You either hate Hello Kitty or you hate her. I belong to the former category, so stamp anything with the kitty's face and I'm sold. This time she graces cars and mind you, it isn't just any car, it's the Smartcar. Needless to say that the cars look adorable decorated with Hello Kitty themes. There are a few options to choose from. The pink one looks the cutest to me. Of course, if you live in Japan, you will have seen such cards before, but to the rest of the world this is some brilliant news. So cruise around in the cat mobile!
Well, Mitsubishi has done it. They have created the most quintessentially Japanese car ... EVER.
We bring you, dear Autoblog readers, the Mitsubishi i "Princess Kitty" Hello Kitty limited edition. And by limited, we mean one.
The Princess Kitty is finished in pink, with matching paint applied to the wheels. The Hello Kitty trademark ribbon logo is applied to the front doors and roof, while the rear doors get a "Princess Kitty" graphic with the lovable cartoon character's face. The back window also gets a large Hello Kitty face decal. The sideview mirrors feature Hello Kitty's face in relief.
Inside, occupants rest on pink-and-white striped seatcovers adorned with the "Princess kitty" logo. The headrest covers are the shape of Hello Kitty's head, complete with ribbon on the left ear. It may be the friendliest-looking kei car ever made.
The one-off special will be displayed at the Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district from July 25th - 31st 2006. From the 25th to the 29th at 10:20 AM local time, interested buyers can register for the opportunity to buy the car. At 10:30 on the 29th, one name will be pulled and that person will be allowed to buy the car for ¥2,100,000 -- 200,000 of which goes to Japan's UNICEF. (For our American readers, that purchase price translates to a little over $18,200 USD.)
The i "Princess Kitty" edition is spec'd as a 2WD i "G" grade, powered by the 660cc turbocharged MIVEC 3-cylinder. It makes 64 horsepower and is mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission.
This year marks the conclusion of Mitsubishi's and Sanrio's agreement which saw Hello Kitty used in Mitsubishi promotional and advertising efforts. And really, marketing-wise, ending the relationship with this car is the equivalent of going out on top like DiMaggio.
