Off-Roader

The new Ford Bronco will arrive in 2020, but those who can’t wait that long now have the opportunity to have their fill with the original Bronco courtesy of a company called Gateway Bronco. The Illinois-based outfit has been restoring the first-generation Bronco since it started operations in 2016. But thanks to a partnership with Ford, Gateway Bronco has announced plans to go beyond restoring original Broncos and will build brand new, old Broncos under license from Ford. Mind you; these aren’t Gateway’s “interpretation” of the original Broncos. These are original Broncos that Gateway will build with the blessing of Ford. They even come with a five-year, bumper-to-bumper warranty. Gateway plans to build three versions of the original Bronco, all in limited quantities. The price range of these models goes from $120,000 to $180,000.

Volkswagen might be working hard to broaden its cutting-edge electric offerings as of late, but it isn’t forgetting where it came from, digging deep into its catalogue of classic hits to mate the new with the old. Now, the latest VW icon to get EV’d could be the ever-lovable Beach Buggy.

The official debut of the new 2020 Chevy Silverado HD is expected in February 2019 - probably at the Chicago Auto Show. Chevy, however, grew some balls and actually revealed first photos of the 2020 Silverado HD. Bask in the greatness of the new 2020 Silverado HD. Or don’t! The design turned out to be one of the most astoundingly courageous styling experiments in the industry. The front end looks so much “out there” that, from the looks of things, it seems that Chevy has done too much. GM designers are probably reliving the nightmare that they had with the introduction of the latest Camaro. Remember, that one received an “overnight” update after some massive hate from the whole freaking world.

The new Silverado HD, however, had to be as mad as it is.

"We set out to make a statement with the 2020 Silverado HD and wanted to visually capture the power and capability of the truck," Brian Izard, the pickup’s lead exterior designer, said. "The result is a truck that looks like a piece of heavy machinery with modern, chiseled finishes and customer-focused details."

Well, it certainly looks like a piece of machinery, but that is only one of its traits (to some alluring, to many incomprehensive). While information on the new 2020 Chevrolet Silverado is still largely hidden, I managed to find some cool facts that will make the new 2020 Silverado HD closer to you.

Essentially a Wrangler with a five-foot bed, the Gladiator rides on a custom body-on-frame that’s longer than the SUVs. The truck also shares drivetrain components with the Wrangler, including the Pentastar V-6 engine. A diesel mill, already available in the Ram 1500, will be offered in 2020. The Gladiator stands out among its competition thanks to its open-air configuration, unique on the market, and impressive payload and towing capabilities.

The Jeep Gladiator is a new pickup truck based on the latest-generation Wrangler. As the first Jeep-badged truck in almost three decades, the Gladiator made its public debut at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show. Originally believed to arrive with the Scrambler name, the pickup truck revives a nameplate first used in the 1960s.

We don’t usually feature tuner vehicles in our wallpaper of the day series. In fact, we’ve been kind of lazy with our wallpaper of the day series, haven’t we? Well, either way, that’s without consequence at this point. The point is that today, we’re featuring a tuner car or, to be more specific, a restomod. It’s a restomod by none other than RingBrothers, and it’s the best off-road restomod that we’ve ever laid eyes on. It looks like a stock K5 Blazer from a distance, but once you get up close, you’ll see the RingBrothers put in some serious work here. It has custom running boards and side panels, and it has even been lifted by an entire inch to make room for the 17-inch wheels. The interior is wrapped in a subtle leather and under the hood sits a GM-sourced, LS3 crate engine that’s good for 430 ponies. In the end, this thing is downright beautiful, and it reminds us of what SUVs used to be. If you want to know more about the RingBrothers K5 restomod, check out our full review. Otherwise, look down to grab our favorite wallpaper or browse through a rather generous selection that are all available for free download.

There are plenty of manufacturers these days that milk all their models as much as possible by offering them in different flavors and variations. Mercedes is a great example here, as the Three-Pointed Star created the G-Class 4x4², a low volume exclusive model that caused a huge stir when it was first unveiled (initially as a 6x6 pickup). So, what would it be like if Suzuki did the same thing with the Jimny? Well, I took to Photoshop to find out....

It seems like there’s no shortage of “off-road ready” crossovers on the market these days - or at least that’s the impression you might get glancing over all the PR fluff. But while glory shots on top of a mountain might look good, the actual capability of these machines doesn’t always live up to the hype. Fortunately, Toyota can both talk the talk and walk the walk, as I find out firsthand after the Japanese automaker flew me out to Carmel, California for a stint in the new 2019 RAV4.

If cars were judged based on how cute their face is, then the 2018 Mazda2 (also known as the Mazda Demio in its native market, Japan and some other markets) would be among the best cars in the world. However, it’s obviously not just about looks, since cars nowadays, even small city cars, need to be fully featured, well-rounded vehicles that you can even drive on the highway without it feeling daunting.

Thankfully, the pint-sized Mazda2 proved to be thoroughly competent in all those areas and more - it even surprised me on a few occasions. But returning to looks for a second, the Mazda2 is certainly one of the most daring vehicles in its class, only really matched for visual impact by the Peugeot 208 - in the trinket-laden Peugeot’s presence, the 2 can almost be described as sculptural.

Its interior is equally daring, and even if it can’t match the best in class for fit and finish quality, it’s still pleasant to spend time in it. But what many owners and possible future buyers of the Mazda2 may not know (and never find out if they drive slowly and sedately) is the fact that the little 2 is a hoot to throw around - it has fun but predictable handling, and it really puts a smile on the spirited driver’s face much more so than most rivals.

If you live in North America, you can actually buy a sedan version of the Mazda2, however, it wears a Toyota badge and is called the Toyota Yaris sedan; previously it was known as the Scion iA.

Ever since BMW entered the SUV market with the X5 back in 1999, enthusiasts have been clamoring for the Germans to produce a pickup truck. Now that Mercedes-Benz is offering the X-Class, a BMW-badged truck seems to make more sense. With the flagship X7 unveiled a few weeks ago, we can’t help but wonder whether BMW should consider a truck version at last.

Aston Martin confirmed plans to jump on the SUV bandwagon back in 2015, when it created the DBX Concept, a sporty, coupe-style crossover with only two doors. Following several rumors and spy shots, the British firm confirmed the DBX nameplate and released the first official photos of the SUV.

The info comes as Aston Martin began testing the DBX on the demanding Welsh Rally course and also confirmed that the vehicle will arrive in the fourth quarter of 2019. The SUV is still wearing camouflage, but we can finally see how the production body and design look like.

Back in March 2018, Ford confirmed that it will revive the iconic Bronco, as well as add a smaller, "baby" Bronco crossover to its lineup. Come November and the "baby" Bronco revealed itself earlier than planned in leaked images from a dealer meeting.

SUVs have played a dominant part in the industry. SUVs help you conquer places no other vehicle can. More or less, every segment in the auto industry has seen a make-shift revolution except SUVs. They’re still rugged, butch, and intimidating as ever. In fact, these beautiful monsters age gracefully and are known for their longevity and reliability. See the Landcruiser for example; or even the 4Runner. They’ve been around for decades and are still selling strong. Here is a list of 5 ultimate, off-road SUVs of 2016:

It may not be immediately apparent, but the Honda Open Air Vehicle Concept is actually a Ridgeline-based study that looks like an oversized buggy. Honda doesn’t intend to put it into production, but it does want us to picture ourselves ripping across sand dunes in one of these, and we’re more than happy to oblige because it’s actually a pretty awesome idea.

A unique Toyota Tundra showed up at the 2018 SEMA Auto Show with Kevin Costner’s imprints all over it. The Hollywood A-lister hooked up with Toyota to build a custom Tundra Platinum that embraces Costner’s love for adventure and the outdoors. The one-off, custom-built creation is the ultimate adventure truck, fitting for a man whose famous for his love of the outdoors. They don’t make them as rough and tough as Kevin Costner; turns out, Toyota — and Working Complete Customs of McKinney, Texas — was up to the task of giving him a ride that suits his personality.

Ringbrothers is a company “with an affinity for muscle cars,” as they say on the official website, which usually specializes in low, ground-hugging vehicles designed to go around corners very well. At this year’s edition of the SEMA show, however, they brought out their first off-roader, a tastefully restomodded Chevy K5 Blazer, based on the full-size model built from the early 1970s to the early 1990s; the Blazer they used is from 1971, and boy did they deliver...

The company sells many components they make themselves, and it seems this modded K5 got as many of them as they could fit on it. What resulted is probably one of the best looking modded off-roaders I’ve ever seen, which blends decent off-road capability with a head-turning look, strong performance courtesy of an LS3 swap, and some modern gadgets too.

If this is the Ringbrothers’ idea of an off-roader, then we ask them to make more of these, or start selling them as scale models, because I want one to put on my office desk.

The Honda Pilot Rebelle Rally is a mid-size SUV that doubles as an off-road adventure marauder. Created to compete in the 2018 Rebelle Rally, the modified Pilot competed in the Crossover Class, finishing fifth overall behind the driving and guidance of the “Desert Dreamers” team that’s made up of Honda product planner, Ariel Jen, and senior fabricator, Melanie Morimoto. The Pilot Rebelle Rally is headed to the 2018 SEMA Auto Show where Honda plans to showcase the aftermarket possibilities that can happen with its mid-size SUV.

Canada-based Inkas is known to armor passenger cars; but did you know it also manufactures vehicles for military and law-enforcement agencies? Their latest offering is the Armored Personnel Carrier/Armored Medical Evacuation Vehicle. The name is self-explanatory – this is a vehicle that serves many purposes while tackling hostile environments.

The Bronco is coming back, and we’re still waiting with bated breath for all the juicy details from Ford. Luckily, it’s looking like we won’t have to wait too much longer, as a full debut is expected early next year at the Detroit Auto Show this coming January. However, before then, we’re picking apart all the rumors we can get our hands on, including the possibility Ford will source the Bronco’s underlying structure from the new Ranger.

The Ford Expedition is headed to the 2018 SEMA Auto Show in two different guises. One of these two Expedition creations goes by the name "Destination Expedition," and it comes by way of Hulst Customs. The noted tuner developed its program with an eye towards turning the Expedition into the “ultimate SUV.” It features extensive upgrades in the exterior and interior, to go with a number of technical additions. The result is a go-anywhere version of the SUV that lives up to its Expedition name.

The original Meyers Manx was one of the catalysts of the off-road craze of the mid-to-late-‘60s that led to the creation of the Baja 1,000 miles race. Its popularity was far-reaching, and the best-well-known European Beetle-based buggy was the HAZ.

The HAZ, short for Hazard, was built between 1968 and the early ‘90s by Autohaus G. Kühn in Germany. It featured the same VW Bug engine as its American brethren but had a sturdier frame since it had to pass TUV (German Technical Inspection Association) tests to be road worthy.

While I did write extensively about the possible Ford Ranger Raptor Diesel reaching the U.S., it seems that Ford doesn’t have any plans to introduce theRanger Raptor to the free world. In his talk with Hermann Salenbauch, Ford Performance Director, Autoblog journalists found out that the Raptor “was really developed for locations where the F-150 isn’t available or popular so that all regions could have a Raptor.”

Obviously, reading between the lines shows that the Ranger Raptor isn’t actually coming to the U.S.