A NAKED CAR IN A NAKED PLACE.
Hours from LA and light years from its celebrity culture the Cybertruck sits in a desert, as if sent from the future by Skynet.
If it had zapped into existence on bolts of electricity, that would be no less believable than it driving here. It is not of this world. It's a bewildering, alien machine.
So let's bring it crashing down to earth. Both metaphorically and literally at 60mph from about a metre above the deck. Then we'll bounce it back up again through some whoops, scramble over rocks to the sky, plunge through sand dunes and a whole lot more.
Put it through earth's off-road wringer, in other words. Because TopGear is the first in the world to drive a Cybertruck with all its off-road modes and camping tricks activated. We've got fully operational diff locks to go with a foot of height adjustable air suspension, we've got Baja mode, plus a light bar, Cybertent and Cybercooler. We've also got more than one Cybertruck. An 845bhp tri-motor (with light bar) is here for the drag racing, drifting and camping, while a 600bhp dual motor does the rest. Both have the full off-road suite; the dual motor has mechanical locking diffs at both ends, while the tri-motor has a virtual rear diff - no physical connection, but individual torque vectoring and trick software to mimic it.
We've also brought along a little competition. You don't need us to tell you the Cybertruck is a lifestyle adventure pickup rather than a workhorse, so rather than Ford's F-150 Lightning or the GMC Hummer EV, here we have the RIT, a pickup from another west coast startup, Rivian. Complete with Yakima roof tent and front end styling closer to Baymax than the Terminator. It's an 835bhp quad motor and costs $87,000 before options. The dual motor Tesla costs from $79,990, while the tri-motor Cyberbeast is $20k more.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MG COMET
A LOT OF PEOPLE HAD THOUGHT THIS CAR TO BE COMPLETELY useless when it came out.
BMW i7
WHEN THE i7 PULLED INTO MY GARAGE AND PARKED ITSELF next to the Mercedes EQA and the MG Comet, it just struck me that this is how the future will be.
SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP
McLaren's finest faces off Corvette's nat-asp swansong as the Brits and the Americans square up... in a Spanish playground. Expect fireworks
NEXT LEVEL
Thought the 750S was fast? The McLaren P1's successor - the W1 is ready to spread its wings
MANUAL LABOUR
Two cars from opposite ends of the performance spectrum with one crucial thing in common...
PRO VS SLOW
At last, we have our hands on the Valkyrie. But is its performance only accessible for the pros... or can anyone enjoy it?
THE OUTBURST OF OFFROADING
The high-volume market is a point of interest for all manufacturers here in India.
THE BATTLE OF CRUISER-COMMUTERS
WHO DOES THE BEST COMMUTER WORK WHILE NOT BEING A TRUE COMMUTER MOTORCYCLE?
LEAVING EVERYTHING ON THE TRACK
FT. YMRP ROUND 3 From being second, I DNF'd from the race on the last corner
BEHIND THE BARS,
THE DIFFERENT KIND