Special Editions Car reviews

Bentley is adding a new member to its growing lineup of exclusive bespoke creations. The newest addition is called the Continental GTC Equestrian Edition. Limited to just a single unit — yes, there’s only one in the world — the Continental GTC Equestrian Edition makes for a suitable follow-up to the outlandish Bacalar roadster that the boys from Crewe, England unveiled earlier this month. Though not as over-the-top as the Bacalar, the Continental GTC Equestrian Edition is a sultry one-off that draws inspiration from the popular hobby among the rich and famous. It features extraordinary and exclusive details that no other Continental GTC carries, justifying its billing as a true one-of-one creation. The Bentley Continental GTC Equestrian Edition is already spoken for, and, as you might expect, the one-off model was specially commissioned by a client who’s fond of thoroughbreds.

The McLaren 765LT is getting all the deserved shine today, but that doesn’t mean we should sleep on the other model that the British automaker unveiled as part of its Geneva Motor Show offering.

The McLaren GT Verdant Theme by MSO isn’t an entirely new model as it is based on McLaren’s showstopping GT supercar. Where it stands out is the level of customization it received from MSO, McLaren’s in-house personalization department.

Certainly, MSO’s work on the GT speaks for itself. The supercar wears an exclusive paint finish unlike anything MSO has offered in the past. The exclusive touches continue in the interior, and the results are as mind-blowing as you’d imagine them to be.

Alpine’s return to automotive prominence hit another milestone with the unveiling of the A110 Legende GT. Billed as the “most refined interpretation of the A110 to date,” the A110 Legende GT breaks away from its contemporaries with a smattering of exclusive touches, including an all-new paint finish that will be seen for the first time on the A110.

There is, of course, more to the Legende GT than a fancy new paint. The special edition also boasts a bespoke exterior that matches the exclusivity of the interior. Alpine only plans to release 400 units of the A110 Legende GT. The special edition sports coupe is available to order in France with a starting price of €69,300. That’s around $77,000 based on current exchange rates.

The 2020 Bentley Continental GT Mulliner Convertible is a special-edition version of the Continental GTC. As the name suggests, the drop-top has been customized by Mulliner, Bentley’s bespoke division, so it basically takes over as the range-topping model of the Continental GTC.

Although it doesn’t look very different compared to the standard model and it’s available with the same engines, the Mulliner stands out thanks to a handful of exclusive features. This model is basically dedicated to customers who want an even greater focus on customization and a car that stands out from the pack. Let’s find out what makes it special in the review below.

Other than Bentley’s Mulliner division, Aston Martin’s Q by Aston Martin bespoke division is arguably one of the best custom arms among all the luxury car brands in the business. Q by Aston has been responsible for some of the most provocative special edition Aston Martins in recent memory, and now that the brand’s first-ever SUV is on the market, Q by Aston is flexing its muscles yet again. The Aston Martin DBX by Qmarries all the qualities of what a special edition Aston Martin should look like. It’s dripping in the kind of bespoke goodness that Q by Aston stakes its name on. The Aston Martin DBX by Q by Aston Martin makes its world debut at the 2020 Geneva Motor Show.

Aston Martin is rolling out a pair of special edition models to celebrate the automaker’s historic one-two finish at the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans. Appropriately dubbed the “59 Edition” models, 24 units of the DBS Superleggera and 59 units of the Vantage AMR have been given the special edition treatment.

Both models take their exclusive styling cues from the race-winning DBR1 racer, which roared to victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in 1959, beating powerhouse teams from Ferrari and Porsche on its way to victory.

The super rare Astons were commissioned by the automaker’s dealership in Gloucestershire, England. The cost of owning the DBS Superleggera 59 comes up to £325,000 — that converts to around $420,000 — while the Vantage AMR 59 is priced at $209,995. Sadly, all 24 units of the DBS Superleggera 59 are already accounted for, though there might still be available units of the Vantage AMR 59.

Lotus is paying homage to Australia’s most famous race by launching the Elise Cup 250 Bathurst Edition. Limited to just six units — yes, six — the Elise Cup 250 Bathurst Edition is as exclusive as it’s going to get. The special edition sports car boasts exclusive features befitting its status, none more prominent than a rare paint finish that hasn’t been used in a Lotus since the Lotus Esprit that starred in the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me.

In addition to the exclusive paint, the Elise 250 Bathurst Edition also comes with interior upgrades and mechanical improvements. The sports car’s 1.8-liter supercharged four-cylinder engine, on the other hand, remains in stock form. The cost of owning one of the six Lotus Elise 250 Bathurst Edition models sits at AUD109,900.

That converts to around $73,760 based on current exchange rates. Unfortunately for us here in the U.S., all six units of the Elise 250 Bathurst Edition are exclusive to the Australian market.

The 2020 Jeep Gladiator has proven its mettle since its launch and it’s not a bad off-roader by any means. However, Jeep decided to up the ante and make it even more suitable to desert terrain.

Called the Gladiator Mojave, this is the first Desert-Rated vehicle to come out of Jeep’s factory. Ever. Jeep has improved focus on the Gladiator’s suspension on this rugged pickup truck’s desert-ready version. Jeep also launched the High Altitude Edition that’s got to do more with extra features and luxury than ruggedness itself. This trim will be available on the Wrangler as well.

Believe it or not, the U.S.-Spec Lotus Evora is a little more down to Earth and quieter on the road. Once Lotus boss Phil Popham got behind the wheel of one, he decided Europe needed something a little more daily driver friendly too; that’s how the Lotus Evora GT410 came to be. It sits right alongside the Evora GT 410 Sport, but with being a little more road-focused, it has an entirely different attitude. Here’s what makes it different.

Chevrolet has brought back the Realtree Edition on the Silverado 1500 after a five-year hiatus. Based on the Custom Trail Boss, Chevy has collaborated with Realtree, a leading camouflage brand, once again after five years to come up with the Silverado 1500 Realtree Edition. The differences in this edition are purely aesthetic. The truck comes with camouflage graphics on the sides of the truck bed, hood, and inside the cabin.

If you peep into the Mopar directory, you will see numerous packages and accessories for almost all the products owned by FCA. These packages are hugely popular with the SUV and truck owners.

Recently, it was revealed that a Wrangler owner spends an average of $800 on additional stuff from the factory itself when buying the vehicle. Jeep decided to capitalize on this even more and came up with a special edition for the Wrangler called Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Xtreme-Trail Rated.

Essentially, it is a culmination of a few packages that Jeep already has to offer along with a new yellow body paint. But, to maintain exclusivity, the company has capped the production to just 100 examples. Also, it will be available only in Mexico! Por qué harías eso, Jeep?

After more than 70 years of serving as the skeleton of Morgan models, the British automaker’s long-running steel chassis finally has an expiration date. But before that day comes, Morgan is giving the chassis a proper send-off by launching the Plus 4 70th Edition.

Yes, Morgan is celebrating the life and times of its steel chassis by taking the special edition route. The move isn’t uncommon these days among automakers — Bentley just announced the Mulsanne 6.75 Edition to celebrate the Mulsanne’s impending retirement — but Morgan’s decision to pay tribute to its decades-old steel chassis does have strong emotional ties to it, in part because of how long it was used by the automaker.

The Morgan Plus 4 70th Edition is limited to just 20 units with each unit priced at £60,995 or just a tick under $80,000 based on current exchange rates. Unfortunately for those who are looking to buy one, all 20 units are already accounted for.

Bentley is bidding adieu to the Mulsanne luxury sedan in the most fitting way possible. The British automaker is launching a special edition Mulsanne called the 6.75 Edition. Only 30 units of the Mulsanne 6.75 Edition and, in keeping with Bentley’s tradition of dressing up its special edition models to the nines, the limited-run Mulsanne comes with enough exclusive touches in the exterior and interior to justify its special edition billing.

Bentley hasn’t announced a release timetable for the Mulsanne 6.75, but with the Mulsanne’s production run ending this year, expect the 6.75 Edition to arrive within the year.

There are lot of reputed aftermarket companies these days like Hennessey, Roush, and so on, whom you can entrust to do a good job on every car they tweak. But, that’s not feasible for everyone; cost-wise. Then there are other companies that will do it for cheap, but will you trust them to do a safe job?

People are skeptical about going to them as it may void the factory warranty and who knows, maybe even mess around with insurance claims in worst-case scenarios. However, there is an option to do inexpensive mods these days at dealership level as well. One such Ford dealership which goes by the name of Long McArthur has come up with a Cattleman Edition for the F-150. This no-nonsense package has most of the stuff required for a work truck. Feels fresh to see packages for the work trucks in the slew of futuristic trucks these days, right?

Porsche is honoring Belgian racing legend Jacques Bernard “Jacky” Ickx with a special edition 911 Carrera 4S called the Belgian Legend Edition. Limited to just 75 units — one for each year of Ickx’s life — the 911 Carrera 4S Belgian Limited Edition comes with exclusive touches to the exterior and interior. It’s also the first special edition to spawn from the 992-gen Porsche 911.

The special edition model will only be available in Belgium at the initiative of Belgian Porsche importer D’leteren. No pricing details have been released, but expect the 911 Carrera 4S Belgian Limited Edition to sell for more than the €131,381 starting price of the Carrera 4S Coupe in Belgium.

Ford has introduced a new appearance package for the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 that is said to harken back to the original 1965 Shelby GT350. Although the package doesn’t include any mechanical upgrades, it does come complete with a Wimbledon White exterior paint finish and Guardsman Blue racing stripes. The front and rear will benefit from official, custom badges only available with the Heritage Edition package.

The interior, on the other hand, doesn’t see much in terms up upgrades or exclusivity. There will be a unique dash badge, though, and the seats will be finished in all black with red contrast stitching. Otherwise, the interior of the GT350 should carry over unchanged. The same can be said for the powertrain, so don’t expect any power upgrades to come with the Heritage Package, either. The 5.2-liter under the GT350’s hood will continue to deliver 526 horsepower and 429 pound-feet of torque.

In this case, the racing stripes and custom badges don’t offer an increase in performance, so you’ll still get to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and will top out on the north end of 155 mph. Pricing for the Heritage pacl is set at $1,965 but that is added on top of the $60,440 sticker price of the 2020 GT350 or the $73,435 price of the GT350R. There’s no word on availability, but it doesn’t appear as if the Heritage Package will be limited to a certain number of takers.

The arrival of the facelifted 2021 Jaguar F-Type also comes with the launch of the F-Type First Edition. Limited to the facelifted F-Type’s first-year production run, the F-Type First Edition offers a smattering of refinements that includes exclusive features inside and out, including a choice of three paint colors and plenty of premium touch-ups in the cabin. The only real downside is that the 2021 F-Type First Edition could set you back at least $90,000.

Bugatti has a new pair of special edition models under the “Chiron Noire Exclusive” name. The two models are called the Chiron Noire Sportive and the Chiron Noire Elegance. Both are inspired, partly at least, by the one-off Bugatti La Voiture Noire that Bugatti unveiled earlier this year. Both Chiron Noire Exclusive Special Edition models are dressed in all black and carry a bevy of features that are exclusive to the two models. Bugatti only plans to release 20 units of the Chiron Noire Exclusive Special Edition in these two finishes. Deliveries are expected to start in the second quarter of 2020 with each unit costing $3,305,445.

This is the Aston DBS Superleggera Concorde Edition. It’s limited to just 10 units and it pays tribute to the 50th anniversary of the iconic Concorde’s first flight and the centenary of British Airways, one of the Concorde’s two operators. The DBS Superleggera Concorde isn’t your typical special edition Aston Martin, either. The automaker’s personalization division, Q by Aston Martin, was heavily involved in the development of the DBS Superleggera, right down to all the exclusive exterior and interior details that make the DBS Superleggera Concorde a special edition among special edition models. All 10 units of the DBS Superleggera Concorde will be sold through Aston Martin Bristol, which commissioned its creation. Pricing details have yet to be revealed, but if you’re looking to score one of the 10 available units, you’ll need to reach out to the dealership and express your interest. All 10 units will likely sell out as fast as it takes the Concorde to take flight.

The Dodge Challenger is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and Dodge is rolling out a special treat for fans of the muscle car with the Challenger 50th Anniversary Edition. The special edition Challenger is not a traditional stand-alone SE model. Instead, it is a special edition trim package that will be available in seven different colors on four Challenger trim models: the GT RWD, R/T Shaker, R/T Scat Pack Shaker, and R/T Scat Pack Shaker Widebody. Only 70 units will be built in each color for each trim. That adds up to a total of 1,960 units. The cost of the 50th anniversary trim will vary depending on the Challenger trim. Prices range from $4,995 to $5,995.

The current-generation Jaguar XJ X351 is nearing the end of its decade-long run and the British automaker is commemorating the occasion by turning the last 300 units of the XJ into a special edition version called the XJ Collection. Available only for the U.S. market, the XJ Collection comes with exclusive touches befitting of a special edition model. More than that, the car is a proper swan song to Jag’s established but aging full-sized sedan. The XJ X351 has been in the market since 2010 and with rumors swirling about the next-generation XJ’s possible electric future, this could be the last chance you have of buying a pure V-8-powered, special edition XJ. The Jaguar XJ Collection starts at $85,000. There’s no word yet on when the it will be made available, though.

Maserati is ending production of the current-generation GranTurismo by rolling out the GranTurismo Zeda, a one-off creation that commemorates the model’s more-than-a-decade-long run in the market. The Maserati GranTurismo Zeda comes with a lot of exclusive touches, none more prominent than a unique paint finish that separates its aesthetics from just about every GranTurismo model that has hit the market in the last 12 years. There are currently no plans to offer the Maserati GranTurismo Zeda to the public, but a limited-production run in the future hasn’t been ruled out quite yet.