Who doesn’t want a Suzuki X90 with Red Bull provenance? That was a rhetorical question, as we know everyone wants one. The good news today is that this is one of only so many surviving examples and that it still has a trunk converted to a big cooler. The bad news is it seems these coolers didn’t drain properly; so there is rust in the floor pans behind the seats. Apparently, “they all do that.”
Ignore the Red Bull history and this is just an automatic-equipped, 137K-mile, AWD X90 with rust. Street value would be about $7.65 – perhaps $34.72 for a T-Top enthusiast or that guy in Fullerton, CA who has eleven of these. It’s hard to put a price on a Red Bull example, however, as they just don’t come up often. Someone with metal working skills could likely take care of the rust, one way or another, and would when have a solid driver.
The cooler conversion may surprise, as one would never have guessed one could make an X90 less practical; but this one has zero luggage space. Perhaps the best solution would be to fabricate a giant Red Bull can replica, mount it like the one this car formerly wear and use it as a cargo carrier.
If you’re interested, the seller provides more information than you could ever possible want in the ad text at the bottom of this post.
Click for Craigslist ad
Hendersonville, NC, USA
$2,500
X90s…we love them. T-Tops are present – hopefully, they still work.
Spoiler seems to have been standard equipment.
This is the red bull money shot – trunk is a (poorly executed) cooler with dual doors.
Interior needs some freshening, but is serviceable as-is. Don’t get too excited – that accordion boot is for the transfer case only, as this car is equipped with an automatic trans.
Yes, this is where one finds the spare!
Here’s the not-too-inspiring 1.6 liter four, shared with this car’s Sidekick sibling.
Ad text:
After the following write-up about this car is the history of the Red Bull X-90s.
Up for sale is a 1996 Suzuki X-90, and is Red Bull Edition No.8, which was the 8th unit to ever be produced for Red Bull for their Mobile Energy Team (MET) program. The last photo is not this car, but rather to show you what these vehicles looked like when they were in service. As stated in the history below, when Red Bull “decommissioned” these units, the big cans and decal logo overlays were removed, and most of them had the bottoms painted silver to cover up the Red Bull color scheme. The tops were left Semi-Flat Black.
PLEASE NOTE: If you are not looking for one of these rare Red Bull X-90s, either because you are not an X-90 fanatic, or a Red Bull fanatic, please DO NOT consider purchasing this vehicle as just a cool little car to run around in. The reason is that although this car is mechanically and electrically in fairly good condition (mileage 137,390), and, the outer body is quite solid, the floorboards have a considerable amount of rust, primarily in the areas behind the seats. This was actually not uncommon for the Red Bull X-90s, as there was some “less that adequate” engineering to accommodate rain drainage in the area of the rear cooler conversion, resulting in water getting into the trunk area (unseen), upon which it would trickle forward and get into the cabin floor, resulting in wet carpet, mostly behind the seats. Some owners never knew it, and some that did thought the T-Tops might be leaking. In working with these cars, I have discovered that there IS definitely a way to correct this issue, and prevent water from entering. Also, thanks to KBS Coatings, rusty ares can be restored with great success compared to yesteryear.
If you’re wanting a Red Bull Suzuki X-90, and . . . you can find one with little or no rust that is for sale (good luck on that), and . . . you can afford it, then by all means buy it, and not this one. The problem is, that because there were only about 100 of these conversions, and there’s only a dozen or so “floating around”, and . . . because of the leak issue outlined above, you will be hard-pressed to find one without the rusty floorboards. If you do, buy it.
The seats and door panels inserts need to be redone, but fortunately the material that Red Bull used for the seat and door panel inserts (and head-rest booties) which is Blue Tweed, is readily available. The large #8 white decal is gone from the top of the back window, but fortunately, the glue residue is still there, clearly showing that this is unit #8. The 3/4″ white decal lettering “MIN. HEIGHT REQUIREMENTS” is still intact at the inside top edge of the windshield on the driver’s side. Red Bull mounted the spare tire behind the driver’s seat, and jack on the floor behind the pass. seat. The T-Top sun shades are intact.
The engine runs fine, but there is a tapping that’s very noticeable until the engine warms up. It sounds like a top end tap to me, like maybe valve adjustment, but I am not certain of that. The AT and 4WD work fine, as does the radio and AC.
I am selling this car, considering it’s rarity, that it is a very low number, and it’s overall condition, for a reasonable $2,500.00 cash, and it has a clear title in my name. Since I do not answer calls I do not recognize, please call and leave message, and I will get back to you, or you may use email. No texts. Thanks, Tom
HISTORY OF THE RED BULL X-90s:
In 1996, Red Bull Corp. embarked on a new program . . . The Mobile Energy Team (MET), in which specially chosen cars were converted into a sort-of “rolling billboard”. The very first car chosen for this program was the Suzuki X-90, some 5-sp/4WD, and some AOD/4WD. The entire bottom of the car was painted with the Red Bull color scheme, with the trunk area converted into dual coolers (drains through the floor), where Red Bull Energy Drink would be on ice. The top of the car was painted satin black, and the car’s number displayed as a white decal at the top-center of the back window. A four-to-five foot long Red Bull can was mounted up over the back of the car, and Red Bull logo decals adorned the two doors and the hood. So far, it appears that all had AC. Indications are that, through the three years (’96-’98), only about 100 X-90s were converted. These are definitely rare cars.
For this MET program, which covered all parts of the country (as well as some areas out of the country), Red Bull would hire college girls (two to a car) to drive the cars around to sporting events, etc., in which the car as well as the girls, garnered quite a bit of attention. When people would gather around, the girls would give out a free cold Red Bull Energy Drink along with a small pocket-sized brochure which told how Red Bull was the best choice over the competition.
When the Red Bull X-90s were decommissioned, the large cans, as well as the static-cling decals were removed. On most of the units, the entire bottom of the car was painted over silver, leaving the top black. A few escaped with the Red Bull paint scheme. The cars were donated to charity auctions around the country. So far, only about a dozen or so have been identified as still existing, however, probably more than that do.