From flat white to flatstick: Fiat launches built-in coffee machine car

July 18th, 2012

Appliance News Coffee Machine Accessories Coffee Machines & Accessories

On the road and busting for a brew? Fiat’s got you covered.

The Italian car maker is giving punters worldwide another reason to buzz around in the 500L, a built-in Lavazza-branded coffee machine nestled next to the gear stick for coffee on the go.

(And you thought texting while driving was bad…)

The Lavazza ‘Coffee Experience’ kit includes cups, a spoon holder and a sugar dispenser. It sits between the two front seats next to the gear stick – careful which you grind! – and brews using Lavazza’s proprietary coffee pods, Modo Mios.

Fiat is touting it as the first of a kind, ‘the first production car in the world available with a fully integrated espresso coffee machine as an accessory’, but the idea is not new.

Earlier this year a French company released Handpresso Auto E.S.E, a portable espresso machine for cars. This gadget fits in a cup holder and similarly uses self-branded pots for a brew in under two minutes. Weighing in at under a kilogramme the portable coffee maker manages 16 bar pressure and is powered by the car’s 12V cigarette lighter.

The Fiat uses its own specific power source.

Fiat Australia has indicated the 500L could hit our shores by the second half of this year. The coffee machine accessory has been tipped to cost about $300.