Top 10 Shameless Shill Cars

Volkswagen King Kong “Crew Member” Edition Touareg

Having never been on the set of a movie with a budget of $207 million, it’s difficult to say what being a crew member is like. But Volkswagen decided in 2005 that it would offer European customers a taste.

The King Kong “Crew Member” Edition Touareg came with rear underbody guards, special 19-inch wheels, black paint and silver roof bars among a short list of other changes, the most important of which was “King Kong” badging.

In fact, the features list for the SUV is a recreation of the vehicles crew members used during the movie’s production — hence the name. Volkswagen said at the time that the package actually represented roughly a $5,000 savings over checking those option boxes individually.

So, was Volkswagen really offering a special edition or did Peter Jackson drink too much chardonnay while he was filling out the order sheet?