Over the years there have been some truly special versions of popular production cars, and we do mean special in every sense of the word.
Often, a special edition will be put on sale either at the very start of a car’s life cycle or at the very end, in order to tempt buyers into getting one, revive interest in flagging sales or simply to get rid of leftover parts and stock.
From iconic paint schemes to lame celebrity tie-ins, here’s our list of ten of the best, worst and most utterly hilarious special edition cars ever made:
Volkswagen Golf Harlequin
At its core, the clown-spec Golf Harlequin was a multi-coloured Golf manufactured in 1996 to keep buyers interested in the car, as it would be four years before the next-generation model would appear.
Taking inspiration from the previous Polo Harlequin, VW swapped the panels on 264 red, green, blue and yellow Golfs to create one of the rarest and most eye-catching Volkswagen special edition cars ever.
Citroen 2CV 007 Edition
There’s the right way to do a James Bond special edition car, for example the Aston Martin DB9 Bond Edition. There’s also the wrong way to do one, as evidenced by Citroen’s, err, interesting take on a Bond car.
Designed to capitalise on the Citroen 2CV’s appearance in For Your Eyes Only, the 007 Edition came with a bright yellow paint scheme, 007 logos and stuck-on bullet holes.
Pontiac Skybird
The ultimate “mom’s new boyfriend” car, the Pontiac Trans Am is one of the most iconic muscle cars ever, thanks to its role in Smokey and The Bandit and its optional Firebird paintwork that saw it become the object of desire for millions of greasy American teens in the 1970s.
There have also been plenty of special edition versions of the Firebird, which include the Redbird and the silver Anniversary Edition, but it’s arguably the baby blue Skybird which was the coolest of them all.
Nissan Skyline GT-R Nismo 400R
Arguably the pinnacle of the R33 generation Nissan Skyline, the GT-R Nismo 400R was engineered and built by Nismo (a contraction of "Nissan Motorsport") to celebrate the Skyline’s appearances at Le Mans and was one of the most iconic cars from the first Gran Turismo game for PlayStation.
With a bigger engine, upgraded powertrain and wider, angrier bumpers and side skirts, the 400R made as much as 500bhp and could hit 62mph in just four seconds. Originally 100 were planned, but only 44 were actually made making it one of the rarest special edition cars on earth.
Chrysler Imperial Frank Sinatra Edition
Chrysler’s chairman Lee Iacocca counted Ol’ Blue Eyes among his friends and to honour the singer (and convince his fans to buy Chryslers), the marque made a Sinatra special edition version of the Chrysler Imperial.
Along with a special silvery blue paint scheme, the Sinatra Edition also came with a briefcase full of the singer’s tapes. Despite the car getting Sinatra’s blessing, it didn’t sell well and was soon phased out.
BMW 1M Coupe
Arguably the car that came the closest to recreating the thrill of the legendary E30 M3 (at least until the M2 came along), the 1M Coupe was a brutal and ferocious limited edition version of the 1 Series with wicked handling and serious power.
Powered by a 335bhp twin-turbo inline-six, the 1M could bully its way up to 62mph in just over four seconds. Only 2,700 were made, making it one of the most sought-after and best loved modern BMWs.
Mitsubishi Pajero Mini Snoopy Edition
Good grief. Nobody loves cute cartoon characters quite like the Japanese but the Mitsubishi Pajero Snoopy Edition, complete with Snoopy drawings on the speedo, door trim, spare tyre compartment and wheel hub covers, is a bit ridiculous.
By the way, did you know that Pajero means “tosser” in Spanish? It’s almost like the name was chosen just for the type of person who would buy this car…
Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach Package
It’s not strictly a special edition model as the Weissach Package could be added to any 918 Spyder, but it’s on the list anyway given that only 918 918s were made.
The Package subtracts more than 45kg from the standard car with magnesium wheels, lighter brakes and titanium chassis bolts. Most eye catching of all is that instead of regular paint, you can get it in the iconic red, white and blue Martini Racing livery. Phew.
Renault Espace F1
Upon its release, the Renault Espace MPV went on to become one of the most successful cars of its time and as a result Renault, drunk on the Espace’s runaway success, deemed that the world needed one with a massive V10.
The beast you see above is the Renault Espace F1, made of lightweight carbon fibre and powered by a 3.5-litre, 40-valve Formula One V10 engine making 820bhp. Complete with a ridiculous body kit and four carbon shell racing seats, it could do 0-62mph quicker than you could say the words “school run”.
Fiat Kung Fu Panda
Earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show, Fiat unveiled its hilarious Kung Fu Panda Panda in an effort to pander to panda conservationists desperate to save the panda from environmental pandemonium. Got that?
Credit where credit’s due, the Kung Fu Panda is absolutely hilarious in every single way, from the black spots around the squircle headlamps to the slightly embarrassed look on the faces of the panda headrests. It was later auctioned off for panda charities, so that’s nice too.
