SUBMITTED BY pimpjoe_esb

July 27, 2007 —

In a rare case of a superhero owning a car that can also be bought by mere mortals, the German automaker has partnered with Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures to tie in with the bigscreen adaptation of "Iron Man," reports Variety.

Pic is now in production under the helm of Jon Favreau and stars Robert Downey Jr.

Deal calls for Audi's R8 supercar to be the vehicle of choice for billionaire industrialist Tony Stark when he's not wearing his high-tech suit of armor as the title character.

The upcoming S5 sports coupe is also driven by a lead character in the movie. Audi's A6 sedan and Q7 SUV will make onscreen appearances in the pic as well.

As part of its involvement, Audi will likely pony up tens of millions of dollars to help promote the movie worldwide upon its release, set for May 2. Details of the marketing plans are still being worked out. Recruiting heavyweight promotional partners like Audi for "Iron Man" is particularly crucial for Marvel given that the pic is the first the company is self-financing, with Par only distribbing.

Audi's involvement and ad coin could also could go a long way toward introducing the character to non-comicbook readers, who can easily identify Superman, Spider-Man or Batman but are not likely to be as familiar with Iron Man.

"It's a big deal whether it's a character that millions of people are familiar with or if people are not as familiar with," said Marvel Studios prexy of production Kevin Feige. "There's so much product going out that anything you can do to make your film stand out is important."

Marvel didn't have to do much to pique Audi's interest in the property. In fact, it was Audi that went to great lengths to put itself in front of the filmmakers.

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