Month: August 2019

Back in March, Volkswagen rocked the Geneva Motor Show with modern concept EV based on the modded Beetle dune buggies that famously roamed American beaches in decades past.

Now the German automaker has revealed a head-turning prototype ahead of Cali’s Concours d’Elegance, fueling more speculation that this thing might one day be made available for the public to purchase. 

Powered by a 62 kWh battery, the all-electric “ID. Buggy” boasts a 155-mile range, 201 horsepower, a 7.2-second zero-to-60 mph time, and an electronically limited top speed of 99 mph—all the juice you’ll need for a day of blasting through sand dunes. 

As Maxim previously reported, the little EV joins the family of ID. concept and production models, each of which utilizes VW’s modular electric drive matrix (MEB) platform. 

A press release notes that its modular design allows for the composite upper body to be detached from the MEB chassis, opening up a world of possibilities for custom vehicle production, just like the original Meyers Manx kit did for the first buggies. 

VW also touts the door- and roof-less ride as “off-road ready” for “the purest beach cruiser experience.” Its set of all-terrain BFGoodrich tires, solid aluminum undercarriage, Targa rollover bar and fortified windshield frame certainly lend credence to that claim. 

Despite its small stature, the interior is remarkably large, which is made possible by the space-saving electric powertrain. 

A minimalist instrument cluster and Nappa leather-clad hexagonal steering wheel with touch controls give the cabin an refreshingly unintimidating look, as if a driver can just climb in, turn it on, and peel out without having to read a manual.

VW didn’t mention anything about making the ID. Buggy a production offering, but we’ve still got out fingers crossed. 

Virgin Galactic’s Gateway to Space building is the world’s first commercial spaceport, and just declared itself operationally functional in preparation for the first commercial trips to outer space.

The 670,000 square-foot spaceport is part of Virgin Galactic’s Spaceport America, and is located about 55 miles northeast of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and is mission control, a vehicle hangar, training hub, and the departure/arrival lounge for the wealthy folk jetting off to space on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo suborbital spacecraft.

The first floor is named Gaia (meaning “Mother Earth” in Greek) and has luxe lounges and cafes to chill out in and have a drink while waiting for your flight.

The second level is named Cirrus and has operational spaces including mission control and a briefing center. 

“The problem with history is that you don’t really [comprehend] it while it’s happening, but here we are and it’s happening—the launch of commercial space flights,” Virgin Galactic’s CEO George Whitesides said.

Customers flying to space will have three days of training before blasting off to learn how to move around in microgravity, and will stay in the Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces during training before going to outer space on the fourth day.

So far, over 600 people from 60 countries have already splashed out $250,000 for the 90-minute journey to space, but there are no flights to space scheduled yet and Virgin has stopped taking reservations until commercial flights begin.

Cabot Guns, the custom gunsmith behind luxurious Colt 1911-style handguns made from top-end materials including Damascus steel and even 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite, has released another stunning one-off sidearm. 

The “Diablo Damascus” pistol was inspired by the folklore surrounding Robert Johnson, a pioneering guitarist and singer who is widely credited with developing the Delta blues style of music. 

According to legend, Johnson sold his soul to the devil to achieve success, hence the “Diablo” part of the name. 

“Damascus” naturally refers to the hand-forged steel used in the weapon’s construction. The Pennsylvania-based firearms company collaborated with master blacksmith Jason Morrissey, who used a combination of pattern welding, acid etching and other Damascus techniques to form an incredibly intricate metal pattern. 

“In the same way Robert transformed the blues, Jason is creating Damascus steel like no one else,” the company claims. 

Cabot Guns then molded the material into a functioning firearm with top-end components including a Tristar trigger, skeletonized hammer, gold front dot sights and gorgeous Damascus grips. 

Unfortunately, the “Diablo Damascus” is a part of Cabot Guns’ Collector Grade OAK (One-of-a-Kind) line and has already been sold to one lucky SOB. 

The good news is that you can reach out online to commission your own bespoke 1911. Or, for considerably less money, you can order one of their pre-existing “Standard” or “Collector Grade” offerings, which range in price from $3,695 for the “S100” or “S103 Commander” models up to $11,995 for the glistening “Black Diamond Deluxe.”  

See more awesome custom pistols from Cabot Guns below: 

Sooner or later, everything will be revived, somehow. Hollywood likes stuff they are sure will work. This time, it’s He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, the beloved 1980s cartoon featuring a sword-wielding bodybuilder hero with a pageboy haircut and his skull-faced yet improbably muscled-up nemesis, Skeletor.

The magician responsible for reviving this perfect, pure morsel of bad Reagan-era animation? No less than filmmaker Kevin Smith, whose new series will have a different title. See below. 

From the BBC:

“This is the Masters of the Universe story you always wanted to see as a kid!” Smith told the audience at the annual Power-Con convention in California at the weekend.

The series premise revolved around the conflict between heroic He-Man aka “the most powerful man in the universe” and the evil sorcerer Skeletor on the planet Eternia.

“I’m Eternia-ly grateful to Mattel TV and Netflix for entrusting me with not only the secrets of Grayskull, but also their entire Universe,” Smith added.

The new series, Masters of the Universe: Revelation, will apparently pick up where the original animated series left off and will use Japanese anime-style animation.

We could blame—or thank—Smith, but the internet resurrected He-Man some time ago. Sort of. 

In 2005 Slackcircus Studios put out “Fabulous Secret Powers,” a.k.a. “HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA,” an animated video using footage from the original ‘toon in which Prince Eric/He-Man sang a bizarre, falsetto version of the 4 Non Blondes’ 1992 song “What’s Up.”

It was so demented and also somehow such an appropriate nod to the series that it went seriously viral and various uploads of the same video have hundreds of millions of views. It also kept He-Man on a low burn in the pop culture galaxy brain. It only makes sense that Clerks director Smith would be the one to partner with Netflix to take us back to Eternia.

Now the unsuccessful and frankly awful live-action 1987 Masters of the Universe movie which starred Rocky IV‘s Dolph Lundgren might get some renewed love as well, for all we know. 

Or, you know, maybe not.

Kevin Smith will be the showrunner for Masters of the Universe: Revelation, and he’ll be a producer along with Mattel Television. No word yet as to when the series will be ready for Netflix. 

At least we know now that by the power of Grayskull, we will have the power again.

Congratulations are in order: Cressida Bonas just got engaged to Harry Wentworth-Stanley while in Nantucket. The groom-to-be shared the news on Instagram with a sweet selfie and a simple caption: “We getting married.” They look cute and all, but we immediately zeroed in on Bonas’s unique engagement ring. How stunning is the piece of jewelry? With gold and ruby accents encircling the center diamond, it’s far from your average diamond solitaire ring. According to British Vogue, the style is known as a “target ring” and comes from the art deco era. 

Of course, we all know Bonas as one of Prince Harry’s most memorable ex-girlfriends. Refreshingly, they’ve remained friends and he even invited Bonas to his already-iconic wedding to Meghan Markle. Plus, she’s so tight with the royal family that she also attended Princess Eugenie’s wedding. Only time will tell if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be making an appearance at Bonas’s wedding—but you can bet we’re waiting with bated breath to find out. Scroll down to see Cressida Bonas’s engagement ring and shop similar jewels. 

Next up, see Kristen Wiig’s beautifully classic engagement ring. 

Contrary to popular belief, fall doesn’t have to be filled with boring browns and expected blacks as far as color goes. Thanks to the F/W 19 runways, we saw pretty much every color of the rainbow come out to play, but there was a particular duo that impressed us more than the rest. That duo might just win the award for the cutest couple of the season: orange and pink. If you’re feeling like this color combination is a bit of a throwback, you’d be right. It was the iconic and trendy set of colors we wore back in the early 2000s alongside our Juicy Couture tracksuits and Rocket Dog platform sandals. But fear not: Orange and pink have officially been presented with an air of sophistication like we’ve never seen before, and if you let it, the color couple could do wonders to your fall 2019 wardrobe. 

Ahead, we have rounded up the best orange-and-pink looks from the runways that will convince you brown and black deserve a spot in the back seat this season. Yes, the color trend is bold, but it’s one we know you’ll have a blast wearing, which is why we’ve shopped out the orange and pink pieces on the market that you’ll need to get the trend going.