Awesome Rides

After betting Travis Pastrana that he could run a mile in under four minutes, Jim York and his pals from Channel 199 came up with a cheat code. They welded a treadmill to the roof of a UTV, powered it with a generator, and then took it for a spin. It looks fairly tame on the pavement, but hanging on while doing an off-road jump looks a bit more sketchy.

Genesis is on a roll. The impressive, progressive Korean brand has swept awards — biggies like Car and Designer of The Year — for two years running. After getting an advance look at Genesis’ next crowd-pleaser — the 2025 GV80, the brand’s first crossover coupe — we’re astonished that they continue to make all the right moves.

This crazy flying bicycle was created by Chinese maker Aircraft Model Art. He started by purchasing the lightest bicycle he could find, then made a custom foam wing and attached a pair of powerful motors. It took several redesigns to come up with a version that could stay airborne. We suggest turning on English captions.

VinFast Auto didn’t just stand out at CES 2024 for its unexpected reveal of its futuristic VF Wild electric pickup truck concept. The young Vietnamese company also launched its DrgnFly electric bike just one year after its initial showcase.

It’s not easy to ride one of those penny-farthing bicycles with the giant front wheel and tiny back wheel. Chris Makes Stuff built a modern version of the Victorian-era bike and outfitted it with a hubless front wheel and a rear-wheel electric drive unit. It works, but given how sketchy it looks, a helmet might be a good idea instead of the newsboy hat.

It’s easy to find toy cars that are powered by rubber bands. On the other hand, it seems that nobody is making human-size vehicles that run on rubber band power. Joel Creates set out to solve this problem by replacing the engine in a lightweight Goblin kit car with an elastic-powered one. Like toy cars, it needs to be pulled back to store energy for a ride.

Engineer James Bruton has been experimenting with designs for a unique tank with treads that twist like a Möbius strip. After an earlier design that struggled with steering, his revised tank can bend at its center to drive around corners. It’s not a particularly practical design, but it sure is cool to watch in action.

The Nissan Ariya NISMO is faster than the already zippy Ariya e-4ORCE models. Its electric 4WD system makes up to 429 hp and 442 lb-ft. of torque with its 91 kWh battery pack. It’s tricked out with aerodynamic upgrades, a sport-tuned chassis, 20-inch aluminum wheels, and a microsuede interior. Coming to Japan in Spring 2024, but no U.S. release date yet.

Some electric vehicles can turn on a dime thanks to independent electric motors at each wheel. Mercedes-Benz showed off the 2025 Mercedes EQG (aka Electric G-Class) by having four of the SUVs perform the so-called “G-Turn” spin on the Las Vegas strip. While real-world use for a 360º turn is limited to maneuvering in tight spaces, it’s a fun party trick.

Ali Spagnola thought making her car change colors like a gigantic mood ring would be fun. So she sprayed it with thermochromic liquid crystal paint. This stuff doesn’t show if she’s happy or sad but instead reacts to changes in temperature. If you’re wondering what those discs are on her car, they’re the 9,000 PopSockets she attached in a previous video.

The Tesla Cybertruck is expensive and hard to come by. Steven Song and his buddies figured they could solve both problems by building their version of the vehicle. Only this cursed Cybertruck rolls on tank treads, has a weapon system, and is constructed almost entirely from stuff they found in a junkyard.

There are tens of thousands of miles of abandoned railroad tracks in the U.S. Ryan Randomness explores these defunct rails using a gas-powered, two-seat go-kart that rolls on custom-made polyurethane wheels, and he shares videos of his journeys on his Instagram and YouTube channels, like this trip to the Goat Canyon Trestle.

Auto mechanics hear all kinds of weird stories about cars and the problems they’re having. Just Rolled In offers up another amusing video of strange sounds that cars are making, then follows them up with the description provided by each customer. Our favorite is the defective blend door actuator, which sounds exactly like the intro to Hot for Teacher.

If you live somewhere cold and your car doesn’t have heated seats and a heated steering wheel, you need to upgrade next time. It’s worth it. In this video from MrFastFox666, he used a thermal camera to show what’s going on inside his Cadillac ELR’s heated steering wheel. We assumed the heating element wire would be straight but it has a zig-zag pattern.

Like its gas-powered brother, the Genesis GV70 Electrified is a fantastic-looking crossover that drives like a dream. The battery-electric version is even quicker, zooming from 0 to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds and handling just as well. In its top-of-the-line Prestige grade, its plush and quiet interior keeps pace with the finest luxury vehicles.

xkcd’s What If series ponders another viewer-submitted question. With no regard for rules, what would be the fastest way to get a human around a race track 200 times – without killing the driver. After coming up with some creative solutions, it turns out the limiting factor isn’t the vehicle, it’s the person inside of it.

McLaren’s GTS supercar is designed for maximum performance with grand tourer smoothness and space for luggage. But make no mistake; this thing is quick. It packs a twin-turbo V8 that makes 617 hp and 465 lb-ft. of torque, and goes from 0 to 62 mph in 3.2 seconds with a top speed of 203 mph. A carbon fiber monocoque chassis keeps weight down to 3351 lb.

Cadillac will expand its electric portfolio with the 2026 Vistiq, a three-row SUV with seating for seven. The Vistiq is the third Cadillac EV recently confirmed and the fifth to join the automaker’s EV line-up. Rumor has it that it’ll be positioned between the Lyriq and Escalade IQ, two well-appointed electric SUVs.

Filling tires with nitrogen instead of air can reduce air loss and boost fuel economy. But filling them with LIQUID nitrogen is an absolutely terrible idea since the stuff comes out of the jug at -320 °F (− 196 °C). That didn’t stop Superkot from trying it out on his Miata. It’s only a matter of minutes before the cryogenic fluid causes the tires to fail spectacularly.

We’ve seen a machine designed to test the suspension on LEGO cars. Here’s a series of nine LEGO Technic vehicles, each rolling on a unique suspension setup. Dr. Engine built and tested each of the rides to see which design had the best shock absorption, load handling, and rock crawling abilities.

GT Bicycles’ special Pro Performer 29 bike features a design inspired by The Mandalorian. It rolls on 5-spoke mag wheels, and its frame is painted in Beskar silver and with anodized blue accents. Its angular Cheat Code handlebars have leather and canvas pads with ‘Clan of Two’ graphics, and its leather saddle is debossed with “This is the way” in Mando’a.

If you can believe it, Chrysler once made a car with a record player. But skipped records while driving meant it didn’t last long. Nik from Supercar Blondie brought back the idea. Only this time, he turned the oversized wheel on a Mercedes Brabus G-Wagon into the turntable and hung an arm and stylus out the window to play some Beethoven.

A Bugatti Chiron costs at least $2 million. To save money, Steven Song and a team of builders made their own Bugatti using junkyard parts. They started with a busted-out Pontiac G6, then built a custom metal frame, sculpted a mesh and foam form, and covered it with Bondo. It wasn’t without setbacks, but they eventually finished the Walmart Bugatti.