The Hyundai Kona Iron Man Edition Was Gloriously Weird And Strangely High-Effort

I must admit, I do quite like a strange special edition. Cars that aren’t necessarily faster or sharper than the standard model, but instead have some sort of unusual visual thing or co-branding going on. Think Nissan Rogue Krom with its pantomime center exhausts. However, some unusual special editions are extra-unusual, like the 2019 Hyundai Kona Iron Man Edition. Jarvis, check in on the status of my ten-year powertrain warranty.

While special-edition vehicles themed after sci-fi franchises aren’t unheard of (hello Terminator 2 Edition Toyota Tundra), this might be the most dramatic. Then again, it needs to be. If you’re going to unveil a vehicle at San Diego Comic-Con, you better come correct, and that’s exactly what Hyundai did at the 2018 convention.

To create the Iron Man Edition, Hyundai started with the absolute top rung of the Kona range, the Ultimate trim. With a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a don’t-creep-on-the-clutch-in-traffic seven-speed dry DCT, this thing could genuinely get out of its own way. It was feature-rich too, with a navigation system, an Infinity eight-speaker stereo, a heated steering wheel, wireless smartphone charging, basically the works. However, during peak Marvel mania, Hyundai thought it needed some extra pizazz.

Since Stark Industries’ branding in the Marvel films is basically modelled after Lockheed Martin, it made sense for Hyundai to go with a stealthy matte-black finish. However, that low-reflectivity paint sort of hides one of the most amazing parts of the Kona Iron Man Edition: This limited-run trim level got its own unique front bumper. Not only was the valence different than on the standard Kona, Hyundai put vents where the amber side reflectors would normally go, then fitted a different sort of side reflectors closer to the wheel arch lips.

Oh, and that’s not the only lighting change on the car. How about blacked-out guts for the headlights and daytime running lights, along with a set of red-and-white taillights that—as far as I can tell—weren’t used on any other Kona? Considering how expensive modern headlights are, Hyundai really pulled out all the stops on this front. Talk about commitment.

Of course, the color most associated with Iron Man is red, and that’s exactly what you get splashes of around this Kona’s exterior. A contrasting roof, inserts on a unique hood garnish, trim pieces on the front and rear ends, red mirror caps, red on the lower doors, even red on the wheels. However, a two-tone treatment does not alone make a special edition. The branding’s all over this one, from Iron Man’s Mask on the fenders and wheels to “Iron Man” across the liftgate trim to a mask-inspired graphic on the roof. It’s certainly not subtle, but I appreciate how it’s not half-assed. Of course, there are two main sacrifices with the Iron Man exterior treatment: The sunroof and the fog lights. For the right Marvel fan, that would be no hardship.

Moving to the interior, I’m once again impressed by just how hard Hyundai went here. They didn’t need to redesign the gauge cluster, infotainment interface, and HUD welcome animation with an Iron Man theme, but they did. Sure, they also splashed some red across the interior trim, but specially embossed, embroidered, stitched, and piped seats and a shift knob that looks like the famous arc reactor also show more than just basic attention to detail. Hyundai even screen-printed Tony Stark’s signature on the dashboard. That’s something, for sure.

Admittedly, I don’t fully understand the Marvel thing. I’ve appreciated the handful of MCU films I’ve seen for pretty good action sequences, but the lore isn’t really my bag. I’m also just naturally skeptical of most branded things, but I have to give Hyundai credit here; the automaker made a proper effort, and for a relatively low volume too. While 7,000 were made globally, they were sold in a massive array of markets from the U.S. to Britain to Korea to Australia. Thus, it shouldn’t be surprising that only three are for sale on Cars.com right now in the entire country, with this 50,729-mile example in Chicago being the cheapest at $17,499.

So, if you ever see one of these rare 2019 Hyundai Kona Iron Man Edition models out in the wild, now you’ll know it isn’t just someone going wild with a Cricut and an Amazon Prime account. It’s the real deal, and Hyundai went pretty hard with it. Even though it’s not to everyone’s tastes, stuff like this makes general traffic more interesting, and that’s a good thing.

Top graphic image: Hyundai