Awesome Rides

With all of the buzz about electric sports cars, Ferrari isn’t giving up on internal combustion engines quite yet. Sporting an atypically futuristic look, the 12Cilindri 2-seater is powered by a naturally-aspirated V12 engine with 818 hp and a 9500 RPM redline. Designed with aerodynamics and downforce in mind, it will also come in a sexy drop-top model.

Chevy’s three-row family hauler has seen some big upgrades for 2024. The new Traverse has a more substantial, truck-like exterior, a powerful turbocharged engine, a huge touchscreen, and many more reasons to love it. We spent a couple of days getting to know the rugged new Traverse Z71 and its more sporty and urban sibling, the Traverse RS.

Our friend Tim Esterdahl from Pickup Truck +SUV Talk took a 180-mile road trip in the all-electric 2024 Nissan Ariya. He had a lot of ground to cover in the Ariya, facing the battery-busting trifecta of cold weather, high speeds, and elevation gains. You can see the stress on his face as he shares his experiences. But was his range anxiety justified?

China makes the widest variety of cars on the planet, from 6-figure executive sedans to crappy little things like the $1300 Chang Li Tank city car. After performing a durability test and testing it off-road, the guys from Grind Hard Plumbing Co. completely rebuilt the 2-horsepower car, outfitting it with four-wheel drive and a pair of 28,000-watt electric motors.

There are good reasons that vehicles are driven on pneumatic rubber tires. But after seeing a rusty bike wheel wrapped in springs, the guys from Garage 54 thought it would be fun to test the idea by creating a set of tires from thick coil springs. They mounted them on a Mercedes G-Wagon to see if they could improve traction and off-road capabilities.

The Lexus LC 500 and LC 500h share one of the most beautiful automotive designs of the last decade.  We’ve driven the V8 coupe and convertible, but this is the first time we’ve spent a meaningful amount of time with the V6 hybrid. While it’s a hair slower, the LC 500h is every bit as showstopping and offers better fuel efficiency, making it a fantastic grand tourer.

There’s no question that cars have improved in terms of safety tech, they’ve also created new problems by removing buttons and knobs, reinventing gear shifters, and making vehicles bigger. Commentator Drew Gooden talks about some of these backward steps in automotive design, then roasts the vehicle that’s the worst offender – the Tesla Cybertruck.

When the Aston Martin DBX707 debuted in 2022, its blend of undeniable performance, dynamics, and style saw it ascend to the pinnacle of the ultra-luxury sector. So much so that for 2024, the DBX707 is now the only powertrain in the British performance brand’s SUV portfolio. It has a 4.0L twin-turbo V8 with 697 hp, and zooms from 0 to 60 in 3.1 seconds.

Ram is showing off the 2025 Ram 1500 RHO, a performance off-roader with a Hurricane straight-six turbo engine making 540 hp and 521 lb-ft. of torque and a 0-to-60 time of 4.6 seconds. It has a long-travel suspension with Bilstein Black Hawk e2 adaptive shocks, a 2-inch lift, and rolls on 35-inch tires. The RHO drops Q3 2024, with a starting price of $69,995.

Russian outfit ROBO.SYSTEMS partnered with luxury mobility brand The Arsenale to create this special edition of their badass 2×2 Ultra Bike. The all-terrain electric bike has dual 1000-watt motors and rolls on soft and buoyant wheels that can ride through sand, marsh, snow drifts, mud, and shallow water. It has a top speed of 30 mph and a range of up to 50 km.

The car that Doc Brown drove (and flew) in the Back to the Future movies was a DeLorean DMC-12. Mixing things up for the 21st century, the guys from Supercar Blondie show off the TMC-12x, a Tesla Model X Plaid modified by The Shop in Tampa to look like the time machine. The EV even leaves a trail of fire on the ground. Stick around for a second awesome car.

Genesis makes some of the best luxury vehicles on the road today. The posh and stylish GV80 is currently the brand’s largest SUV, with options for two or three rows of seats. The 3.5T Prestige Signature version has a performance-oriented powertrain, an extravagant interior with high-end materials, and a wide variety of safety and convenience technology.

Engineer James Bruton adds to his collection of unusual vehicles with the creation of a single-seater that rolls on four 3D-printed mechanum wheels. The not-quite-a-bike uses motors and an inertial measurement unit to remain balanced. By changing the speed and direction of each wheel, it can move forward, backward, sideways, and spin around on a dime. Its agility is quite impressive.

Long before seatbelts, airbags, and anti-lock brakes, there were plenty of well-intentioned but ill-conceived automotive safety devices. With big trucks and SUVs causing greater concerns about pedestrian safety, I Did a Thing dusted off one such invention – the Pedestrian Catcher – and tested it to see how effective it could be.

Don’t have the balance to use a stand-up paddleboard? Decathlon teamed up with Outercraft to design the Hydrobike – a unique watercraft that combines a paddleboard, pedal boat, and catamaran. It has inflatable floats, a single-seat, and modular storage for outdoor gear. It’s a proof-of-concept at this point, but we hope to see it go into production.

Infiniti revealed its fancy new 2025 QX80 high above Manhattan on The Edge observation deck. To get the 6,000 pound, three-row luxury SUV onto the outdoor sky deck, a crew spent weeks carefully taking apart then reassembling the vehicle, and took 100 elevator rides to bring the QX80 to the top, piece-by-piece.

The current-gen Nissan Z is the best it’s ever been – with great power, crisp handling, and slick modern looks that pay homage to Nissan’s classic sports cars. For the ultimate Z car, you’ll want the Z NISMO, which provides faster acceleration, stiffer suspension, aerodynamic enhancements, and other goodies that make the Z more track-ready than ever.

It’s been 15 years since Toyota fully redesigned the 4Runner, but it looks like it was worth the wait. The 2025 4Runner has a sharp, chiseled new look that matches the new Tacoma and two new engines – including a robust i-FORCE MAX hybrid. Rugged Trailhunter and deluxe Platinum grades join the SR5, TRD Sport, Limited, and TRD Pro this time.

Bentley’s latest masterpiece is a unique Bentayga Hybrid hand-painted by Stephen Wiltshire, MBE, an autistic savant architectural artist who can sketch detailed cityscapes after a single viewing. Titled “Belonging Bentayga,” the $200K+ Alpine Green car features 29 people and landmarks to embody the unity and diversity of our world while celebrating neurodivergence and craftsmanship.

We stopped counting tires at 19, but it’s possible that this crazy looking homebrew go-kart has more than that. We’re not sure why this guy built such a ridiculous vehicle but it’s entertaining to see him driving around on it. It’s probably has mad oversteer with all of those rear tires so it could be a fun drift machine.

The internet is packed with April Fools Day pranks today, and this is one of our favorites. Lexus put together this hilarious commercial for a fictitious and fragrant feature for their new GX 550 SUV – a “Scent Mode” that helps you connect with nature even when you’re stuck in city traffic.

It might not be a muscle car, but the Dodge Hornet is more fun to drive than most compact crossovers. It has a zesty powertrain, dynamic handling, and a sporty interior with premium materials. We spent a week getting to know this fully loaded 2023 Hornet GT Plus model, though the 2024 model is identical.

Genesis is teasing a new Magma performance vehicle line. The closest to production-ready is the GV60 Magma, a souped-up version of their electric crossover with upgraded aerodynamics and cooling, a wider, lower stance, and 21-inch wheels with integrated brake cooling. Inside, it has bucket sport seats with Nappa and suede leather, and body-colored seatbacks.