9 craftiest car keys

You won’t want to lose any of these – and not just because of the car.

1. VEYRON SPEED KEY

It kind of makes sense that one of the fastest cars on the planet would need a second key to unlock its secrets. The speed key locks down the chassis, sets the spoilers to kill and unlocks the speed limiters for the crack at 400km/h-plus.

2. JDM-ONLY WRX STI

First seen in 2004 and still available to this day via Subaru’s spares division, this JDM-only key is designed like a kill switch and is made from titanium. Very subtle cool, but it doesn’t have a chip to unlock most modern Subies, sadly.

3. MCLAREN KEYS

Subtle carbonfibre fob used across the McLaren range. But best to think of this as a blank canvas, McLaren’s Special Operations division able to customise it any way you want. One P1 owner had it reshaped to match his car.

4. KOENIGSEGG CCXR

More amulet than key, and looking like something out of Indiana Jones, the Koenigsegg CCXR key is not even the Swedish brand’s craziest. They made a 40-carat diamond version worth around $300K – good for publicity, not a lot else.

5. FERRARI 488 GTB

As a contrast to most others here, the key for Ferrari’s latest mid-engine weapon is, well, kind of understated, don’t you think? Still, it primes up a seriously quick bit of kit, so all is forgiven. It’s also one of the first Ferrari ‘smart’ keys, no twist ’n’ turn needed.

6. MCLAREN F1

One of the coolest things about this otherwise innocuous key is that there will only be 106 of them. The McLaren F1’s ignition barrel is surrounded by its carbon fibre chassis plate, and sits just in front of the right-sided gear shifter.

7. PORSCHE 917

It’s probably surprising to learn that the most drool-worthy of 1960s Le Mans racers even needed a key, but the 917 did. Porsche drilled out the holes to save weight, or so the story goes. Still available as a blank to this day for your classic 911.

8. BMW 7-SERIES

The new 7-Series key has a small but high-res colour LCD screen letting you know how much petrol’s in the tank, and will even allow you to preset the air-conditioning prior to getting in the car. Mostly pointless, but undeniably cool.

9. LFA NURBURGRING

The original key fob for the ‘stock’ LFA was roundly criticised as looking like something from a Camry, just a little fancier. So the limited edition Nurburgring fixed that oversight with this carbon wonder, complete with 3D Lexus badge.