Luxury Italian automakers Lamborghini have just dipped their toes into the non-fungible token (NFT) space with a release of just five oeuvres that play on the crypto meme “to the moon” (used to describe the potential skyrocketing prices of one’s coin, or NFT, of choice) – by actually going to outer space.

Think of NFTs as a certificate denoting one’s ownership of a unique digital asset. Increasingly, tokens are also associated with physical objects, like rarefied bottles of booze. Lamborghini’s NFTs are the same: the so-called Lamborghini Space Key is actually a piece of carbon fiber composite that was sent to the International Space Station in 2019 as part of a research project.

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Now back on Earth, these keys will have QR codes on the back that’d bring you to a purely digital asset by an as-yet-unidentified artist, signifying both a step forward for the brand vis-a-vis material technology as well as a foray into the wild west of NFTs and cryptocurrency.

Says CEO and chairman of Lamborghini Stephan Winkelmann, “Innovation is a deeply rooted part of the Lamborghini DNA. As a leading company for carbon fiber composite materials within the automotive sector we pushed boundaries two and a half years ago with the joint research project in space. Now entering the metaverse is again proof of Lamborghini always setting sail for new horizons.”

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Further details including the artist behind the Space Key and its corresponding digital artworks and more importantly, how you can get your hands on the NFT, will be released in due time. These follow German marque Mercedes-Benz’s own step into NFTs, who recently partnered with Nifty Gateway and five artists to create digital oeuvres of Mercedes’ G-Class.

Other car brands, like Audi, Porsche and Alpine are some other brands who’ve released, or announced the release, their own NFT artworks. The lattermost’s was one of the more interesting ones, as they released a digital-only concept car with five one-of-a-kind liveries.

Digital assets – and the novelty of having a key that’s been researched on in outer space – aside, brands are using the possession of one of their NFTs as an exclusive pass. For example, Adidas recently announced an NFT collection that grants owners access to real life exclusive streetwear drops. Which might mean, fingers crossed, first dibs on any limited-edition Lamborghinis in the future.

Photos by Lamborghini.