Cars and comic book characters – not always a likely pair unless you sprinkle tofu delivery in the mix. MINI though, have found a way to bring the two together. They got one of their MINI Electrics painted in honour of “The Flash” on the superhero’s 80th anniversary.
Personally, I think what they were going for was to associated the speed and lightning bolt motif the superhero’s character with their first electric car. The thing is, it’s not even the fastest car MINI sells, going from 0-100km/h in 7.3 seconds, hitting a top speed of just 150km/h and running out of juice in less than 180km.
Well, maybe they genuinely are enthusiastic about this DC comic character.
The MINI Electric is sold in Malaysia, if you’re interested they may have some left.
Here’s the press release with more information.
PRESS RELEASE
The work done on the MINI Electric is a reinterpretation of the historical issue 123 cover drawn by Carmine Infantino, a version that is a merger between the classic version of “The Flash” (Jay Garrick), and its modern version (Barry Allen), becoming very popular thanks to different movies and tv series. In the background, just like in the original book cover, it appears the city where all “The Flash’s” adventures take place: Central City.
MINI celebrates the superhero “The Flash” during Lucca Changes 2020, the new edition of the international fair dedicated to comics, gaming, animation and fantasy, taking place from October 29 to November 1st with a rich cultural programme only available online.
“The Flash” is a superhero who, just like MINI, has a long successful story. A character that has been modernised and transformed, whose unmistakable traits have been renewed but always remaining faithful to its DNA.
“The Flash” main characteristic is the super speed, faster than the speed of light, and this year we celebrate 80 years since his first appearance in the United States back in 1940 on the Flash Comics issue.
The DC superhero magically and quickly appears on the new MINI Electric: two true icons of style, design and – without any doubt – speed that come together at Lucca Changes to tell the story of a car that collects many of the peculiarities of the DC Comics hero: full electric, no noise, highly performant and truly powerful.
The author, Carmine Di Giandomenico, is one of the most known and active Italian cartoonists all over the world. He is very familiar with the scarlet sprinter, since he created more than 34 issues.“The Flash” by Carmine di Giandomenico is a runner that makes every page explode thanks to its dynamism while remaining loyal to the original character.
Starting from the costume, Carmine di Giandomenico has drawn the scarlet sprinter and he has also made its own some peculiarities, starting from the speed. In 2016 he drew 56 comics tables in 48 hours (five hours earlier than expected). A unique accomplishment, typical of those who possess superheroes’ features, like the ones of the DC Comics multiverse that he knows so well, and which has earned him the nickname “the faster cartoonist of the world”.
“The Flash” is a superhero with the ability to move seven-time faster than light, going beyond certain laws of physics. In the first character interpretation, “The Flash” is the alter ego of Jay Garrick who accidentally inhales heavy water vapours and becomes the fastest man in the world. He wears a red, blue and yellow costume, boots on his feet and a winged helmet on his head, just like Mercury.
In the ‘50s, it is Barry Allen who plays “The Flash”, a chemist hit by a lightning while testing some chemicals. This incident turns him into a superhero with a total red costume who wears a mask instead of a helmet.
The work done on the MINI Electric is a reinterpretation of the historical issue 123 cover drawn by Carmine Infantino, a version that is a merger between the classic version of “The Flash” (Jay Garrick), and its modern version (Barry Allen), becoming very popular thanks to different movies and tv series. In the background, just like in the original book cover, it appears the city where all “The Flash’s” adventures take place: Central City.
Carmine di Giandomenico has combined a very plastic and dynamic touch with a prodigious speed – just like “The Flash” – completely designing the MINI Full Electric in just 10 hours and using a mixed technique.
MINI’s tribute to “The Flash” at the Lucca Comics has been conceived in synergy with Panini Comics – that starting from 2020, publishes the DC Multiverse comics in Italy. The partnership has been announced during a digital press conference. It will be also shared on MINI, Panini Comics and Lucca Changes social profiles.
