Word from the land of the rising sun is that Mercedes-Benz just released two fresh commercials showing everybody's favorite plumber, Mario, racing against Princess Peach and his brother Luigi in the GLA. Just when you thought your favorite childhood game characters were safe, the Germans go ahead and do something crazy with the Mario franchise!
The Japanese are famous for cosplay, so perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that a rear-life version of Princess Peach is so… sexy. But the muscular bodies of Mario and Luigi might scare a few children.
Created in the 80s
Both Princess Peach and Luigi were created in the 1980s. "Green Mario", as some jokingly call him, came out in 1983, followed by the pink princess with yellow hair two years. Back then, video games weren't as advanced as they are today and we have a snaking suspicion creator Shigeru Miyamoto never thought his characters would be used for a Mercedes commercial.
Yet Mercedes' move is a logical one for the Japanese market. Most GLA-Class buyers are old enough to have grown up in the 80s and early 90s, yet young enough to enjoy commercials as crazy as this.
Mario Kart 8
The first half of both commercials is not CGI footage specifically created for them. It's actually from Mario Kart 8, an arcade game where you get to race your friends as any one of your favorite Mario characters.
Three Mercedes-Benz automobiles are available in the game as of August 27th. You can drive the GLA-Class or chose the slightly more oldschool 300 SL Roadster and the Silver Arrow racing car. Of the three, the crossover is the only one you can actually buy in Japan.
The base model GLA in Japan is the 180. Prices for one of these cars start at 3,440,000 yen (about $34,000), and for that you only get a 1.6-liter turbo with 122 horsepower and front-wheel drive. The only other model in the normal GLA range is the 250 4Matic, fitted with a 211 hp 2-liter turbo and all-wheel drive, starting at 4,590,000 yen ($46,000).
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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