Photo: abimelecdesign / Instagram
Last week was quite full of surprises across the American automotive market. First, Dodge gave us two body styles for the next-gen Charger instead of one. Secondly, Rivian gave us another couple of all-new electric models aside from the confirmed R2 sport utility vehicle.
Dodge made the headlines for both wrong and right reasons last week – the 2024 Charger Daytona two-door all-electric fastback coupe is touted as the world's first EV muscle car. Some don't like the idea simply because it doesn't have a V8 under the hood, which is a conundrum that won't be resolved with the 2025 Charger Sixpack either. Instead, gasoline fans will have the option to choose between the classic two-door fastback coupe form and the returning four-door sedan body style – as well as two instances of the 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six turbo mill, with 420 or 550 horsepower.
Rivian then took to the stage at an event in California and dropped the expected R2 model, looking like a nimbler, more affordable, and five-seat R1S. The SUV could represent a major opposing force to the Tesla Model Y in the market starting in 2026, but the show's real star was the big surprise appearance of the smaller crossover-hatchback R3 and its performance sibling, R3X.
Naturally, everyone suddenly wanted a piece of the not-so-little (it's based on the same mid-size platform as R2) hatchback on stilts that reminded everyone that you can be nostalgic and modern at the same time – even if you're a startup automaker that doesn't necessarily have too much experience in the field. Of course, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators also took notice of the R3's potential for further showcases.
For example, a pixel master immediately acknowledged the online discussion about Rivian's inspiration sources for the R3 and took the R3X on a CGI spin to morph it into a potential AMC Gremlin revival. But maybe the American car was too quirky and small for the Rivian R3. No worries; other virtual interpretations are worthy of our attention.
Abimelec Arellano, a virtual artist better known as abimelecdesign on social media, has prepared the newest wishful thinking project – and it's the Rivian R3 paying homage to a trio of models he believes were used as a source of inspiration, namely the Lancia Delta Integrale, Volkswagen Golf GT, and Renault 5 Turbo.
Perhaps that's not enough? Well, if you want to see anything extreme, maybe then David Scott Neal II, a Senior Industrial Designer at Modus Applied Innovations and the pixel master behind nemojunglist, has the 'perfect' mod for the R3X – a rally build that's certainly not everyone's cup of tea, even across the parallel universes of vehicular CGI.
Last but not least, there's also the simplest of tunes – wheels. However, Nikita Chuicko, the virtual artist better known as kelsonik on social media, first applied his aftermarket passion to the larger R2. What do you think?
Rivian then took to the stage at an event in California and dropped the expected R2 model, looking like a nimbler, more affordable, and five-seat R1S. The SUV could represent a major opposing force to the Tesla Model Y in the market starting in 2026, but the show's real star was the big surprise appearance of the smaller crossover-hatchback R3 and its performance sibling, R3X.
Naturally, everyone suddenly wanted a piece of the not-so-little (it's based on the same mid-size platform as R2) hatchback on stilts that reminded everyone that you can be nostalgic and modern at the same time – even if you're a startup automaker that doesn't necessarily have too much experience in the field. Of course, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators also took notice of the R3's potential for further showcases.
For example, a pixel master immediately acknowledged the online discussion about Rivian's inspiration sources for the R3 and took the R3X on a CGI spin to morph it into a potential AMC Gremlin revival. But maybe the American car was too quirky and small for the Rivian R3. No worries; other virtual interpretations are worthy of our attention.
Abimelec Arellano, a virtual artist better known as abimelecdesign on social media, has prepared the newest wishful thinking project – and it's the Rivian R3 paying homage to a trio of models he believes were used as a source of inspiration, namely the Lancia Delta Integrale, Volkswagen Golf GT, and Renault 5 Turbo.
Perhaps that's not enough? Well, if you want to see anything extreme, maybe then David Scott Neal II, a Senior Industrial Designer at Modus Applied Innovations and the pixel master behind nemojunglist, has the 'perfect' mod for the R3X – a rally build that's certainly not everyone's cup of tea, even across the parallel universes of vehicular CGI.
Last but not least, there's also the simplest of tunes – wheels. However, Nikita Chuicko, the virtual artist better known as kelsonik on social media, first applied his aftermarket passion to the larger R2. What do you think?
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