La Marzocco × Porsche: Elevating the Espresso Ritual with Automotive DNA

The Collaboration:

La Marzocco, the legendary Italian espresso machine maker, has long been a symbol of craftsmanship and café culture. In late 2024 (with lasting momentum into 2025), they partnered with Porsche to launch a limited-edition version of the Linea Micra espresso machine. reinterpreted through the lens of automotive design.  

R.M. Williams × INEOS Grenadier: Australian Leather Meets Overland Resolve

The Collaboration:

This is a more subterranean but deeply relevant partnership for 2025. R.M. Williams (Australia’s heritage leather and bootmaker) has teamed with the overland 4×4 maker INEOS Grenadier in a custom build that fuses rugged offroad performance with premium leather interiors and outfitting.

In effect, the Grenadier Quartermaster is reinterpreted through the R.M. Williams lens: custom leathers, stitching, interior panels, and detailing.  

This collaboration plays into both brands’ strengths: INEOS builds purpose-driven, utilitarian vehicles. R.M. Williams offers tactile, sustainably conscious, high-end leathercraft.

Bentley × Joe & The Juice: Crafting Luxury Energy for a New Generation

The Collaboration:

Bentley surprised many by linking with Joe & The Juice, the Scandinavian café brand beloved for its vibrant, youth-driven culture. The result? A co-created “Bentley Boost” menu: premium, limited-edition juices and coffee blends inspired by Bentley design codes. Pop-up juice bars appeared at select Bentley dealerships and motor shows in 2025, bringing a fresh, health-conscious dimension to the brand’s hospitality.

MINI × Deus Ex Machina: Street Culture Meets Racing DNA

The Collaboration:

MINI teamed with lifestyle and custom-motorcycle brand Deus Ex Machina to create two bespoke one-off JOHN COOPER WORKS (JCW) models: one electric, dubbed “The Skeg,” producing around 258 hp, and one combustion, “The Machina,” with 231 hp. Both feature a bold “X” motif across the roof symbolising the collaboration, along with exposed seams, analog switches, and a raw, handcrafted aesthetic that deliberately rejects high-gloss perfection. The Skeg takes cues from surf culture, while The Machina draws inspiration from rally and motorsport, with interiors crafted from neoprene, aluminium panels, and roll cages to emphasise mechanical intent. The collaboration also extended beyond the cars themselves, with a MINI × Deus apparel capsule unveiled at IAA Munich 2025, further cementing the partnership’s cultural and lifestyle reach.

Fiat × Kartell: Design, Sustainability, and Italian Soul

The Collaboration:

In 2025, Fiat rekindled its long-standing relationship with Italian design house Kartell to unveil the Grande Panda Kartell Project at Salone del Mobile in Milan — a striking showcase of what happens when automotive engineering meets contemporary furniture design. The collaboration reimagines the new Grande Panda as an urban design object: colourful, playful, and sustainably built. Kartell’s material expertise shines through in translucent recycled plastics, textured blue detailing, and modular interior components inspired by its iconic homeware pieces. The result is less a car and more a moving piece of modern Italian design — a love letter to circular creativity and everyday beauty.

What can dealerships learn from these OEM collabroations?

1. Select partners whose brand DNA complements yours: Don’t force a pairing. Look for overlap in values, audience, and craft.

2. Push beyond aesthetic overlays: True collaborations deliver function, not just skin. Think materials, utility, experience.

3. Leverage narrative, not just product: Document the design process, the artisans, the story. That content is gold for brand building.

4. Think lifecycle & repairability: Collaborations should align with sustainability trends: durability, repair, longevity.