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Comic-Con offers toy designers a chance to go wild

This photo provided by courtesy of Mattel, Inc. shows a toy car, “Hot Wheels: Star Wars-Darth Vader.” When it comes to designing the highly coveted collectible toys for sale at Comic-Con, the annual celebration of pop culture lifting off Thursday, July 24, 2014, in San Diego, the sky's the limit for the designers at Mattel. Fittingly, the building where Mattel's dreamers conceive of their limited-edition playthings is just down the street from the Los Angeles International Airport. (AP Photo/Mattel, Inc.) This photo provided by courtesy of Mattel, Inc. shows a toy car, “Hot Wheels: Star Wars-Darth Vader.” When it comes to designing the highly coveted collectible toys for sale at Comic-Con, the annual celebration of pop culture lifting off Thursday, July 24, 2014, in San Diego, the sky's the limit for the designers at Mattel. Fittingly, the building where Mattel's dreamers conceive of their limited-edition playthings is just down the street from the Los Angeles International Airport. (AP Photo/Mattel, Inc.)

By Associated Press July 21, 2014 1 min read

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Hot Wheels and the dark side of The Force are carpooling to Comic-Con this week.

Mattel is unveiling a full-size working replica of a Darth Vader character car at the toy maker’s booth during the four-day pop-culture celebration in San Diego.

The ride marks the first collaboration from the “Star Wars” sci-fi franchise and the popular toy car brand. The custom-built vehicle is capable of going up to 80 miles per hour. The dashboard inside will resemble the interior of the Sith lord’s helmet and emit his signature breathing sounds.

Mattel is among several toy makers releasing limited edition collectible toys at Comic-Con. A special edition of the die-cast Darth Vader car encased in a replica of a lightsaber will be on sale at the convention for $40.