Scott
By using his trademark design tactic of putting wings on things (usually shoes), Jeremy Scott was able to make the Smart Fortwo even more fabulous ridiculous. Though the diamond-stitched seats and other white leather-wrapped interior bits do appear to make this special edition Smart a decent place to be.
It’s like a Smart car that has finally gotten its angel wings. Now if only it could fly away.
Suggested By: Shanon Wagner, Photo Credit: Smart
1.) Mitsuoka Orochi Neon Genesis Evangelion
It’s safe to say that even before its transformation into an almost $140K Anime-styled sports car, the Mitsuoka Orochi wasn’t exactly well-liked. Post-transformation, is it possible that they’ve actually been able to improve the looks of this monstrosity by camouflaging its hideousness with distracting colors and shapes? Maybe.
Suggested By: As Du Volant, Photo Credit: Mitsuoka via Autoblog
Welcome back to Answers of the Day - our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day’s Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It’s by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
Top Photo Credit: Mitsuoka via Autoblog