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Love anime and driving? Carmaker Subaru now selling official itasha

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Different people have different concepts of Japanese automaker Subaru. For motorsports enthusiasts, the first image that comes to mind is the company’s all-wheel drive cars doing sick jumps on rally gravel stages. Technology buffs, meanwhile, may think of their EyeSight automatic braking safety system.

Japanese animation fans, though, may best know Subaru as the major sponsor of animation studio Gainax’s celestial-themed magical girl anime Wish Upon the Pleiades (known in Japanese as Hokago no Pleiades). And while the series’ TV run is over, that doesn’t mean Subaru’s love for the anime has expired, as the car manufacturer has created, and is selling, an official Wish Upon the Pleiades itasha covered with graphics of the show’s cast.

The itasha began life as a WRX S4, the base model of Subaru’s turbo-charged all-wheel drive sedan.

But while the S4 can look a little dowdy in its plain form, there’s a long history of sprucing Subaru’s sports sedans up with flashy aero kits and wheels. And while the Wish Upon the Pleiades WRX checks both those boxes, the biggest eye-catcher is without question its exterior anime artwork.

Blue has always been a popular body color choice for WRXs, but the car’s sheet metal is actually silver. All of the blue and pink patches are wraps, as are the magical girls.

The Wish Upon the Pleiades itasha shuns the arguably played-out trend of gold or bronze wheels for WRXs, instead going for pastel pink rollers. The interior has also been dressed up with an assortment of shiny bits.

The car, a 2014 model, was originally displayed at promotional events for the series and itasha events around the country. As such, it’s not entirely brand new, with 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles) on the odometer. There’s also a bit of a sticker shock in that the official itasha is listed at a prices of 5,550,000 yen (US$46,600), a substantial premium over the 3,348,000 yen that new WRX S4s start at. Even the hefty price is a crafty bit of fan service, though, meant to evoke the 555 livery WRX rally cars wore during their glory days in the World Rally Championship.

Since the Wish Upon the Pleiades itasha is a one-off, Subaru will be holding a drawing to determine the lucky fan who gets to buy it. Entries can be made online between now and noon on November 24. You can throw your hat in the ring here, and if you end up as the owner and are looking for someone to start a car club with, we think this guy would be happy to join.

Sources: Otakumu, Sankei Biz, Subaru Online Shop
Top image: Subaru Online Shop
Insert images: Subaru, Subaru Online Shop (edited by RocketNews24)

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