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<p>Weâre not saying the keys we repair, replace or re-program are in any way run-of-the-mill, but these car keys here are certainly out of the ordinary!</p> <p>Is it a USB stick? Is it a lighter? No â itâs Aston Martinâs âEmotional Control Unitâ, a tricky piece of kit that needed to be inserted into the dash in just the right way to start the engine ⦠and removed and reinserted in just the right way to re-start it. A bit difficult, weâre told, if youâre trying to get the engine going in a hurry. Oh, and itâs made of sapphire, too<img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" src="https://43fr7l4f3jlg4gecv16vz07c-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/image4-300x188.png" alt="" width="300" height="188" srcset="https://43fr7l4f3jlg4gecv16vz07c-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/image4-300x188.png 300w, https://43fr7l4f3jlg4gecv16vz07c-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/image4.png 750w" />
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<br />When is a car key not a car key? When itâs a watch. Or the original Aston Martin car key watch â just press on the glass watch face to open up your DBS or DB9. And it tells the time, too.</p> <p>One of the more expensive keys weâve come across, from Finnish car key specialist Awain. This diamond-studded number is worth over half a million pounds, and can be customised to start anything from that £70 million â63 Ferrari 250 GTO to a fifty quid Reliant Robin.<img decoding="async" src="https://43fr7l4f3jlg4gecv16vz07c-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/image3.png" width="300" height="188" />
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<br />Who needs a dashboard when this little touch-screen handful from BMW offers climate control, fuel level information, headlight switches and remote parking assist?</p> <p>This isnât actually an ignition key. What it does, though, is retract the spoiler on your Bugatti Veyron, shut the front air diffusers, drop ground clearance to under three inches so youâre ready to go slightly over any legal speed limit â up to 250+ mph.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://43fr7l4f3jlg4gecv16vz07c-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/image2.jpg" width="300" height="188" />
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<br />Weâre not quite sure why Chrysler decided to create a car key that glows in the dark. Perhaps they thought it would go well with the name of the model it was made for â the Neon.</p> <p>No prizes for guessing which marque this key would start. Well, it would if it wasnât blank and wasnât being listed on Ebay for over £2,000.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://43fr7l4f3jlg4gecv16vz07c-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/image22.jpg" width="300" height="188" />
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<br />Perhaps not the most visibly glamourous key in this collection, but Hondaâs 1990 NSX key was supposedly made from titanium and couldnât be cut with normal key-cutting equipment. Actually it wasnât, but what a selling point.</p> <p>When is something worn on the wrist not an Aston Martin car key? When itâs a Jaguar âActivity Key, of course. It opens F-Pace models when held at the rear of the car and, fortunately for UK owners, itâs not affected by rainwater.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://43fr7l4f3jlg4gecv16vz07c-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/image17.jpg" width="300" height="188" />
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<br />The Kia Stinger has a more aggressive design than other Kia models, and its key fob matches that design. Some say it reminds them of a remote control detonator â but how theyâd know what one of those looks like is beyond us.</p> <p>If you can afford a million pound plus Koenigsegg Agera R, you might want to look behind your sofa cushions for the spare change youâd need for its key. This one is platinum and black onyx, complete with diamonds around the edge â a snip at £250k!<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://43fr7l4f3jlg4gecv16vz07c-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/image19.jpg" width="300" height="188" />
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<br />This aftermarket Mazda RX-7 key is, weâre told, educational in that it shows how a rotary engine works, but we think weâd get a better idea from one of their keychains. Still, itâs an interesting look.</p> <p>A clean, clear (and carbon fibre) design that says it all: you own a McLaren. What more is there to say?!<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://43fr7l4f3jlg4gecv16vz07c-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/image16.png" width="300" height="188" />
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<br />Possibly the earliest, if not the original key card â not thin enough to fit in a wallet, but still a somewhat thicker slice of automotive history nonetheless. Thank you, Mercedes.</p> <p>A tiny key for a tiny car. Well, itâs called a Mini, but itâs nowhere near as tiny as the original pocket-sized 1959 Morris Mini-Minor.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://43fr7l4f3jlg4gecv16vz07c-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/image14.png" width="300" height="188" />
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<br />Unlike Hondaâs 1990 NSX key that they claimed was formed from titanium, the key for a Nissan 300 ZX really was made out of that particular metal.</p> <p>If youâre driving one of the hundred Pagani Huayras ever produced then youâll want a key thatâs suitable for a six-litre, seven-speed (manual, of course) supercar ⦠with its own USB stick included â like this one.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://43fr7l4f3jlg4gecv16vz07c-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/image10.png" width="300" height="188" />
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<br />Bespoke car key creator Formawerx offer this understated key for a Porsche 911. Six holes? Itâs all to do with the carâs flat-six engine. How many people are going to recognise it when itâs placed ostentatiously on the table remains to be seen.</p> <p>Porscheâs 917 was built for speed, and that meant the need to shave off any excess weight â its aluminium chassis weighed, weâre told, less than a hundred pounds ⦠its gearstick knob was made out of balsa wood ⦠and even the key had holes drilled into it for lightness.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://43fr7l4f3jlg4gecv16vz07c-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/image5.jpg" width="300" height="188" />
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<br />Hereâs another clunky key card (see Mercedes, above) â not a hope of it sitting comfortably in a wallet ⦠or hanging happily from a keychain. This one courtesy of Renault.</p> <p>Smartphones. For everything. Need we say more?<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://43fr7l4f3jlg4gecv16vz07c-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/image12.png" width="300" height="188" />
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<br />Yet another key supposedly crafted from titanium â where *did* that idea come from? Whether it was because titanium key blades are hard to cut or because titanium keys were fast becoming a cliché, these Subaru STI keys were phased out after just one year.</p> <p>Teslaâs Model S key fob looks sleek, but unless you have a copy of the driverâs handbook youâre not going to have much of an idea of where to press on the fob to open the doors or boot (front or back) ⦠or where to find the built-in card reader to hold it against on the car itself in case of a flat battery.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://43fr7l4f3jlg4gecv16vz07c-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/image26.jpg" width="300" height="188" />
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<br />Volkswagen. Of course.</p> <p>Volkswagen again â and back in the early 2000s, this was a seriously cool piece of car key kit. A flip-out key blade? Wow!<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://43fr7l4f3jlg4gecv16vz07c-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/image15.png" width="300" height="188" />
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<br />Not as bulky as BMWâs touchscreen key (see above) but with an equally high-definition screen, the Volkswagen PCP key included a satellite link so you could check your VWâs status wherever you happened to be on the planet.</p> <p>Like we said, these keys arenât exactly commonplace â especially those diamond-encrusted numbers from Awain and Koenigsegg â but that doesnât mean we canât repair, replace or re-program many of them. We have the expertise and dealer-level technology to get you back on the road again, wherever you are in London and the Home Counties â no matter what youâre driving!</p>
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