LOS ANGELES — Tony Stark may be dead and gone, but Hyundai is still rolling out the limited-run Iron Man Edition of the Kona subcompact crossover, the world's first production vehicle themed after a Marvel character.
Hyundai Motor America told Automotive News that it had sold 223 units of the one-off Kona in Iron-Man Red with contrasting matte gray paint in the U.S. "It's a limited edition based on production," a Hyundai spokesman said. "We are selling a few thousand globally ... once they're gone, they're gone!"
While the rollout of the special edition was not timed to the launch of the latest Avengers film, "when we entered into the partnership we knew that the upcoming movies would continue to keep the Marvel Universe at the front of popular culture," the spokesman said.
Avengers: Endgame has been a blockbuster since its April 26 debut.
Last month, Hyundai delivered its first Kona Iron Man Edition in the U.S. to Matthew Conway, an Air Force veteran from Florida who picked up the vehicle at Hyundai of Wesley Chapel, in Florida.
"I heard about the Kona Iron Man Edition when it was debuted at Comic Con" last year, Conway said in a statement issued by Hyundai. "The matte gray and red color scheme already had me sold, but being the Marvel and Iron Man fan that I am, I had to be the first to get it."
Another fan of the Marvel Universe, Tiffany Porter, dressed as Captain Marvel for delivery of her Kona at Gary Rome Hyundai in Holyoke, Mass.
The special edition is covered in Iron Man and Marvel badges, including one on the hood, along with a mask-styled front fascia with daytime running lights that resemble the mask's eye cutouts.
Around the back, the Kona features Exosuit-inspired rear lights, bumper and skid plate to resemble the superhero's armor. At its four corners, the crossover comes with Iron Grip two-tone wheels.
Inside, Stark-embossed seats with the Iron Man mask logo continue the theme, along with an Arc Reactor shift knob and gauges, and a head-up display with an animation sequence at startup. The special-edition Kona has a starting sticker price of $31,595, including shipping, with front-wheel drive. The only option is all-wheel drive for an additional $1,400, according to Hyundai's Web page. That's about $3,000 more than the Ultimate trim.
Hyundai formed a partnership with Marvel and Netflix in 2015 that gave it product-placement rights with hero franchises such as Daredevil and Luke Cage, the automaker said. The relationship continued with the motion picture debut of the Veloster Turbo last summer in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
