Awesome Rides

We’ve had the pleasure of driving a customized Nissan Altima with snow tracks. This build from Garage 54 is the low-budget equivalent of that, using a janky old Lada and fitting it with dual rear tires wrapped in metal tracks. It’s definitely not the most agile vehicle in the snow, but it is able to drive on some sloppy powder.

Zero Labs makes modernized versions of the classic Ford Bronco and Land Rover Series III 109. They have a fully-electric powertrain with up to 600 hp, a 235+ mile range, and independent front and rear suspension. The Bronco can be built with a carbon fiber body. Prices range from $225K to $400K, including the donor vehicle.

ExtenPro is back with another entertaining BeamNG.Drive video. This time, they used the vehicle physics simulator to attach wheels to steel shipping containers, then rolled them downhill into oncoming traffic. The carnage is spectacular, though we thought for a moment that Dodge Viper would escape unharmed.

Scotty Cranmer and his pals hacked together this ridiculous bicycle with an oversize hoop that surrounds its rider. The design lets the bike and its rider perform rolling flips when going down staircases or on flat surfaces with enough momentum.

Loaded with luxury, the Cadillac Escalade is one extravagant SUV. But the Escalade-V is on a different level entirely, adding a powerful supercharged V8, a sport-tuned adaptive suspension, performance brakes, and much more. We spent a week living with Caddy’s powerful full-size SUV and couldn’t get enough of its many pleasures.

Bruder’s rugged camper is designed for overlanding on the most challenging terrain. It rolls on 37″ wheels, and its suspension offers 12″ of travel, while its lightweight body handles temperatures from -22ºF to +140ºF. Its climate-controlled cabin operates off-grid thanks to battery packs and roof-mounted solar panels.

We’ve witnessed first-hand how car companies test the suspension setups on new vehicles. They also use computer simulations with realistic physics models. This video from ExtenPro shows how various vehicle suspensions might handle on a punishing course they set up in the vehicle simulation game BeamNG drive.

An Ohio man built this incredible replica of Bruce Wayne’s original 1966 Batmobile. The car is accurate down to the buttons and switches inside the cockpit, which trigger various crimefighting gadgets. And when there’s nobody behind it, its “engine” can even shoot flames. Be sure to watch him take on The Joker in his Clown Vic.

In addition to its 702 hp supercharged V8 HEMI engine, this special Ram 1500 TRX comes decked out in a bold Baja Yellow color scheme and rolls on 18-inch black beadlock-capable wheels. Inside, you’ll find Prowler Yellow stitching, carbon fiber accents, and a leather/carbon fiber flat-bottom steering wheel.

This incredible custom car celebrates 100 years of partnership between coachbuilder Zagato and automaker Alfa Romeo. The one-off longnose coupe is powered by the 2.9L twin-turbo V6 from the Giulia GTAm, making 533hp and 442 lb-ft. of torque. Unlike most other modern sports cars, it has a six-speed manual transmission.

Most people who make remote-controlled cars start with an off-the-shelf chassis, then attach a plastic body shell. But Liu Mutou is an overachiever. With the exception of the tires and motor, he built virtually every part of this R/C Ferrari 250 GTO replica from scratch, including a welded metal frame and bent metal body.

Paddling a kayak can take a lot of strength and isn’t very fast. In the interest of decreasing effort and increasing speed, inventor Colin Furze made a custom kayak paddle with a powerful motor and propellers to give things an extra boost. But is Colin’s idea a breakthrough or a bust?

DBZ fans might be familiar with the Hovercar, first driven by Ox-King, then by many others. DanCreator thought he should have his own hovercar, so he built one from wood, cardboard, pool floats, and leaf blowers. It glides over smooth surfaces with ease, though we wouldn’t suggest taking it in a swimming pool.

The McMurtry Spéirling is single-seat sports car designed for maximum speed. Mat Watson from Carwow scored some time behind its wheel, and while he was at it, he managed to do the 1/4-mile in less than 8 seconds. The 2200 lb. car packs a 1000 hp electric drivetrain and fans that produce 2 tons of downforce.

Modern cars are made from thousands of parts, precisely engineered to fit together and carry us safely down the road. Commissioned by Nissan China in 2012, Dutch artist Paul Veroude took a car’s 3,421 individual parts and suspended them from the ceiling relative to the locations where they are normally assembled.

Roof racks are great for transporting items, but they’re not easy to reach. Rightline Gear’s Moki Door Step solves the problem, by adding a temporary step for you to stand on. The lightweight aluminum step hooks into your vehicle’s door latch and can hold up to 400 lb.

Animator, LEGO and Batman fan Idan Kotzen created this fantastic animated short celebrating some of the various Batmobiles over the years. The stop-motion and clever use of lighting give the cars a great sense of movement, as LEGO Batman gives chase to the evildoers of Gotham.

After a pandemic and supply chain delays, the Hitch Hotel is back and even better for 2023. The tiny trailer collapses down small enough to store in the corner of your garage but expands to a 7-foot camper that sleeps two adults. It’s got a lightweight aluminum frame and fiberglass shell, so it only adds 950 pounds of towing weight.

This handbuilt, track-only edition of the Ford GT pulls out all the stops. Multimatic tuned the mid-mounted twin-turbo V6 to make over 800 hp and added a race suspension, an extended wheelbase, and a custom racing gearbox. Aero upgrades include a giant rear wing, overfenders, and smooth wheel covers. Just 67 will be built.

This wouldn’t be the best use of tennis balls that we’ve seen, but we have to hand it to The Q for his creativity. For no reason other to prove that it could be done, he created a bike tires which never need air because they ride on a cushion of tennis balls. The trickiest part of the build was the rig that crams tennis balls into PVC rings.

This brutalist SUV from the UK is built to take on the toughest terrain. Its electric motor and two-speed transmission sends power to all four wheels, like a traditional 4WD system. Power ranges from 295 to 375 hp with up to 516 lb-ft. of torque. It’s built on a hefty steel ladder frame and has an impressive 18.9″ of ground clearance.

A hovercraft might sound like a complicated piece of equipment to build from scratch, but Project Air shows us how it’s possible to build one at home using wood, foam board, a plastic tarp, and duct tape. The key to the build is the powerful lift motors. He also had some help from his dad and fellow maker Matt from DIY Perks.

After gulping down a can of sponsor Monster Energy’s high-powered drink, snowbiker and X Games athlete Cody Matechuk headed into the snow-capped mountains of British Colombia for a thrilling ride on his motorized snowbike. Expect lots of daring jumps off of rocky cliffs into a thick cushion of fresh powder.