An exciting new video series from Thad Robison and the team at Motiv Fishing. Their first episode pushes them deep into Mexico, including some incredible jungle terrain. This is a killer teaser – can’t wait for the entire episode.
Bentley’s EXP 9F SUV Concept
via West County Explorers Club: Leave it to the English, the inventors of the luxury SUV, to push the limits of that vehicle segment into new, outrageous terrain–understatedly outrageous, that is. Bentley’s new SUV concept, unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show this year, makes a mere Range Rover look positively populist.
It’s called the EXP 9F, which—let’s be honest— doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. As for the look and feel of it though. That’s another story. There’s so much style, upon stateliness, upon brawn in this vehicle that it’s hard to imagine these disparate elements coming together in any kind of comprehensible way, yet they do. Whether it will make sense as a functional object remains to be seen. I can’t imagine hitting the trails with a 600hp, W12 engine, quilted, white, leather seats, 23″ wheels, and all-wheel-drive. That said, I’m looking forward to seeing the videos of the first person that does.
Rumor has it that it’ll be out in 2015. If, in three years, you happen to run into Jay Z on some remote hillside, this is the SUV he’ll be driving.
Porsche 911 Off-road
via West County Explorers Club: It’s pretty amazing to see what this mostly stock 911 can do off-road. Finally having the engine in the back makes sense.
Camel Trophy, The Land Rover Years
via West County Explorers Club: This video details the last ten years of Land Rover’s involvement with the Camel Trophy. It’s 90 minutes of non-stop action beginning in 1989 with Defender 110s in the Amazon to Freelanders driving across Tierra del Feugo in 1998. In all of the other years the Discovery features prominently. You’re probably familiar with a few of these segments. It’s nice to see them all strung together. Enjoy.
Ural Sidecars, Built By Hand!
Since producing the first M-72 motorcycle in 1941, the skilled artisans at URAL Motorcycles have been producing their machines by hand!
Here’s a quick look inside the Ural factory as they assemble one of their infamous sidecars!
VOTD – The Inca Rally!
For those of you who likes adventure in a different way, make sure to check the first edition of the Inca Rally!
The Rally starts August 1st, so you still have 2 months to register and make your way to Peru.
VOTD: TAD gear interview at Overland Expo
Overland Expo was filled with great vendors and exciting products – it’s hard to pick one amongst the group! Here’s a quick interview with Triple Aught Design‘s founder and owner. Make sure to check the Expedition Portal channel on YouTube for many more great interviews with Persephone!
VOTD: Driving in Sand Tracks
via West County Explorers Club: Here’s an excellent video from South-African 4×4 expert, Andrew St. Pierre White, showing how to drive in sand, especially in deep tracks.
Thanks thanks for the tip, Greg!
VOTD – Sabotage
Today we’re making an exception.
This video is not about overlanding – although there are some good car driving scenes in it and some crappy motels…it’s an homage to an extremely talented band member who influenced an entire generation.
RIP MCA (Adam Yauch)
Renting a Hilux in South Africa
Possibly one of the biggest misconceptions about overlanding is the idea that you need to save for years, buy your own vehicle, spent tons of time and money outfitting it and then take a year off before you can go out to explore. There are other alternatives and one of them is to buy a plane ticket to South Africa, rent a vehicle and go out explore on your own!
VOTD: Jeep, Mighty FC
On the trail as a comparison, they bring along a 1964 Jeep Forward Control crew cab. It’s funny to see the two together. The Mighty FC looks like a bulldog. The old Forward Control looks like a loaf of bread. It’s great to see footage of both of these truck on the road!
Overland Expo 2012 is around the corner!
Things have changed quite a bit in the Overland world since…
The 2009 edition was held at the Yavapai Fairgrounds in Prescott Valley
Creme de la Creme
Overlanders are a unique bunch of people. They want it all, especially when they’re our traveling for extended periods of time with a partner….
Spotted: FJ62/FZJ80 Mash-up by TLC
Via West County Explorers Club: Jonathan Ward, of TLC and Icon fame, shows off what he calls a “142,” basically an FJ62 on an 80-series chassis. This truck was built through TLC, his Land Cruiser restoration shop in Southern California.
As you can imagine, this was an extensive rebuild. Even the engine was replaced with a GM Vortec unit. They went through the truck inside and out and everything looks to be first class.
VOTD: Dubai Desert Ride on a KTM
via West County Explorers Club: This beautifully shot video takes you off-road through the desert near Dubai on a KTM 525. A Honda XR650R rides alongside.
Well done, guys!
They’re Cutting State Parks – Defend What’s Yours
We typically don’t mix with politics – but this is too important.
Please visit this site before it’s too late.
http://www.calparks.org/defend/
How To: Reseat a Tire Bead on a 4WD
Reseating a bead can be more than difficult if you don’t know what you’re doing. Gain some valuable information here before you have to perform in the field.
VOTD: In Asia, Episode 4: Cambodia
In mid-December I wrote about Vincent Urban and Clemens Krüger’s on-going Vimeo series, In Asia, the first three parts of which had already been posted. The series documents the sites seen by the two filmmakers and a friend as they traveled on a two-month journey in a Land Rover Defender through Southeast Asia in the Fall of 2010. I’m happy to report that Part 4 has just been released. It covers mostly Cambodia.
Clink the vimeo link in the video for Vincent’s notes and descriptions. Enjoy.
To find the others in the series, see the links below:
VOTD: Riding a Tandem Bicycle Through the Egypt Revolution
Another exceptional entry from our on-going video contest. In the Middle of the Egyptian revolution Dominic takes his tandem to Tahrir Square and invites Egyptians to join him on a 2600 mile adventure around the entire country.
VOTD: Barstow to Vegas Dual-Sport Ride
via West County Explorers Club: The 2011 AMA District 37 Barstow to Vegas Dual-Sport event took place at the end of last month. Here’s a nicely documented and narrated recap of the 2009 event.
The two-part video is about an hour long and is a little slow to get going but there’s some great footage of guys on BMW R1200GS and F800GS bikes working their way through sandy, rocky canyons, dry river sand washes, and some fantastic flat-out desert riding, including the use of a roll chart for navigation.
Part 2, around 14:45 even shows a guy jumping his big GS over berm.
Here’s Part 2: http://youtu.be/qvgqL0-b83U.
And here’s a link to the event, in case you’d like to take part next year: http://www.labarstowvegas.com.