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Sophia Loren was looking every inch the glamorous Hollywood legend when I met her in Italy for a secret launch by a once-great British car company.

But it wasn't a car that we'd gathered to celebrate over dinner in Bologna.The UK's then thriving Rover Group — whose cars were successful in Italy — was launching a new scent. The name? 'Essenziale'.

Nothing so vulgar as a press conference to unveil it. Just the vision of our charming host 'La Loren' spraying the scent on her wrist and declaring it 'bellissimo'.

The rotor-y club: An Aston Martin DBX and its matching ACH 130 Helicopter, made with Airbus

Cynical motoring writers from Britain dubbed this new perfume 'Eau de Longbridge' — after Rover's unglamorous strike-prone factory on the outskirts of Birmingham.

But what is important is that this was an early bit of car company 'lifestyle' promotion.

Since that encounter — a quarter of a century ago — the lucrative practice has grown to such an extent that you would be forgiven for wondering why motor manufacturers these days don't simply point out: 'we also make cars'.

Merchandising is now big business. Most car firms offer branded goods which can appeal to all. And the choice is endless, from jackets to cups, jigsaw puzzles and luggage tags.

It's all in the name

In the wake of its centenary, Citroen upgraded its offerings to include a special game of Monopoly. 

Ferrari has released a new clothing range to go on sale at its revamped boutiques around the world 

Other products include an enamel mug, card games, 'Seetroen' anti-sickness glasses, clothing, homeware, beachwear and — more traditionally — miniature model cars.

Children of all ages can build intricate Lego versions of their favourite motors — created under licence — from the Ford Mustang and Aston Martins to the new Land Rover Defender, which costs £160.

Peugeot and Skoda both began with bicycle production before evolving into motor cars, so naturally have their own branded modern-day cycles. Skoda even provides support vehicles for the Tour de France.

For intrepid explorers, Land Rover and Mini offer a 'tent-on-a-roof' option for cars. But that's still small time compared with some astonishing offerings.

It's often joked that Ferrari makes more from selling branded goods than supercars. That isn't true, however you can see why rumours persist after the company launched a massive Ferrari World theme park in Abu Dhabi.

Ferrari has also released a new clothing range to go on sale at its revamped boutiques around the world.

Meanwhile, Porsche, Bentley and Aston Martin have branched out into property development, and are each building competing luxury beach-front apartment blocks in Miami, Florida. 

And perhaps British luxury car-maker Bentley is taking things the furthest by offering its owners — and even those who simply aspire to be so — the full immersive 'lifestyle' experience so you can furnish your entire house with Bentley furniture.

Golf fans can order a set of Bentley clubs, with matching bag, for £6,850.

Hold tight: The Ferrari World theme park in Abu Dhabi features the world's fastest roller coaster

Bentley used to offer a bespoke kennel popular with well-heeled dog lovers, and I hear that and more pooch-related products may return. 

There's also a jewellery range and the company recently signed up to a close association with Scotch whisky-maker Macallan.

These things don't always run smoothly, however. Bentley-branded clothing proved a headache when, in 2019, the High Court ruled Bentley Motors had infringed the trademark of Manchester-based Bentley Clothing, which was founded in 1962 by businessman Gerald Bentley.

Five wacky car diversions 

When a motor's just not enough...

Go to bed in a Bentley

The crowning glory of Bentley's home furniture range was its bed —emblazoned with the car's logo on the headboard. The perfect place to sleep for anyone who's dreamed of owning a Bentley

Porsche luxury living

Porsche Design Tower in beachfront Miami, Florida, has 60 storeys — and a lift to take cars up to your apartment, plus room for two or four vehicles outside your front door. You'll need deep pockets though; prices range from £3 million to £30 million

Pass Go with Citroen

For the car fan with not-so-deep pockets, this themed version of Monopoly lets players buy Citroen vehicles instead of streets in London. Stations are replaced by concept cars and utilities are replaced by fuel and insurance companies

Peugeot's spice of life

Long before it was famous for its cars or even bicycles, France's Peugeot was known for pepper mills. Its roots hark back to the 19th century when a coffee grinder produced by brothers Jean-Pierre and Jean-Frederic Peugeot evolved into the classic twist-and-grind pepper mill

Rolls-Royce of hampers

Fans can splash out around £44,000 on a bespoke Rolls-Royce champagne chest — with caviar and canape containers and napkins. There are also bespoke picnic hampers and cocktail hampers from around £50,000

Star quality

Aston Martin's long association with the James Bond movies makes it a natural for exciting and expensive fripperies.

Most recently it produced a limited edition of classic reborn DB5s — complete with many of the gadgets from the movie Goldfinger — costing £3.3 million each. 

As well as its luxury high-rise apartment block in Miami, Aston Martin is also behind a limited-edition collection of five one-of-a-kind luxury homes in New York City — and each is accompanied by a Special Edition Aston Martin DBX — designed by the architect Sir David Adjaye.

In various other partnerships Aston Martin has produced: a speed-boat, a £3 million 'Project Neptune' mini-submarine, plans for a £5 million hybrid-electric micro-plane, the £100,000 AMB 001 Brough Superior motor bike, 150 AMR-CO1 driving simulators costing £69,000 each and, in partnership with Airbus Corporate Helicopters, the brand even created the ACH 130 Aston Martin edition helicopter.

Aston Martin has produced: a speed-boat (pictured), a £3 million 'Project Neptune' mini-submarine, and plans for a £5 million hybrid-electric micro-plane

However, some years ago, Aston also created one of the most bizarre offerings, which has gone down in automotive legend: Aston Martin-branded leather underpants. 

A pair of them went under the hammer at auctioneers Bonhams some years back, fetching £162. Whatever turns you on, I suppose. But what would Miss Moneypenny make of them?

Some luxury car-makers such as Bugatti, Ferrari and Aston Martin have worked with Britain's Bicester-based The Little Car Company to produce three-quarter scale replicas of their classic cars — costing between £50,000 and £95,000 each.

Who knows, it may even tempt some potential customers to buy an actual car.

What Government's green petrol switch means for motorists

Motorists are facing a looming revolution hitting filling station forecourts and many risk being caught unawares. 

It's been sparked by the Government's decision to make 'greener' all standard petrol sold at the pumps from September 1 and could affect drivers with older classics.

As part of the Government's drive to reduce CO2 emissions, the amount of bio-ethanol added to unleaded petrol is being increased from the 5 per cent currently to 10 per cent. 

As part of the Government's drive to reduce CO2 emissions, the amount of bio-ethanol added to unleaded petrol is being increased from the 5 per cent to 10 per cent

Existing signage reflects the percentage by calling it E5. The new fuel shows as E10.

Forecourts are already changing their E5 logos for E10 on their standard unleaded pumps ahead of the new fuel's official introduction next month.

And there are fears it could also push up pump prices. One reader told me: 'You may be interested to learn that Tesco is now charging 8p per litre more for E10 than for E5 at a time of very high overall prices.'

The AA says that while some older cars could be damaged by 'prolonged use' of E10 'the vast majority of motorists won't need to switch to more expensive 'super unleaded' which will remain at 5 per cent bio-ethanol.' 

The Government says the switch will save about 750,000 tonnes of CO2 from going into the atmosphere — the equivalent of taking 350,000 cars off the road.

AA technical specialist Greg Carter says: 'More than 98 per cent of petrol cars in the UK run perfectly well on E10 — but some older models, classic cars and motorcycles shouldn't use it.

He adds: 'If you do drive an incompatible vehicle and accidentally fill up with E10, don't worry.

'Just fill up with super unleaded next time. There's no need to get it drained as it takes some time for any damage to occur.'

Gardeners also take note: petrol-powered garden machinery and generators are also likely to be incompatible, so use super unleaded after September 1, says the AA.   

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