Domino's Pizza, Roush, Chevrolet Cook Up DXP Pizza-Mobile
CARS.COM — The next time you order a pizza, something unusual may bring it to you, like the new Domino’s DXP (“Delivery Expert”), a heavily modified 2015 Chevrolet Spark that’s been designed solely with pizza delivery in mind. It’s the result of nearly four years of work by the pizza giant and two vehicle-engineering companies to create the ultimate pizza-delivery vehicle.
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The DXP is the fruit of an online competition held by Domino’s Pizza. Thousands of designs were submitted, ranging from simple sketches from amateurs to elaborate designs from professional graphic artists and designers. Ultimately, Domino’s decided on the Chevy Spark as the vehicle’s platform.
It starts as an ordinary Chevrolet Spark, with a 1.2-liter four-cylinder engine pumping out 84 horsepower, mated to an available continuously variable automatic transmission. Local Motors, a company made famous for crowdsourcing designs that led to the Rally Fighter off-road racer, helped design the vehicle modifications, which are fairly extensive. Engineering and fabrication company Roush Enterprises then drew up and created the special parts that turn the Spark into the DXP — and it really is now a DXP; there isn’t a Chevrolet badge anywhere on the car.
The list of modifications to make it the ultimate vehicle for delivery is surprisingly extensive, with 176 different components than the standard Spark. Outside, there’s a new grille with the Domino’s logo, a new paint job and a special car-top sign that lights up when the car’s filled with pizza, much like how a New York cab changes its lights when it has a fare.
Inside, the changes are even more transformative. All the seats except the driver’s have been removed and replaced by specially built plastic trays and holders that can accommodate up to 80 pizzas. The left rear passenger door has been removed, and in its place is a 140-degree pizza-warming oven with an exterior access door that raises above the roof at the touch of a key fob. The oven can fit four pizzas, and when the oven door is up, a puddle light with the Domino’s logo illuminates the area to the DXP’s side, showing the driver what they might be accidentally stepping in.
You have to be a Domino’s franchisee to buy one of the new DXPs, which will cost anywhere from $20,000-25,000, depending on how many the franchise store orders. Domino’s expects the pizza delivery vehicle’s lifespan to be three to five years, covering about 100,000 miles in that short time span due to the heavy use the car is likely to get. After that, the car goes back to Roush, which will strip it of all of its Domino’s branding for resale.
So why choose the Spark over commercial vehicles like the Ford Transit Connect or Nissan NV200 vans? Domino’s said many factors about the Spark appealed: it has 10 standard airbags, standard roadside assistance and it’s the closest footprint to the original DXP concept vehicle’s size. It also probably doesn’t hurt that it’s not terribly expensive, relatively comfortable and easily serviced at any Chevy dealer as well.
So far, Domino’s and Roush have built 96 cars, destined for cities all over the country, but the car is designed for use anywhere in the world and international franchises have expressed interest. If the 2015 model proves to be popular with franchise operators, the company says it will work on a 2016 model based on the next Spark to continue the program.
