The weirdest car optional extras ever

There are three big questions most of us have at the front of our mind when shopping for a new car: how fast does it go, what colour is it and what goodies and extras does it come with?

For many car buyers, the tech included with our new car is almost as important as what engine sits under the bonnet.

In recent years, genuinely useful kit like DAB and active cruise control has become the norm, but we’ve also gawped in awe and scratched our heads in bafflement as manufacturers offered some rather bizarre features.

Here, we dig through the loony bin of car kit to highlight some of the weirdest car optional extras ever.

Pontiac Aztek’s attachable tent

Every ‘ugliest cars’ list will include this barf-inducing MPV-cum-4×4 and it’s getting another negative mention here for its attachable tent.

Y’see, the Aztek was targeted at active young people who do things like go kayaking and snowboarding, so Pontiak thought it needed to put some related extras on the table and they clearly settled on a tent, of all things!

It came with an inflatable mattress which meant the Aztek could be effectively be transformed into a camper van. As far as we know it’s the only car ever to come with a tent, which should give you a clue as to how successful the idea was.

Watch the video here: 

Honda CR-V’s power shower

Carrying on with the outdoor leisure theme, the first-gen CR-V came with a shower that could hang from the boot lid and was powered by a 12V socket in the boot.

Honda’s brochure says it “can be used to hose down muddy boots” and with no shower curtain to provide any privacy, we hope it wasn’t used for anything more.

Fiat 500L’s espresso machine

The Italians love their coffee so much it seems they can’t drive from one cafe to another without having an espresso on the way.

This £350 extra slotted into the cigarette lighter between the front seats and resembled a high-tech Thermos flask with a pressure dial and buttons.

We’ve tried it; it’s kind of deafening during operation, and the end result probably isn’t worth all the faff and mess.

Watch the video here:

Vauxhall Adam’s starry sky

Look at the stars, look how they shine for you, in your Vauxhall Adam.

In a bid to win over Mini and Fiat 500 buyers, the Adam could come with a ‘star illuminated headliner’, which is a bloated way of saying ‘tacky LED lights in the ceiling’. You’d be expected to pay £325 for the pleasure.

Bentley Bentayga’s £117,000 Breitling clock

That isn’t a typo; you could literally buy almost any car you could name for the price of fitting this Breitling clock to a Bentayga SUV.

Why so expensive? Because it’s made out of solid gold with the choice of mother-of-pearl or black ebony clock faces and eight diamond hour markers.

Range Rover SVAutobiography’s event seating

Have you ever sat on the edge of your boot and thought ‘I should install some seats here’? Someone at Land Rover clearly did because the Range Rover SVAutobiography can be specced with ‘event seating’ that folds up from under the boot floor.

As if that wasn’t swanky enough, the seats are finished in ebony or tan Windsor leather. Price? £5,900.

Would you be tempted to fit any of these extras to your car? Tell us down there in the comments.