Hilariously, and more than a little unexpectedly, it was recently reported that Volkswagen has officially sold more sausages throughout 2015 than it sold cars.
Although it might sound like a story ripped straight from The Onion, VW has actually been making currywurst sausages at its car manufacturing plant for more than 40 years. As it happens, it’s not the only automaker to have dabbled in alternative products.
From smartphones to speedboats and everything in between, here are six of the most unexpected things also made by car companies.
Lamborghini – Smartphones
Created especially for the Christmas season as a stocking filler for the ultra-rich, Lamborghini’s £4,000 Tauri 88 smartphone is roughly five times the price of the average iPhone 6S Plus.
For your money you get a five-inch HD touchscreen, a 20 megapixel camera and more memory than most laptops, along with a choice of four colours. Only 1,947 were made, adding to the exclusivity, but given the choice we’d probably rather have the five iPhones…
Maserati – Horse saddles
Left long in the face after an uncomfortable afternoon down the local stables? You’re in luck after Maserati teamed up with polo equipment manufacturer La Martina to produce a bespoke horse saddle.
According to the marque, the exclusive saddle has been created from the finest quality full-grain leather, with suede inserts and a design inspired by the appearance of the Maserati Ghibli.
Maserati says it provides the rider with maximum comfort, stability and control, but whether it adds any extra horsepower or not remains to be seen.
Peugeot – Pepper mills
Not many people are aware, but long before Peugeot made cars it held a reputation for making some of the finest quality machinery around. Founded in 1810, the first thing that Peugeot made was a saw blade created from high quality laminated steel.
Over time, the manufacturer developed a reputation for making the best salt and pepper mills in the business, and to this day it continues to make them. According to Peugeot, tens of millions of mills have been made over the years, with more than 900 variants in all.
Next time you’re in a restaurant, turn the pepper mills upside down to see if they’re Peugeot branded. You might be surprised!
Bentley – Home furniture
Not content with making some of the most luxurious and expensive cars anywhere in the world, Bentley has also in the past decided to turn its attention towards developing luxury furniture.
If you’re the sort of person who just has to have matching everything, you can buy chairs, tables, sofas and even beds all branded, naturally, with Bentley’s signature logo.
Phrases like “rigorous aesthetic sensibility”, “sophisticated velvets” and “pastel nuances” all pepper the Bentley Home Collection’s press release, which should give you a fair idea of what to expect. All very nice, all very expensive.
Bugatti – Hookahs
If you’re going to drop a million quid or so on one of Bugatti’s final edition Veyron hypercars, you may as well go the whole hog and max out the options list, right?
To celebrate the end of the world’s fastest production car, Bugatti created a unique set of hookahs inspired by the Veyron, each of which boasted a carbon fibre casing, solid titanium frame and hand-sewn leather. It would also set you back around £59,000.
Given that for that money you could buy a Porsche Cayman GTS and still have enough cash left for a fresh set of P Zeros, you’d probably have to be smoking something pretty special already to even consider it…
Jaguar – Speedboats
As anybody who’s ever tried to bath their moggy will know, cats hate water, but that didn’t stop Jaguar making a speedboat to complement the then-new XF Sportbrake.
Drawn up by famed designer Ian Callum, the boat was composed of a fibreglass hull and a teak deck in conjunction with prominent carbon fibre trim, alongside the famous Jaguar badge on the back decking and fuel filler caps.
Interestingly, the fin on the decking is also offset in a tip of the hat to the legendary Jaguar D-Type, a fact that you can use to impress all your maritime chums down the marina.
