Singapore’s “Supercar Vending Machine” goes viral; draws international attention

SINGAPORE:  Vehicle ‘vending machine’ has been around in Singapore for the past six years, but it appears to have found a new set of fans due to a recent video that went viral on Facebook.

“Why get snacks from the vending machine when you can get a Lamborghini instead?” reads the caption of a post with the heading “Supercar Vending Machine” earlier this month on the Supercar Blondie account.

Supercar Blondie, one of the biggest automotive entertainment brands in the world, has a reported following of over 100 million, and a sizable number have commented and shared the video about the building on Jalan Kilang belonging to Autobahn Motors.

In the video, the host explains how a person can choose from 40 levels of cars from a touchscreen menu. And when they’ve made their choice, the car is brought down to them. As a lift brings down a multicoloured sports car, the host exclaims, “Wow,” before footage of him riding a car while on the elevator is shown.

The video explains how safe the lift mechanisms are, as they are designed to prevent accidents, before noting that each storey of the bucking holds vehicles worth as much as US$3 million (S$4.03 million).

Viewers are given an inside look at how the lift mechanism works and a showcase of some very snazzy rides. The innovative design allows the owner to store several cars in a limited space, which is always a plus for Singapore.

The video also notes that Autobahn Motors has not one but two such “vending machines.” The second one, which opened just last year, is located at the ABM Ten Square on Short Street and houses more cars in two columns. Incidentally, the original one won the gold at the Singapore Good Design Awards (SG Mark) in 2018.

The general manager of Autobahn Motors, Mr Gray Hong, explained that the inspiration for the vending machine came from a 2015 visit to Toys “R” Us with his son, who was six years old at the time.

“While browsing, my son stopped right in front of the Matchbox cars. As we looked at the display of toy cars, which were stacked vertically, I realised we could build our showroom in the same way – upwards,” Mr Hong is quoted as saying in The Straits Times.

Elsewhere in the world, car vending machines exist in the United States, China and Japan. /TISG