Wheels Mercedes Concept EQT

Mercedes-Benz Concept EQT FREIGHTER BOI

Weather too grim to open the gigantic sunroof and admire the night sky? No matter: there’s a starscape laser-etched into the roof itself.

Looks like a happy chappy. This smiley little fella is a result of designers at Mercedes-Benz getting a bit creative. Based on the existing V-Class van, the Concept EQT is a look at what an electrified small van from the German brand might look like in the not-so-distant future; but it’s actually more likely to form a design base for the upcoming petrol and diesel T-Class.

Are those little stars all over the front grille? Yep, the grille itself is made up of 3D-effect back-illuminated stars, while the narrow LED headlights save that big grin from looking downright goofy by adding a bit of menace that leads into some neatly puffed-up wheel-arches.

Rtba (concept) / mercedes-benz.co.za

This is a concept – so, come on, where’s the wacky feature? In the boot! Open up that sucker and you’ll be greeted by – wait for it – an electric longboard. It’s stored in an aluminium-framed box beneath a plexiglass lid. The longboard is also made of aluminium and features a star pattern, just in case you needed more of an excuse to be pushed into traffic as you ride to work.

Serious question – is it practical? The car, not the longboard. Yeah, massively, seeing as there’s room for up to seven people, who can access their sumptuous leathery pews via large sliding doors on both sides. Three child seats can be fitted in the second row, and to entertain the kiddies there’s a huge panoramic roof.

Is this making vans… cool? Maybe! So many families fall for the SUV marketing fluff, but the humble MPV is brilliant for ferrying kids, prams, dogs and bikes. This concept could be just what the people-carrier market needs.

NEWS DASHBOARD

CYBER PACE

MG has taken the wraps off a bold new concept: the Cyberster roadster. It might sound like a long-forgotten Transformer, but MG says interest in the electric two-door beast rocketed after its unveil at this year’s Shanghai Motor Show, so it only feels right that the car is likely to go into production.

CUTE HUSQY

Motorbike maker Husqvarna has committed to an electric future… and its Vektorr Concept is a mega-stylish peek at what battery-powered scootering could look like. It’s expected to have a range of around 100km and reach a learner-friendly top speed of 45km/h The Akira vibes are strong with this one.

LAN OVERBOARD

The legendary Lancia 037 of the early ’80s has been given a makeover by Italian ‘restomod’ specialist Kimera. The EVO37 uses the same 2.1-litre engine but tweaked to produce 500bhp, with carbon fibre replacing fibreglass. Just 37 are being made, costing a smidge over R7.85 million each. Mamma mia!

Hanging around in ‘bars LG SN11R

The first thing you need to know about the LG SN11R soundbar is that it’s large. Very large. If you’re not rocking at least a 50in TV (and it’ll suit sizes of 65in even better), you probably don’t need this multi-speaker 7.1.4 channel Meridian-powered surround sound system. There are more than 25kg of speakers to contend with, in a box that will barely fit inside a hatchback. LG promises Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support out of the (substantial) box, AI-powered room calibration and 770W of audio power. It’ll play nice with LG’s TV models from 2020 onwards. R19 000 / lg.com/za Well, this isn’t quite how I imagined the new Nintendo Switch looking… Nah, this is the Onexplayer: a portable games machine that marries AAA PC gaming with handheld convenience. While it’s impossible not to draw comparisons with the current Switch, the Onexplayer politely crushes it in the specs department. We’re talking up to an 11th-gen Core i7 with integrated Iris Xe graphics and a whopping 8.4in 2560x1600 IPS display. That’s more than four times as many pixels as the Switch’s 6.2in screen.

Ooh, that won’t go down well in the Mushroom Kingdom… You get the full complement of controls, including analogue triggers around the back, plus dual vibration motors, stereo speakers, and dual cooling fans to ensure the console doesn’t burst into flames when you’re playing Doom Eternal. It weighs as much as two Switches glued together, but deftly deals with weedy arms by way of a kickstand. A separately available keyboard enables you to occasionally fire up Office and pretend you bought the thing for work, but the Onexplayer has one more trick to tempt your buying finger: twin USB4 ports, so you can plug in an eGPU and a 4K screen at the same time.

So I can play anything on this thing? Well, it’s a licensed Windows 10 machine, so anything in your Steam or Epic games library, and presumably Xbox Game Pass for PC titles too. Performance depends on what you’re playing, but in theory there’s nothing you shouldn’t be able to throw at the Onexplayer… and if you burn through the built-in 15,300mAh battery in one mammoth sitting, you can rest assured that the 65W charger will juice it up again before you can say “wrist strain”.

Quite the photo finish FUJIFILM INSTAX MINI 40

Fuji can’t go wrong by releasing its modern take on 1970s camera technology, it seems. The company’s newest, the Instax Mini 40, features old-school design in a black leatherette body, eschewing the usual bright and colourful designs for something almost… stylish. There are only really two modes to contend with: Automatic Exposure and then Selfie. Guess what they do? The company has also launched new Contact Sheets, which mimic… well, contact sheets. They’ll set you back R170 for a pack of 10, and they’re also compatible with any other Fuji camera that takes Instax film packages. R1 400 / fujifilm.com/za

WTF IS THE ONEXPLAYER?

Sold! Although that might change when I hear the price… Even at the lowest possible spec, the Onexplayer is going to leave you R11 500 out of pocket. Well, nobody said taking your entire PC games library to play on the toilet would be cheap.