Tag Archives: Automotive

Bugatti Destrier shaves off Bolide’s bodywork for a one-off hypercar meant to be felt with the heart

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Bugatti had set a high benchmark with the track-only Bolide, released in 2020, and was later followed by the Brouillard and F.K.P. Hommage. Now, as a part of the French marque’s bespoke Solitaire programme, a new coachbuilding performance car has emerged inspired by the Type 57G and Type 57C Tank. Adapting the same carbon-fiber monocoque as the Bolide, the machine, christened Destrier (after a medieval warhorse), has a flatter front end to shed the performance hypercar image.

The grille on this new beauty has gone wider, and the LED headlights get a more 2026 aesthetic. In fact, from the side profile, the car gives off a longtail vibe, extenuated by the massive flared wheel arches on the C-line. That wing and splitter on the Bolide have been stripped away to make it road legal, a more toned-down version of the original. That said, the 8.0-litre quad-turbocharged W16 engine (producing 1,600 PS), the mechanical heart, has been retained to have the same performance.

Designer: Bugatti

Destrier was unveiled online just before its slated global public appearance on August 16, 2026, at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. At first glance, the hypercar’s shaved-off bodywork is evident, giving it a streamlined waistline curving inwards behind the forward-hinged doors, and then again widening out at the rear with a muscular tone. Just 1 meter tall, the hypercar’s cabin is sandwiched between the front wings and the bigger wheels measuring 20 inches up front and 21 inches on the back. Clearly this one is meant for purists who are not going to complain about the difficulty of getting in. According to Bugatti’s Director of Design, Frank Heyl: “Destrier is not a car you understand with your head; it is a car you feel with your heart.”

A chrome trim goes across the bonnet and onto the roof at the back, followed by a wing-shaped spoiler positioned above the skinny taillights. Complementing the muscular rear is the large diffuser with four exhausts. Highlight among all this mesmerizing aura is the Sapphire Celeste paintwork, which is produced in multiple layers to achieve a diamond sparkle that changes color depending on the ambient light falling on it. Aluminum parts on the car stand out against the bodywork, and the engine compartment is completely hand-hammered to give the medieval plate armor finish. This supports the brand’s claim that “Destrier’s story is one of proportion and craftsmanship, not outright performance.”

Move to the inside, and the motorsport cockpit is quite fashion-forward, contrasting the crystalline exterior. The attention to detail is apparent from the advanced 3D-knitted technical fabric resembling snake skin, paired with the smooth leather and velvety nubuck, both finished in warm brown Ambre Voyageur shade. The flying yoke-style steering wheel is paired with the infotainment system that is a part of the single large screen offering relevant information, both for driving and entertainment when parked. There’s no word on the price yet, but considering the Bolide costs $4.8 million each for the 40 limited edition models, this one could cost a couple of million more!

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Modular Truck Cap Comes Off in Under 15 Minutes and Hangs on a Wall in your Garage

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Pickup trucks are one of the few vehicles people buy specifically to keep their options open. The whole point is hauling, versatility, doing whatever comes up. So it’s a little ironic that the moment you add a cap, you’ve kind of locked yourself in. A traditional hard shell covers the bed beautifully, keeps everything dry, and then asks you to commit. Removing it involves at least two people, a chunk of your afternoon, and then figuring out where a several-hundred-pound fiberglass or metal shell is going to live in a garage that already has a lawnmower situation going on.

Enrique Giner, the automotive veteran behind Modular Truck Gear, built the ADV-BOX around a fairly simple idea: a truck cap should go on and come off on your schedule, not the cap’s. So they split it into six composite panels, designed a latch system inspired by military cargo hardware, and got the whole install-or-remove process down to under 15 minutes solo. The part that earns the most double-takes is the storage. Disassembled, the panels mount to a dolly or wall rack and take up about a quarter of its assembled size, letting you park your truck inside as well. Your truck gets its cap back whenever you need it, and your garage gets its wall back when you don’t.

Designer: Enrique Giner

Click here to Buy Now: $4899 $5699 ($800 off). Hurry, deal ends in 48-hours!

Giner drew design cues directly from tactical military cargo boxes and heavy-duty quick-latch hardware, and the ADV-BOX makes no effort to hide that lineage. It’s blocky, angular, and has zero interest in blending into the soft compound curves of a modern Tacoma or Ranger. The gullwing side windows swing up for easy access, the profile sits tall to maximize internal headroom, and the whole thing reads more mission-ready container than traditional topper. Giner spent over 25 years leading design programs at GM, Kia, and Ford/Lincoln before co-founding MTG, so when he says every detail has a purpose, there’s a resume behind it. The aesthetic is unapologetically tactical, and honestly, on a lifted Tacoma TRD Pro, it looks right at home.

The panels are built from DRTM composite. Dual Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) liquid resin is injected into vacuum-sealed molds lined with fiberglass and targeted carbon fiber patches, forming ultra-precise interior and exterior shells that fuse into a strong, insulated composite structure that’s lighter than traditional fiberglass and better insulated than aluminum. The whole assembled cap lands at around 175 lbs split across six panels, which means each piece is genuinely manageable solo without the usual two-person ceremony. Structurally, the modular architecture does something smart: each modular panel connects to its neighbors through patented heavy-duty aluminum latches with dual safety locks, building a rigid unified structure once everything is clicked into place. The latch design went through multiple iterations during development, allowing MTG to make its ‘removal under 15 minutes’ claim… without any tools, no less. Once locked, they hold in whatever conditions you’d actually drive through.

Position and latch the front and rear panels to the bed anchors, connect the side panels and link them to the front and rear, then drop the roof panels into place and rotate the turn latches closed. That’s the three-step install in full. MTG claims under-15 minutes solo, with no tools, and based on the design logic it tracks, because nothing in the process requires drilling, specialty tools, or anyone’s help but your own. The cap ships pre-assembled to your door with all hardware included, no more dealer visits, no more installation fees, it comes with bed anchors that serve as the mounting foundation that stay on the truck permanently, and every subsequent install gets faster. Removable roof panels are also a separate feature, popping off independently in seconds if you need to load something tall without pulling the whole cap off the truck.

Rather than relying on edge seals alone, the ADV-BOX routes water through engineered channels at every panel joint, keeping the interior dry even during bed torsion, the frame flex that happens when a truck is working rough terrain. Metal caps tend to fail this way over time, vibration loosening screws and compromising seals until water finds its way in. MTG water-tested this extensively during development and rebuilt the sealing system based on exactly where those tests revealed vulnerabilities. The commercial configuration carries an IP56 rating for dust and water resistance, the kind of spec you’d see cited on jobsite power tools. Internal volume runs about 15 percent taller and wider than traditional hard caps, and an overhead cargo net is included in the core package to help you actually use that headroom.

MTG claims the ADV-BOX is the first hard-shell truck cap with a fully integrated roof rack system that attaches to the cap brackets rather than bolted on as an afterthought. The four-pillar architecture is the key here: load transfers directly down to the truck’s bed rails instead of stressing the cap shell, pushing the static capacity past 800 lbs and the dynamic load rating to 400 lbs while driving. That’s enough to support a full rooftop tent setup plus gear, and MTG explicitly designed for that via 80/20 aluminum extrusion crossbars compatible with most standard RTT mounting systems. Removable MOLLE panels attach to the sides for traction boards, recovery gear, or whatever else you want within arm’s reach on the trail. The entire rack comes off alongside the modular panels during removal, keeping the whole system logically consistent from top to bottom.

LEER, the biggest name in truck toppers, launched a modular cap of their own called the NexCap in late 2025, starting at $3,149 in precision-formed aluminum at roughly 240 lbs assembled. The fact that the dominant player in the category moved in this direction at all is useful confirmation that the modular concept has legs, but the two products land quite differently. The NexCap requires standard tools to assemble and doesn’t collapse for dolly or wall-mount storage the way the ADV-BOX does. At 175 lbs, fully tool-free, with a purpose-built dolly and wall storage system that takes the whole thing down to a quarter of its assembled size, the ADV-BOX pushes the modular logic considerably further. Giner brings over 50 combined years of OEM automotive experience to the project, which probably explains why this reads more like a second-generation product than a first attempt.

The ADV-BOX is available now directly through MTG’s website. The core package is available at a discounted $4,899 price tag with free US shipping (you can knock another $200 off the core package with the coupon code ‘211ADVBOX’), covering five mid-size 5-foot truck platforms: Toyota Tacoma (2005-2026, generations 2 through 4), Ford Ranger (2019-2026), Nissan Frontier (2022-2026), Chevy Colorado (2015-2026), and GMC Canyon (2015-2026). Add-ons include the Storage Rack at $469, two Cross Bars at $359, two MOLLE Panels at $249, and the full Rack System at $949, all with free US shipping. A 3-year warranty is included with the core package. Full-size platforms including the F-150, Silverado, RAM 1500, Tundra, and Jeep Gladiator, along with 6-foot mid-size bed variants, are confirmed for a separate future launch.

Click here to Buy Now: $4899 $5699 ($800 off). Hurry, deal ends in 48-hours!

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First Chinese SUV with built-in rooftop tent is co-developed by Huawei and is all set for preorder

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Chinese automotive and technology stalwarts are combining to give the off-road camping industry a new twist. It’s for the first time that a flagship SUV is gearing up to hit the Chinese market with a rooftop tent pre-installed. The tent would deploy into a fully-fledged habitat on top of the off-road vehicle at the push of a button from its cockpit.

So, when the Stelato G9, built in a joint effort by Huawei and Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC Group), goes on preorder starting August 5, according to Chinese sources, the luxury SUV will include an optional tent built into its roof and sunroof assembly. This would be completely different from aftermarket rooftop tents that have to be bolted on the roof of the vehicle.

Designer: HIMA

Rooftop tents are common in North America. So, they are in China as well. But this is the first time that a vehicle is entering the market pre-fitted with a rooftop tent from the factory. At the time of writing, not much is available in the public domain about the Stelato G9, except for the fact that it will come with the optional choice of a camping solution on its roof.

Other than that, from information collected through Chinese regulatory filings, we can confirm that the vehicle will be available in a fully electric option and an extended-range electric model comprising a gas engine to generate charge for the battery. The G9 measures 5.2 m (17 ft) long and has a wheelbase of 3.16 m (10.4 ft). Its interior will come in either a 5- or 6-seater layout and would be certified to tow 2,000 kg. For its off-road capability, the vehicle will offer a wading depth of 900 mm. It will feature a side-opening tailgate, an external storage box, roof rack, and tow hook.

Stelato, according to the information shared on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo, will begin accepting preorders for the G9 starting at 2:30 pm Beijing Time on August 5. The SUV – with an optional rooftop camping tent – is expected to officially launch in the third quarter of 2026. Stelato G9, in addition to being the first with an integrated push-button rooftop tent, is also the brand’s first foray into the rugged off-road segment.

Stelato, an electric vehicle brand, operates under Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA), a collaboration between BAIC and Huawei. The latter provides a HarmonyOS-assisted autonomous driving system and LiDAR tech to manage the technology within the vehicle. The tent, which is also activated through the Huawei system onboard, is part of the sunroof assembly. When it’s not in use, the tent appears sitting flush against the roofline of the G9.

When the tent is deployed, the roof lifts from one side and extends into a two-part tent. The main triangular portion has a low front and tall back. A built-in lighting pole separates it from the smaller auxiliary tent that extends from the other side of the main structure. Reportedly, the roof tent also unlocks a side awning. It is also deployed using the same single button press as the tent itself. We do not have the exact pricing details at the moment, but reports suggest the Stelato G9 could start somewhere around $74,000. It is currently planned for the Chinese market only.

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Triumph Added Gold Accents to Its New 1200cc Roadster

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Gold is a bully. Put it anywhere near black and it wins every argument, which is why most manufacturers use it sparingly, on a badge, maybe a border, probably just a little accent here or there, that’s it. Triumph used it five times on the new Speed Twin 1200 TFC and somehow the bike does not look like a trophy. There’s gold in the tank pinstripe, gold outlining the Triumph badge, gold on the fork lowers, gold on the Öhlins adjusters, and a full gold chain spinning away back there like it’s showing off.

The trick is what’s holding it all down. Every other surface on this thing is either gloss black, matte carbon, or blacked out titanium, so the gold has nowhere to bounce. It reads as punctuation instead of paint. Look at the tank in daylight and the metallic flake in Obsidian Gold does something sneakier still, glinting only when the light hits at an angle.

Designer: Triumph

Carbon fiber handles the unglamorous half of the equation. Gloss-lacquered panels wrap the mudguards, side panels, and heel guards, keeping the bike visually quiet enough for the gold to register. It also drops wet weight to 214 kg, 3 kg under the Café Racer Edition and 2 kg under the standard Speed Twin 1200 and RS, roughly a six-pack of beer permanently removed from a bike you’re about to fling around corners. None of it shouts about lap times. It’s there because a factory custom still has to look hand-built even when a robot laid up half the panels.

Fully adjustable Öhlins units replace the Marzocchi suspension at both ends, and Brembo Stylema calipers grab the front discs through a radial master cylinder, hardware you’d expect on a race bike, not a numbered plaque. Low clip-on bars and end-mounted mirrors push the rider into a sportier crouch, backed by a billet aluminum top yoke laser-etched with each bike’s number out of the 750-unit run. It’s parked right where your eyes land every time you glance at the bars, a reminder that you did, in fact, pay for something rare.

The engine is the one thing Triumph left alone, correctly. It’s the same 103.5 hp, 112 Nm parallel twin found in the standard Speed Twin 1200, the RS, and the Café Racer Edition, so nobody’s buying this for a bigger number. What’s different is how it exits, through black titanium Akrapovič silencers with carbon end caps that trade a bit of restriction for a better soundtrack. Shift Assist, cornering ABS, traction control, and three riding modes round out the electronics on a color TFT and LCD combo, with a USB-C port instead of some ancient proprietary plug.

Bullet-style LED indicators double as brake and tail lights, freeing up the space where a central lamp usually sits for a clean, logoed blanking plate instead. It’s a small deletion custom shops would charge extra for, and here it comes standard. The seat is a one-piece bench in hand-stitched leather with a suede pad, the kind of detail you only clock once you’re sitting on it.

At $21,995, with 180 units earmarked for the US and 30 for Canada, the Speed Twin 1200 TFC is priced and rationed like the collector’s item Triumph wants it to be. Deliveries start in October, and every bike ships with its own numbered yoke, turning “limited edition” into something you can actually point to. Neither the horsepower nor the price tag really sells this bike. It’s that Triumph resisted throwing everything at it, building a bike where five points of gold do more design work than most manufacturers manage with an entire livery.

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China built one eVTOL that transforms into an air-taxi, a firefighter, and a 5-ton hauler

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Car companies figured this out decades ago. You build one solid platform, then you stretch it, armor it, or strip it down depending on who is buying. A pickup and an SUV can share more bones than you would think. AutoFlight just applied the same logic to flying machines, and honestly, it is kind of wild that nobody in the eVTOL space was doing this loudly before.

Their 2-ton airframe is the base recipe. From there you get Prosperity, the passenger taxi, plus a cargo hauler, a firefighting variant, and a beefed up 5-ton sibling called the Matrix. Same DNA, four very different jobs. That is not just clever engineering, it is the kind of design thinking that turns a single good idea into an entire product family.

Designer: AutoFlight

Instead of one long wing with propellers hanging off it, Prosperity splits its lift across two shorter, staggered wing sets, one up top and one lower down, each carrying its own pair of tilting propellers. Seen head on, the whole thing forms a kind of open diamond shape, wings sweeping outward and slightly upward like a bird mid glide. That geometry is not just for show. Shorter wings mean a smaller footprint on the ground, which matters a lot when your business plan involves landing on rooftops and tight urban pads instead of runways. The teardrop cabin tucked underneath keeps the silhouette clean and lets the eye read this as one continuous vehicle instead of a fuselage with stuff bolted onto it.

That same wing and boom architecture is what makes the whole family idea work. Swap the passenger cabin for a cargo pod and you get CarryAll, the variant that has already flown certified deliveries. Reinforce the frame and add water or retardant tanks and you get the firefighting version, built for exactly the kind of terrain where a fire truck cannot reach in time. Scale the structure up and add more lift and you land on Matrix, the 5-ton cousin built for heavier industrial jobs. None of these required AutoFlight to reinvent the aerodynamics from scratch, they just reworked what sits inside the same wing and boom skeleton.

This is also why the Kazakhstan push makes sense as a platform story rather than a one-off sale. AAAG did not just buy a handful of demo units, they signed for 50 aircraft, which only makes financial sense if the underlying platform is flexible enough to serve multiple missions across a country with serious geographic spread. A single certified airframe that can become a taxi one month and a firefighting unit the next is a much easier sell to a government trying to solve connectivity across a huge, sparsely covered region.

Most eVTOL startups are still fighting just to get one aircraft through certification without going bankrupt. AutoFlight looked at that grind and decided to get four aircraft out of the same paperwork, the same supply chain, and the same wing design. It is a quieter kind of ambition than a flashy air taxi reveal, but it is the kind that actually scales. Watching two Prosperity units and a Matrix fly in formation earlier this year was the moment that platform strategy stopped being a slide in an investor deck and started looking like an actual product family.

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LEGO Koenigsegg weighs 480 kg more than the real car and hits 70mph

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Three hundred twenty-seven thousand, nine hundred and six pieces. Every single one placed by a human hand, pressed into position by a human thumb, across 391 days and more than 9,400 hours of work. No robots, no automated assembly, no laser guided anything. Just people in a room in Denmark, snapping plastic together for over a year.

Here’s the part that should get your attention: they developed this exactly like a real car. Not “we glued bricks to a go-kart and hoped.” They ran it through aero stability testing to confirm the plastic skin would stay attached at speed, which matters a lot when your body panels are held on by nothing but clutch power. They loaded the suspension. They tested brakes. Things failed, because 327,906 individual connections give you a lot of places to fail, and each time the crew dragged it back, hunted down the weak point, reinforced it, and went out for another run. Trial and error, the oldest engineering method there is, applied to a toy. What came out the far end of that process was a LEGO car that will do 70 mph, which is a sentence I did not expect to write today.

Designer: The LEGO Group

Thousands of small angular panels overlap in shingled rows across the nose, fenders and flanks, like scales on a very expensive fish, each one tilted slightly relative to its neighbor. A Koenigsegg’s surfacing is all compound curvature, the kind of double-bent carbon fiber that LEGO’s rectilinear system has no vocabulary for, so the team approximated it through faceted repetition instead. Step back and the eye reads a continuous curve. Step in and you can see the staircase. It’s the same trick LEGO’s sculpture teams use on large brick-built figures, and the only honest way to render an organic form in a system built on right angles.

Press one button on a Regera and the doors, front hood and rear clamshell all swing open at once, hydraulically, in perfect sync. Koenigsegg calls it Ghost Mode, and it exists for no reason beyond showing off the engineering underneath. The LEGO car does the same thing, automated, on 1,800 kilograms of plastic, with the dihedral synchro-helix doors rotating up and outward while the rear clam lifts behind them. That mass figure is the joke of the entire project. Christian von Koenigsegg built his reputation on drilling holes in bolts to save grams, and the real Sadair’s Spear comes in at 1,320 kg dry. The replica outweighs it by 480 kg, of which 400 kg is Technic elements alone. He engineered a 1,625-horsepower hypercar lighter than its own toy.

Markus Lundh ran the real Sadair’s Spear up the Goodwood hill in 47.14 seconds in July 2025 for a record that still stands, so LEGO handed him the brick version and pointed him down it instead, threading between the flint walls in the wrong direction. It hit 111 kph, more than double the previous LEGO big build record of 50 kph. Lundh got out and described it as incredibly smooth, said the brakes, steering and suspension all behaved, and admitted it reminded him of driving an actual Koenigsegg. He said this after sitting in an orange and black plastic cabin held together by the same clutch power that betrayed us all when the roof caved in on our childhood spaceships.

The 1:8 scale Technic set arrives at 4,104 pieces as the sixth entry in the Ultimate Car Concept Series, following the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Bugatti Chiron, Lamborghini Sián, Ferrari Daytona SP3 and McLaren P1. It carries a working V8 piston engine, a nine speed sequential gearbox with a rotating gear indicator disc, Triplex suspension front and rear, and a manual Ghost Mode that raises the clam, doors and hood together. Twenty years of Technic supercar sets have been building toward this level of mechanical honesty. Watch your step in the pits, though. A stray piece from this one would be a nightmare to step on.

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Mercedes’ New G-Wagon convertible lets you enjoy open-air luxury without giving up off-road power

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Mercedes-Benz fans last got a factory-built convertible G-Class in 2013, and after years without an open-top option, the German automaker appears ready to bring it back. The upcoming G-Class Cabriolet retains the SUV’s unmistakable boxy silhouette while introducing a folding fabric roof that gives the iconic off-roader a fresh sense of openness.

Based on the Mercedes-AMG G63, the four-door convertible preserves the rugged character of the standard SUV while adding a more lifestyle-oriented driving experience. The powered soft top folds away at the push of a button, stacking neatly behind the rear seats at roughly the height of the rear wheel arches. Unlike the earlier G-Class Convertible, which required owners to manually release roof latches before operating the top, the new system is fully automated for greater convenience.

Designer: Mercedes-Benz

Although Mercedes-Benz has yet to reveal complete specifications or an official launch timeline, prototype sightings and teaser footage offer a closer look at the engineering behind the transformation. Converting the G-Class into a cabriolet required substantial structural modifications, including a redesigned rear section and reinforced body to compensate for the removal of the fixed roof. Reports suggest the retractable roof mechanism alone consists of around 500 specially developed components.

The rear of the SUV also receives thoughtful revisions to accommodate the convertible layout. The signature spare wheel carrier remains, but its cover has been redesigned with an integrated high-mounted brake light. The rear pillars have a more angular profile than previous convertible G-Class models, giving the SUV a cleaner and more contemporary appearance while maintaining its instantly recognizable design language.

Performance is expected to remain unchanged from the AMG G63. The convertible is likely to be powered by the familiar 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine producing 577 horsepower, paired with Mercedes-AMG’s all-wheel-drive system. That means buyers should still get the same blend of high-performance road manners and formidable off-road capability that has defined the modern G-Class.

The return of the G-Class Cabriolet is significant because Mercedes-Benz has largely focused on expanding its SUV lineup through new powertrains and special editions rather than introducing entirely new body styles. By reviving the open-top G-Wagon, the company is revisiting one of the model’s most distinctive variants while combining classic styling with modern engineering and convenience.

Whether cruising coastal roads or tackling rough terrain, the G-Class Cabriolet promises to deliver the unmistakable presence of the G-Wagon with the added appeal of open-air driving. More details, including pricing, production numbers, and availability, are expected to be announced closer to its official debut.

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Xiaomi’s SkyNomad Brings Living Space Thinking to the Family SUV

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Xiaomi is broadening its automotive ambitions with the SkyNomad series, a new SUV line built around space, flexibility, safety, and family-focused practicality. The range launches with two models, the SkyNomad N90 and the SkyNomad N70, giving Xiaomi a wider reach beyond the more driver-oriented SU7 and YU7 lineup.

Both models are built on Xiaomi’s newly designed Kunlun platform, which underpins the brand’s push into large, versatile SUVs. One of the platform’s defining features is a completely flat floor. That packaging decision supports easier movement through the cabin and gives Xiaomi more freedom to shape the interior around comfort, modularity, and open space.

Designer: Xiaomi

Two SUVs with different seating priorities

The SkyNomad N90 Max is positioned as the larger and more versatile of the two. It uses a 2+2+3 seating layout, giving it seven seats and a configuration aimed at larger families, multi-generational travel, and mixed personal and business use. Measuring 5,285 mm long with a 3,080 mm wheelbase, it sits firmly in full-size SUV territory.

Alongside it, the SkyNomad N70 Max takes a sportier approach with a confirmed 2+3 seating layout. That five-seat format makes it the more straightforward option for buyers who want the SkyNomad concept in a two-row package, while still benefiting from the same emphasis on cabin openness and flexibility enabled by the Kunlun platform. At 4,960 mm long with a 2,950 mm wheelbase, it is the more compact of the pair, though it still feels substantial in person.

SkyNomad N70 Max

Flat-floor platform defines the cabin

The completely flat floor is more than a technical detail. It is central to how Xiaomi wants SkyNomad to feel and function. By removing the usual floor intrusion, the platform helps create a more lounge-like interior, improves second-row and third-row usability, and makes it easier to reconfigure the cabin for different scenarios.

In the N90 Max, Xiaomi pushes that idea further with six sliding rails and a center console that can move 650 mm back and forth. The setup allows the cabin to be used with tables, bed arrangements, and other furniture-style layouts, giving the vehicle a more modular character than a conventional family SUV. Features such as a roughly 9-liter fridge and a 21.4-inch rear display with Xiaomi TV and remote control further underline the living-space concept.

The N70 Max carries the same thinking into a sportier two-row package. It supports face-to-face seating and a full bed mode, while Xiaomi claims up to 1,400 mm of maximum rear legroom and around 1,002 liters of rear cargo space. Even without the third row, it is clearly designed to prioritize comfort and usability over a traditional SUV layout.

Safety is a major part of the pitch

Xiaomi is also using the SkyNomad launch to underline the safety credentials of the new Kunlun Technology Architecture. The company says it has been carrying out real-life road load testing since 2024. As of June 30, 2026, more than 500 test vehicles had accumulated 4.28 million kilometers over 628 days.

The body structure makes extensive use of 2200 MPa Xiaomi Hyper Strength Steel across 16 key areas. According to Xiaomi, that includes a 13-in-1 integrated design spanning the A, B, C, and D pillars, a layout intended to improve lateral body load capacity and strengthen the passenger cell. The N90 Max also comes equipped with 12 airbags, reinforcing its positioning as a large family SUV where occupant protection is expected to be a central selling point.

Xiaomi also highlighted battery durability and protection as part of the Kunlun platform package. The company claims a cell lifecycle of more than 2,000 charge cycles, which it says is roughly double the national standard. It also says the battery unit is protected by an 18-layer safety structure, while the floor has been reinforced to improve fire resistance, impact protection, and overall structural security around the pack.

Performance and range round out the package

Both the N90 Max and N70 Max use dual-motor all-wheel drive and a 76 kWh battery. Xiaomi quotes a 0 to 100 km/h time of 5.9 seconds for the N90 Max and 5.5 seconds for the N70 Max, while both models have a top speed of 190 km/h.

Range figures are also notable. Xiaomi lists the N90 Max with a CLTC combined range of 1,705 km and a CLTC pure electric range of 464 km. The N70 Max is rated for a CLTC pure electric range of 505 km.

First-hand impressions from the briefing

During a media briefing and hands-on session, both the N70 Max and N90 Max stood out for their reconfigurable seating and spacious cabins. Even in a short test, both SUVs felt notably roomy, and the seats themselves came across as comfortable and well suited to the space-first character Xiaomi is trying to establish for the series.

The N90 Max in particular showed how far Xiaomi is pushing the concept. One of the most striking demonstrations was its face-to-face seating reconfiguration, which transformed the cabin into something closer to a lounge than a traditional SUV interior. That setup reinforced Xiaomi’s broader pitch that SkyNomad is meant to function as more than transport, serving as a flexible living space for travel, rest, and family use.

Cargo capacity was another standout. In its maximum rear trunk space configuration, the N90 Max was loaded with six 20-liter carry-on cases, a foldable bicycle, a folded baby stroller, and additional camping gear, while still leaving plenty of room in the back. The demonstration underlined the SUV’s family and lifestyle focus, especially for buyers who need genuine carrying ability rather than just a large exterior footprint.

Xiaomi also showed the N90 Max in a more leisure-oriented setup with an air mattress laid out in the cabin. Lying down inside, the space felt comfortable, and the panoramic sky roof gave a clear view upward. That added to the sense that the vehicle is being designed as a place to spend time, not just a machine for getting from one point to another.

That impression carried across both models. Even with limited time behind the scenes, the N70 Max and N90 Max both felt impressively roomy, and Xiaomi’s emphasis on reconfigurable seating did not come across as a gimmick. Instead, it felt like a practical extension of the Kunlun platform’s flat-floor packaging and the brand’s attempt to create SUVs that are genuinely adaptable to modern family life.

A broader move into family SUVs

With SkyNomad, Xiaomi is moving beyond the more driver-focused identity of its earlier vehicles and into a segment where comfort, flexibility, safety, and interior usability matter just as much as technology. The N90 and N70 are not just larger additions to the lineup, but a clear signal that Xiaomi sees family-oriented, space-led SUVs as an important part of its next phase in the auto market.

On first impression, that strategy looks thoughtful. Between the flat-floor Kunlun platform, the emphasis on reconfigurable interiors, and the effort to pair lifestyle versatility with serious safety messaging, SkyNomad gives Xiaomi a distinctive angle in an increasingly crowded field of large electrified SUVs.

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Storyteller’s new GXV Wild is built for luxury off-grid camping without compromise

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Storyteller Overland added Global Expedition Vehicles (GXV) under its umbrella in 2022. The tale for the two adventure camper and overland rig manufacturers, respectively, has been around about on the same lines. Continuing in a combined form factor now, the new 2027 GXV Wild is introduced to upscale the idea of overland living from Storyteller’s lens.

The adventure truck is based on the Ram 3500 single-cab chassis. That leaves the Wild catering to only a couple on the road. It can, we will learn later how, accommodate up to four people at camp. But what’s actually fascinating about the truck, beyond the overlanding compatibility and off-grid preparedness, is how the interior is designed to permit a congenial harmony between the inside and outside.

Designer: Storyteller Overland

Built on the Ram chassis, which draws power from a 6.4L HEMI V8 engine delivering 375 hp and 429 lb-ft of torque, you already have a capable machine. To keep it performing at its best, Storyteller has kept it lightweight but tweaked it to add an AEV suspension kit with a 3-in lift and forged-aluminum wheels wrapped in all-terrain tires. The camper part is made using laminated insulated fiberglass walls and floor. The roof uses insulated panels, and windows feature dual panes (again for better insulation), ensuring year-round operability.

With the modifications to the chassis, the rig – measuring 23 feet long and 11.3 feet high – has a payload capacity of 1,000 lbs and a 14,000-lb GVWR. The Stroyteller GXV Wild can also tow up to 10,000 lb. if you have additional cargo to cargo, in the FlipOut Deck. Some of the truck campers this size we have seen compromise with bathroom space, but that’s the difference with the Wild. It has a dedicated bathroom, next to the alcove. It features a cassette toilet, sink, and a shower that gets water from the 189 L fresh tank and also has a 76 L gray water tank onboard.

Opposite the bathroom, you have the kitchen with a portable induction cooker, a stainless steel sink, and a flip-up counter space extension. 116-L Vitrifrigo fridge/freezer, microwave and other appliances are aligned next to the convertible four-seat dinette with leather seating. When you want a little more space, the FlipOut Deck drops down and opens up your camp. On the far side is the main bed in the cabover loft. Together with the convertible dinette bed, you can have a sleeping space for four people in the Wild.

GXV Wild maintains off-grid convenience with the 400W of solar panels (expandable up to 800W), 12-kWh electrical system, and a 4,500W inverter. For all-season convenience, the insulated interior is furnished with a 13.5K-BTU rooftop air conditioner and a 14K-BTU hydronic heating system. Storyteller Overland is planning to sell the 2027 GXV Wild starting at $299,898. What do you think?

 

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This ‘Liquid Metal’ Ducati 821 Was Built by Hand in Vietnam, and Only One Remains

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How does the greatest Ducati of the last decade get built four thousand miles from Bologna, in a workshop most people have never heard of? Ducati’s home turf is basically hallowed ground, all red paint and Borgo Panigale badges and a hundred years of racing pedigree breathing down every design decision. Bandit9 clearly did not get the memo, and thank god for that. The Saigon based atelier, founded by former creative director Daryl Villanueva, builds bikes the way a sculptor builds a monument, one hand shaped panel at a time, with zero interest in playing by anyone else’s house style. Their take on the Ducati 821 takes a stock Monster and turns it into something that somehow feels more Ducati than the actual Ducati. It is the kind of move you only get to make when you have absolutely nothing to lose.

Only nine of these were ever going to exist, and eight of them are already gone, which means we are looking at the very last one on the shelf. Bandit9’s resume includes permanent spots in the collections of MoMA and the Petersen Automotive Museum, so this is not some garage tinkerer getting lucky once. Underneath the bodywork sits Ducati’s own 821cc Testastretta L-twin, 110 horsepower, a 3.3 second sprint to 60 mph, wrapped in a hand formed shell that splits clean between brushed aluminum and gloss carbon fiber. At $49,900 for the last unit, you are buying the argument as much as the motorcycle.

Designer: Bandit9

The material split down the middle grabs you first, and while it looks cosmetic, it actually serves a functional purpose. Brushed aluminum wraps the nose, tank, and belly, while gloss carbon fiber takes over the tail section, and the seam between the two materials tracks the actual bodywork geometry instead of sitting on top of it like a paint job. That tail section deserves its own moment, a bullet nosed unit with an LED strip tracing the ridge line into a tucked amber turn signal, wrapped in exposed weave carbon that catches light like a jewel. Flip to the cockpit and Bandit9 sweated even the smallest details, milling a top yoke in aluminum with a tiny embedded LED trip readout nested between the fork caps. Most custom shops would leave that space blank or bolt on an aftermarket gauge. Bandit9 machined a bespoke solution instead, because subtlety does not appear to be part of their vocabulary.

Ducati’s own 821cc Testastretta 11 degree L-twin sits underneath all that hand formed metal, still producing 110 horsepower and 65.8 ft-lb of torque, enough to send the bike from 0 to 60 mph in about 3.3 seconds. A custom tubular steel trellis frame carries the engine, paired with 43mm Sachs forks up front and an adjustable Sachs monoshock out back, while dual 320mm Brembo monobloc calipers handle the stopping duties. None of that is particularly radical on paper, and that is the point. Bandit9 never touched the parts that make a Ducati go fast or stop hard, they only rebuilt everything around it by hand. No stamping press currently exists that can produce a single panel wrapping from the front cowl over the tank and down the body without a seam, so every curve on this bike got there because a person spent months shaping metal the way a watchmaker shapes a case. That is what craftsmanship actually looks like, no marketing spin required.

Nine of these were ever going to exist, and eight already have owners, so the math here is simple. Bandit9 has spent years building a reputation that includes permanent placements in the collections of MoMA and the Petersen Automotive Museum, putting them in rare company within the custom bike world, alongside names like Deus Ex Machina and Icon, but operating on a different plane of ambition entirely. Founder Daryl Villanueva, a former graphic designer and creative director, runs the Saigon based atelier less like a garage and more like a small design house that happens to build motorcycles instead of furniture or typefaces. At $49,900, the last unit is not cheap, but measured against months of hand labor and a production run that will never reopen, the number starts to make sense. Whoever buys it walks away with a working sculpture that also happens to be a genuinely quick motorcycle.

Ducati will keep building excellent motorcycles in Bologna, and nobody is arguing otherwise. But Bandit9’s 821 makes an honest case that great design does not need a postcode, a century of racing heritage, or a factory at all, just a workshop, a stubborn sense of craft, and someone willing to spend months getting a single curve exactly right. The last unit will sell fast, probably to someone who already owns a garage full of things most people only see in magazines. What happens after that is anyone’s guess, though I would not be surprised if Bandit9 is already sketching whatever comes next. For a company that keeps proving Bologna does not have a monopoly on great Ducatis, retirement does not seem to be part of the plan.

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