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The next car you buy might lead you on a scavenger hunt.
We’re not talking about finding parts for an obscure, 65-year old Italian car. Carmakers are increasingly putting Easter eggs like engine bay cupholders, maps, hidden software menus and even the Yeti in their cars to show the fun side of design. Some are fairly obvious but others are so well hidden that you might not notice them until someone else points them out.
So, as it's that time of year, we’re highlighting some of the coolest, cleverest and best-hidden Easter Eggs.
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The Chrysler Pacifica’s predecessors
Chrysler’s Pacifica MPV honours its predecessors in a subtle way. The rubber mat that lines the tray right below the centre stack is embossed with the outline of some of its predecessors. We spot the first-, fourth- and fifth-generation versions of Chrysler’s popular MPVs with the Pacifica itself in the lead. We’re not sure why the second- and third-generation models didn’t make the cut.
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The Dodge Challenger’s hidden cupholders
In 2050, when you’re leaning over the engine bay of a 2020 Dodge Challenger and admiring the V8 you just rebuilt, where are you going to put the cold beverage you’re drinking? The stylists at Dodge have the answer: on one of the two cupholders integrated into the plastic panel above the grille.
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The Ford GT’s commemorative headlights
Ford unveiled the production version of the first-generation GT in 2003 to celebrate its 100th birthday. The retro-styled, V8-powered coupe featured headlights whose inside elements were cleverly shaped like the number 100. Series production started in 2004, the year Ford turned 101, but the light design stayed frozen at 100.
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The Jaguar E-Pace’s cub
If you spot a parked Jaguar E-Pace, take a closer look at the corner of the front windscreen and you’ll notice the outline of a walking jaguar followed by its cub. The same design appears in the puddle lights that illuminate the ground below the doors as the owner walks up to the car. Jaguar explained the cub represents the E-Pace, its smallest SUV, and the fully-grown cat portrays the bigger F-Pace.
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The Jeep Wrangler’s tributes
Jeep is one of the industry’s uncontested champions in the Easter egg department. The cowl beneath the Wrangler’s windshield has seven slots, just like the grille, and there’s also a seven-slot insert in the tailgate next to a metal plaque that provides information like the approach angle. Some alloy wheel designs (pictured) feature small Willys graphics as a tribute to the original Jeep developed for World War II and the last-generation model wore the silhouette of its front-end right above the rear-view mirror.
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The Jeep Gladiator’s area code
Peek inside the Jeep Gladiator’s cargo compartment and you’ll spot the number 419 next to a heart-shaped symbol. It’s one of the two area codes assigned to the north-western part of Ohio, where Jeep builds the truck. The reception of the company’s Toledo factory has a 419 area code.
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The Jeep Renegade’s pets and trails
You can call off the search for the Yeti: it’s on the back window of some Renegade variants. There are smaller critters hidden about, too. Open the fuel flap and you’ll spot a little spider saying “ciao, baby!” to the person filling up. Although you might not expect to find an Italian spider on a Jeep, keep in mind the Renegade is made alongside the Fiat 500X two hours away from Naples.
Inside, the rubber mat that lines the storage compartment in the centre console displays a map of a trail in Moab, Utah. It’s right ahead of the gear selector in off-road-ready Trailhawk models.
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Koenigsegg’s ghost
Koenigsegg is based in a facility that was once home to the Swedish Air Force’s now-retired Fighter Jet Squadron No. 1. Its insignia was a flying ghost so the carmaker transformed it into a logo that it puts on all of its cars. Setting up shop on a former military base gives Koenigsegg the space it needs to build low-volume supercars largely by hand and access to a runway long enough to test them on.
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The Mazda RX-8’s triangles
The Mazda RX-8 made from 2003 to 2012 is full of not-so-subtle Easter eggs inspired by its Wankel engine’s rotors. The stamping right below the windscreen, the cut-outs in the front seatbacks and the manual transmission’s shift knob are among the triangle-shaped parts you can find on the coupe.
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The Ram 1500’s maths lesson
The current-generation Ram 1500 pickup has you covered if you didn’t pay enough attention in maths class. Open the cavernous storage compartment under the armrest in the centre console to reveal a handful of maths equations, like the Pythagorean Theorem, a fraction-to-decimal chart and trigonometric formulas. While the odds of needing to use them are low, the standard-to-metric wrench conversion chart included on the panel could actually come in handy in real-world situations.
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The SRT Viper’s race tracks
Short-lived Dodge spin-off SRT hid the outline of several famous race tracks in the 2013 Viper GTS. Laguna Seca (pictured) appeared on a rubber mat in the centre console, right by the USB port, while the Nürburgring was printed in the coin holder next to the passenger-side window switch.
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Skoda’s built-in ice scraper
Living up to its “simply clever” motto, Škoda integrates an ice scraper into the fuel flap of most of its models. The company explained the scraper is transparent because it doubles as a magnifying glass to help motorists read the tire pressure label glued to the inside of the flap. In some cars, including recent additions to its range like the Kamiq, the scraper also serves as a tyre thread depth gauge.
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Skoda's umbrella in the door
For years, many Rolls-Royce models (including the Wraith and the Ghost) have pampered their passengers with umbrella holders integrated into either the doors or the body. There’s no unwritten rule specifying you need to be a millionaire to enjoy this little touch of luxury, though. Škoda’s Superb, Kodiaq, and Scala models offer umbrella compartments in the front doors, just like in a Rolls-Royce.
It’s located under the front passenger seat in models like the Rapid, the Octavia and the Fabia.
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The Tesla Model X’s light show
Tesla leveraged technology to become another one of the industry’s Easter egg masters. In 2017, the company added a feature called Tesla Holiday Show to the Model X that makes the crossover flash its lights and move its rear doors while blasting the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s “Wizards in Winter.”
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Tesla’s rainbow road
In 2016, on the same day Tesla issued a safety recall for the Model X, company co-founder and CEO Elon Musk instructed owners to activate Autopilot four times in quick succession to unlock what he described as a psychedelic cowbell road. It’s in the digital instrument cluster, where an image of the car shows what’s going on around it in real-time, and it’s reminiscent of the Rainbow Road levels in Mario Kart.
Tesla has added several video games to its infotainment system in recent years, partly as a way to keep motorists occupied while they wait for their car to charge. In 2018, Musk revealed he tried including an in-car version of Mario Kart but Nintendo refused to licence it.
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Tesla’s submarine
Owners of a Tesla Model S or Model X equipped with air suspension can replace the image of their car in the central touchscreen with one showing James Bond’s Lotus Esprit-based submarine after pressing the t-shaped icon for five seconds and entering “007” in the access code field. Doing this also brings up a menu called “depth (leagues)” that lets motorists adjust the height of the air suspension.
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The Toyota 86’s exhaust tips
The Toyota GT86’s name is a tribute to the Corolla Levin coupe made from 1983 to 1987 and named AE86 internally. It’s also a reference to the flat-four engine’s bore and stroke, which both measure 86mm. Take a measuring tape to the exhaust tips and you’ll notice they both have an 86mm diameter.
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Vauxhall’s sharks
Stay attentive if you drive a late-model Vauxhall: there are sharks traveling with you. The company began hiding sharks in its cars when it introduced the Corsa D in 2006 (they’re on the glovebox hinges) after a designer’s son suggested it would be a cool feature. The marine theme continued in the Adam, the Astra, and the Insignia, among other models. The shark has become of the company’s trademarks.
“I always encourage our designers to hide sharks in the interior of all new designs,” said Karim Giordimaina, Opel’s director of interior design, in 2018. The tradition continues today, including on the latest generation Corsa which is based on the Peugeot 208.
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The Volkswagen’s ID.3 pedals
If you drive a Volkswagen ID.3, you press play to accelerate and hit pause to slow down or stop. Designers added corresponding symbols to the pedal caps; the feature is carried over from the first ID concept introduced at the 2016 Paris motor show. It’s a sign Volkswagen is aiming its first purpose-designed electric car at members of a generation that grew up with the Sony Walkman.
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The Volvo XC90’s spider
Volvo knows kids are more likely to sit in the XC90’s third row than adults so it attempted to keep them entertained by hiding a spider on its web under the storage bin’s lid. The eight-legged traveller hitched a ride in the Swedish company’s biggest SUV because an engineer found the original design boring.
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