Philip G Lane

3 weeks ago | opumo.com | Philip G Lane

First the Landies - and now the Beetles. If you’ve heard of Twisted at all, you’ll know they're the Yorkshire Land Rover obsessives who will make you a classic Defender that’s not just better than brand new, but will match your imagination of what a Defender might be. Now Twisted have turned their attention to the VW Beetle. Specifically the 1970s trend for Baja Bugs, chopped front and rear, capable of unlikely off-road feats.

3 weeks ago | opumo.com | Philip G Lane

If you know Skoda best as that Czech manufacturer of very sensible people carriers, it’s time to think again. These images show the VW-owned carmaker's latest project: a radical electric-powered motorcycle that, frankly, will look like nothing else on the road. Or would if it actually got built on a production line and sold to the likes of you and me. Which sadly - for the moment - it won’t. The story of the Slavia B Concept could not be more fascinating though.

4 weeks ago | opumo.com | Philip G Lane

Straight out of the next ‘Mad Max’ movie or perhaps just tomorrow’s apocalyptic headlines comes the brutal style of the motorcycle you see here. Beyond the matt black colourway and go-anywhere balloon tyres is another handy feature for pursuing/fleeing from enemies: this Volcon Grunt, as reimagined in a collaboration with Droog Moto, is silent, courtesy its electric motor. Fast too. Basis is an already tough machine from niche electric vehicle specialists Volcon ePowersports of Round Rock, Texas.

1 month ago | opumo.com | Philip G Lane

Statement house? No thank you. Architects mwworks say this family home, overlooking Case Inlet in Washington state, is designed instead to be overlooked. This is a design that’s all about the landscape and all about the Douglas firs that already occupied the site, and specifically a pair of trees that now frame the front door. Not that you’ll see it from the road, or even as you approach. Longbranch House is imagined to feel as if it’s always been there.

1 month ago | opumo.com | Philip G Lane

Minimal in every way. You’re looking at first images of the Slate Truck, a minimalist utility vehicle available in any colour you like so long as it’s grey, to paraphrase Henry Ford’s quip about his only-in-black Model T. And like the Model T, this two-seater pick-up truck, sorry Truck, is designed to bring contemporary automobile technology within everyone’s reach. Only this time it’s battery, not fossil fuel, power for the masses.