World’s most expensive vending machine is 15 storeys tall and uses robotic system to dispense cars
Topics: Cars, Technology
Emily Brown
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images_/_ROSLAN RAHMAN/Getty Images/ROSLAN RAHMAN
Topics: Cars, Technology
Chips, a soda, candy, a Ferrari, Bentley or Porsche?
It's not your usual vending machine lineup, but there is a place out there that offers these latter options, if you're up for handing over thousands of dollars.
Located in Singapore, the 15-storey, 148-foot machine was introduced to the world in 2017 by used car seller Autobahn Motors, which stocked it full of models from the Lamborghini Aventador to collectible cars such as the Ferrari 512M.
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The machine can hold up to 60 cars at a time, and if you're walking past and just so happen to find yourself in the mood for some new wheels, all you have to do is flick through the touch screen to find the one you want.
Luckily, you don't need change to use the machine - you'd have very heavy pockets if you did - and it doesn't just push the expensive cars off their shelf, leaving them to tumble down the levels like a usual vending machine would.
Instead, the cars are delivered safely to the buyer within one or two minutes, during which time the customer is shown a video of their chosen car, and Autobahn Motors staff members supervise the situation the whole time.
You're not stuck with your option, either. If you're not 100 percent sure about the car you want to buy, the machine also allows opportunities for vehicles to be viewed or taken for a test drive before you bite the bullet.
If only it worked the same way with candy bars.
Gary Hong, general manager for Autobahn Motors, told CNN Money in 2017 that the vision for the giant vending machine came from a display of Matchbox cars he saw while visiting a Toys R Us store with his young son.
Recognizing how the creation could save space while still allowing for a business in Singapore, where land is tough to come by, Hong said: "We decided to build something a bit different to solve the problem."
Speaking to Reuters, he added: "We needed to meet our requirement of storing a lot of cars. At the same time, we wanted to be creative and innovative."
Though it's believed to be the world's tallest 'car vending machine', the machine in Singapore isn't the only one of its kind.
Other car vending machines exist in other places across the globe, including the US and Japan.
The only question is, which button are you going to push?