Over the course of automotive history, there have been several cars fitted with unusual accessories and features. Some were one-off custom jobs at the upper end of the market, like the built-in microphone in Elvis’ Rolls-Royce, while others were offered as an option (or even as standard) in perfectly ordinary family cars. Optional accessories can be a way to showcase an automaker’s creativity and express a part of the car’s character, whether it’s an urban runabout ready for the concrete jungle or a rugged off-roader equipped for the literal jungle. Here are some of the weird and wonderful features automakers ever installed in their cars.
1 Falconry Set (Bentley Bentayga)
Over the course of over a century, Bentley has built a reputation for building cars focused on extreme luxury and comfort, and the Bentayga SUV is no exception. Among the many luxury features and accessories Bentley offers on its flagship SUV is one bit of kit that stands out for its uniqueness: a falconry kit, first offered in 2017 and hand-built by Mulliner, Bentley’s personal commissioning division. The kit includes all the equipment needed for a falconry expedition, including two in-car perches along with leather bird hoods, gauntlets, and a boot-floor protection cover. Natural cork fabric, a sustainable and extremely durable material, was used throughout several elements of the kit.
2 Toilet (Rolls-Royce Vignale Silver Wreath)
This isn’t really a “standard feature”, seeing as it was only ever included on one custom-built vehicle, but it was too unusual not to earn a place on the list. A 1954 Rolls-Royce Silver Wreath, built by Italian designer Alfredo Vignale for American business executive Joseph Maschuch, was equipped with its own built-in toilet, concealed under one of the rear seats. Lifting the upholstered cushion reveals a golden toilet seat, which does not have a flushing system but simply releases waste out onto the road below. Useful as a deterrent in a car chase, perhaps? That being said, all descriptions of the car floating around the internet make a point of explaining that the toilet was only ever used as a champagne cooler. It’s up to you to decide whether to believe that.
3 Fridge/Freezer (Toyota Van)
Toyota’s space-age-inspired people carrier, the unimaginatively-named Van, came with a number of quirky features, such as an engine mounted directly under the cabin that could be accessed by lifting the driver’s seat. One of its most unusual accessories, available in the LE trim, was a small built-in refrigerator. The cooling mechanism used air-conditioning refrigerant lines to keep food and drinks cold, and there was even a freezer tray with built-in ice cube molds. When the Van was replaced with the equally blob-shaped Previa in 1990, the mini-fridge sadly stopped being an available option.
4 Record Player (Chrysler)
While in-car entertainment has always been a selling point for vehicles, some carmakers adopted more unorthodox solutions than others to keep drivers and passengers happy during long journeys. While up to 1956, the only available audio feature on cars was AM radio, Chrysler decided to change that by creating a built-in record system called the Highway Hi-Fi. The Highway Hi-Fi did not play standard 45 rpm records: the custom discs built for the system also measured seven inches in diameter but were played at a much lower speed (16 ⅔ rpm), which gave them a 45-minute runtime on each side. The Highway Hi-Fi was available as an option on most Chrysler models for three years until poor sales killed it in 1959.
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5 Folding Scooter (Honda City)
Between 1981 and 1983, the first-generation Honda City came with a unique accessory tucked away in its trunk: a folding scooter called the Motocompo. The City was built around the Motocompo, and the two vehicles were designed to function together as part of a single urban transport solution: once the car was parked, the driver could simply take the scooter out and use it as a quicker, more agile way of getting around the city. The Motocompo was powered by a 49cc motor that produced 2.5 horsepower and was painted to match the car’s body color. It was made to be as light as possible, weighing only 45 kg.
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It can reach a lofty top speed of 19 mph.
6 Pop-Out Umbrella (Rolls-Royce)
Rolls-Royce vehicles don’t need any help setting themselves apart from everything else on the road, but they also come with some unique features that are not immediately visible. One accessory that has been a part of Rolls-Royce models for years is the pop-out umbrella, cleverly concealed inside the car’s door. There is also a drainage and warm air circulation mechanism to quickly dry the umbrella when it gets returned to its slot after being used. Naturally, the umbrella itself is also built to the highest standards, with technology that prevents it from turning inside out in windy conditions and a beautiful handle with a subtle RR logo at the bottom.
7 Heartbeat Sensor (Volvo S80)
Volvo took its reputation for safety to extremes when designing the 2007 S80 sedan. A Bond-esque tech feature proudly advertised as being able to detect intruders and serial killers, the “heartbeat sensor” placed inside the vehicle communicated with the key fob (or “Personal Car Communicator” in Volvo-speak), which displayed a flashing light if the presence of a living being in the car was detected. Volvo even shot an eerie commercial dedicated entirely to the sensor’s capabilities, showing a woman running away from her S80 in a deserted parking lot: possibly not the greatest marketing strategy, given that the feature didn’t really catch on and eventually disappeared without much fanfare.
8 Espresso Machine (Fiat 500L)
What could possibly be more Italian than a Fiat? Turns out, the answer is “a Fiat with a built-in coffee machine”. The Fiat 500L’s biggest claim to fame when it made its debut in 2012 was being the first production car to be equipped with its very own espresso machine, courtesy of coffee brand Lavazza. The built-in contraption, seamlessly integrated into the cabin, uses Lavazza’s proprietary “A Modo Mio” (Italian for “My Way”) coffee pods. All the user needs to do is fill the water reservoir, add a pod at the top of the machine, and pop the machine into its dedicated dock: boom, espresso on the go, no matter where you are.
9 Pizza Oven & Bar (Lexus GX Monogram)
As the saying goes, you can’t race a house, but sometimes you can take it for a spot of off-roading. The Lexus GX Monogram is another entry that qualifies purely because of its quirkiness, as it was a concept car that never made it to production; based on the standard GX, the Monogram added a number of luxurious comfort features. One of them was a 30-inch electric pizza oven, allowing you to cook your own pizza or bake bread while on a road trip. And for the passengers, the drinks aspect hasn’t been neglected either; the Monogram comes with a fully equipped wine and spirit bar, including glassware, bar equipment, and storage for wine and bourbon.
10 Shower (Honda CR-V)
When the first generation of Honda CR-V arrived on the market, it was marketed as a rugged, off-road-ready SUV equipped to handle all sorts of family outdoor adventures; it was equipped with several hiking-oriented bits of kit, including a picnic table and, unusually, a built-in shower. The shower setup consisted of a plastic hose with a showerhead and a water jug, with the whole contraption powered by a 12-volt socket. The idea was to have easy access to running water to rinse off a mud-covered pet or clean hiking boots after a day out. The feature eventually died out with the arrival of the model’s second generation in 2001.