It’s Not Stock
$200,000 Tesla Hearse for a Clean and Quiet Last Ride
Funeral processions are serious, somber moments and, for many people, are planned to represent and reflect something about the way they lived. Unfortunately for people who were passionate about nature, environmental activism, or just the latest in automotive technology, however, there’s hasn’t really been a way to reflect that passion in the hearse that took them on their last ride. That is, until now. Meet the all electric Tesla Hearse. No, Elon Musk isn’t getting into the hearse business– although, with all the digging equipment he has over at the Boring Company it might not be a bad idea– instead, this Tesla Model S based hearse was make by a vehicle upfitter in Norway named Jan Erik Naley. Naley’s been turning upscale luxury sedans into hearses and o...
Zero Motorcycle Designers Build Another Manic Electric Grom
When you look at the motorcycle market these days as a whole, you could argue that there are just two companies who really have a sense of what the future of motorcycling is about: Zero and Honda. The bike you see here, dubbed “the Grom Reaper”, is what happens when one of the guys behind the Zero falls in love with the Honda Grom, and decides to build a manic, Zero-powered electric Grom. “The stock (Honda) Grom has a tiny frame and a low-performance engine,” Zero Motorcycles’ designer Cole Mishler told Bike Exif. “So, I saw the potential (in it) to really showcase the power and quality of the Zero drive train … this thing is a wheelie machine!” The transformation from fun little urban runabout to “wheelie machine” is hardly surpr...
Maniacs Build 50HP Electric Honda Grom
Every once in a great while, someone comes along to challenge the status quo. They’re called geniuses, maniacs, or something more dramatic. And still, sometimes these brave people come up with an idea that is truly transformational– and that’s exactly what the mentalists guys at ElectroBraap have done by building the bike you see here. Meet an electric Honda grom dubbed Project Electrom, and witness its 50 (fifty!) horsepower all-electric motor with a sprocket the size of a pizza. This particular build starts with an ordinary Honda Grom, then stuffs it full of the hugely effective Alta Redshift MX electric power train. Even though that brand is long gone, at this point, a number of its compact and powerful battery and motor combinations are still out there, waiting to be ...
Vorsteiner Joins the Ranks of Tesla Tuners
Tesla’s excitingly fast lineup of electric vehicles has certainly gained the attention of the environmentalists of the motoring world in recent years– but performance enthusiasts haven’t missed the boat, either. Companies like Unplugged Performance and T Sportline have catered to the Tesla crowd by offering distinctive products to customize and enhance the already awesome EVs. Now, you can add another famous tuning house to the growing list of Tesla tuner and tweakers: Vorsteiner. “Vorsteiner is a company that was conceived through the imagination of creating the highest quality parts for the most discerning vehicles and clientele,” reads the company’s ABOUT page. “Our relentless pursuit of advancement and perfection is seen not only in our unmatch...
Don’t Buy it, Build it: 2 Stroke, Kawasaki Airplane (w/ Video)
Like many of us, I’m sure, Harry Doskicz looked at a malaise-era Kawasaki 2 stroke snowmobile and thought, “I bet that engine would make a freakin’ kickass airplane.” Once he had that Earth-shattering realization, though, Harry did something you and I did not: he built it. Harry helped build the experimental Kawasaki-powered airplane you’re looking at here is built around a junkyard Kawasaki engine. Even if did come from a snowmobile, however, this thing is every bit a skyfaring motorcycle. It’s got a wood-frame, cloth-covered wings, and no windows, doors, climate controls, room for passengers, or even padding on the back of the seat. This bike is as bare-bones as it gets, made from backwards tech, and it is freakin’ AMAZING! Andy Greaser has a ful...
Futur-iffic! 3D Printed Custom Honda Monkey
There are few things in life as purely fun as riding the absolute piss out of a Honda Monkey 125. One of those things might, however, be the little beach-combing runabout you see here. Yes, I know– it’s a Honda Monkey. But, crucially, it’s a Honda Monkey fitted with almost impossibly well-made, 3d printed custom aluminum body parts that make the bike both more practical AND better looking! This particular Monkey goes by “Jane”, and is the product of French design firm, VIBA. VIBA has plans to build a limited run of 23 Jane-styled Honda Monkeys, all of which will feature the same cargo-friendly numberplate deal with the HID headlight integrated underneath. Other than VIBA’s 3d printed custom bodywork, there’s nothing super unique about the Jane. The...
Italiawesome: Vespa Sprint Desert Racer
Every once in a while, a vehicle crosses your path that defies description, classification, and– in rare, special cases– common sense. The bike you see here is such a vehicle. Meet the Vespa Desert Racer, and get ready to do a bit of head scratching, because this is a bike that absolutely, positively, should not exist. That’s not to say this bike isn’t awesome. It’s just that the world is not ready for this level of awesome. Consider the kind of energy that the people behind this build– a speed shop called Supacustom based in Melbourne, Australia– built this 2016 Vespa Sprint to be just as capable off-road (above), as it would be on a high-speed run across the salt flats of Lake Gairdner during Speed Week (below). Consider that, then think of how m...
T Largo 7 | Tesla Model X by T Sportline
The car you see here is the T Largo. It’s a modified version of the Tesla Model X built by T Sportline, and is number 7 in what the company claims will be a 20 unit production run. A claim that seems – hopeful? But, hey – there’s nothing worse than pulling up next to yourself at a stoplight, and that’s especially true in car-conscious Los Angeles, where T Sportline is based. To make sure that doesn’t happen, the guys at T Sportline have added carbon fiber fender flares, deleted all the chrome, and added a shocking, bright orange quilted leather interior. Lightweight wheels and matching orange calipers round out the package. You can decide for whether all those add-on baubles make T Sportline a “tuner” or not for yourself. At the end of the da...
Recycled Hawtness: DeLorean Hovercar (w/ Video)
Sure, DeLorean cars are pretty cool. The doors open funny, they’re made of stainless steel, and they were in those movies where they could fly and stuff. Well, the real ones don’t fly, and that’s always been a bit of a let-down. The DeLorean you see here, however, won’t let you down– because it can actually fly. Well, maybe it cant fly. It can hover, though … and that’s something! This DeLorean-shaped hovercraft recently popped up for sale on eBay. Its owner says it was built from blueprints for the Universal Hovercraft UH-13PT, using 36-inch thrust fan powered by a 23-horsepower Vanguard V-Twin engine. A separate, 24-inch lift fan is powered by a lawnmower engine. The seller writes, “The hull of the craft hovers about six to eight inches ove...
Recycled Hawtness: Tesla Heart and Classic, Mercury Soul
Although it’s gone now, there was a time– post-war America in the late 1940s-early 1950s, to be precise– that Mercury made the hottest cars in all the land. The ’51 remains a high watermark of industrial design, but the split-window ’49 is not to be ignored. That’s especially true of the ’49 Mercury you see here. That’s because this Mercury has a secret: it’s a Tesla. The car was built by Jonathan Ward at ICON, who presents it under his “Derelict” brand of restomods. On the surface, it’s an unrestored ’49 Mercury brimming with character and patina. Dig a bit deeper, and you’ll find a like-new interior– like new for 1949, but still. Look under the hood, however, and you’re greeted by more than 40...
Tesla Model S Widebody Launched at SEMA
Say what you will about Elon Musk– whether you think he’s a hero or a con man– but you can’t deny that his Tesla Model S is a serious machine. The car is seriously expensive, seriously quick, and seriously scaring the pants off of longtime segment-leaders Mercedes-Benz. Now, it’s Mercedes’ AMG sub-brand that should be feeling the pressure, thanks to the Model S-APEX widebody by Unplugged Performance. Unplugged Performance has been positioning itself as “the AMG to Tesla’s Mercedes” for a while now, and has offered performance parts and body kits for both the Model S and Model 3 sedans. This latest conversion is something more, however. It’s more complete, more transformative, and altogether more badass. And, yes, there is a Merced...
2018 Toyota Alphard Rowen, or: Japanese Van Culture is Insane
Most gear heads already know that we, here in the United States, don’t always get all of the products offered by a given car maker. Ford has been selling Rangers in Europe for years, Nissan has an innovative hybrid minivan that would change the face of the US van market, and Mazda has a 6-based station wagon that’s so pretty it’ll melt your socks. For whatever reason, though, the powers-that-be at those companies have decided not to bring those cars here. It’s a shame, because we end up missing out on insanity like this: the 2018 Toyota Alpherd by Rowen. The Toyota Alphard is an Asian-market minivan that’s aggressively styled with a broad, metallic grin that wouldn’t look out of place on a Power Ranger’s rig. As wild as it looks from the factory, t...