Do Martians like pizza?
Of course, that’s a wildly presumptive question. But assuming that there are Martians, Domino’s is halfway prepared.
Consider its 1985 Tritan A2 pizza delivery vehicle, built almost 40 years ago at the behest of Domino’s founder Tom Monaghan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It didn’t fly, but it certainly looked like some NASA engineers might be enticed to retrofit one.
Only 10 were commissioned by Monaghan, and all were customized with warming ovens in the rear. Now one of the few surviving A2s — the oven’s been removed — is being offered for sale at a Las Vegas classic car auction on November 10.
The Tritan A2 was designed by engineers James Amick and his son Douglas, with large arch-shaped rear wings and a broad, curved airplane type windshield. The two-seater could run on gas (a 440cc Syvaro SP-440 rotary engine) or electric (Yes! An EV!) motors.
It rides very low to the ground, so a pothole could be ruinous, and outward visibility is poor, Chuck Sinnott, the car’s current owner, told CNN. He says that he has mostly taken it on a trailer to local car shows where he might drive a few short laps around a parking lot just to show it off, he said.
The fiberglass three-wheeler is actually considered a motorcycle for regulatory purposes. Mecum Auctions has not estimated an expected bid price; one sold at auction in 2019 for $44,800. Domino’s did not respond to questions about the car/motorcycle/spaceship, CNN said.
“This thing turns some heads. It’s a crowd pleaser,”`said Sinnott, “But my wife and I can’t jump in it and go to Monterey.” Sinnott said he bought the car in 2021 for about $25,000 from a Domino’s franchise owner. To help finance the purchase, he sold another car, a replica of the canopy-topped custom Plymouth Volaré wagon seen in the TV show “Fantasy Island.” He would not say if he plans to buy something else with the money he gets from this auction.
One can only further speculate how the A2 would behave on the New Jersey Turnpike. (It supposedly can achieve 80 miles per gallon on its tiny engine.)
Domino’s has long since moved onward, and upward, from the A2 as a means of delivering hot pies. In June, Domino’s showed off its “Rocket Man” jetpack delivery system at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK where — who else? — Elton John was appearing. The futuristic food delivery method was made possible after the company partnered with Gravity Industries, which designed a fully customized suit that supposedly keeps both the pilot safe and the pizza warm.
