Do you know the layers of the atmosphere? The shield that keeps us alive and thriving is composed of layers of various gases that form a ‘thin’ blanket keeping us warm and cozy against the frightful nothingness of space.
Those layers are a cool quintet called the troposphere, ranging from zero to seven miles, or approximately 12 kilometers, the stratosphere (12 to 50 km or 7 to 31 miles), the mesosphere, which is the middle step (from 50 to 80 km or 31 to 50 miles) before the void, the thermosphere (80 to 700 km or 50 to 440 miles), and finally the exosphere, which ranges from 700 to 10k km and 440 to 6,200 miles. Why am I telling you all that about stratification? Well, the automotive industry has already gone well past the ‘troposphere’ and is now pushing into the ‘stratosphere.’ So, we reckon that soon enough, it will also start penetrating the ‘mesosphere,’ which is usually considered to be at the bleeding edge of space.
But wait, there is no need to take our word for granted, as we have an example. Think of the rapid rise of the crossover, SUV, and truck era compared to the fall of the passenger car age. While minivans and station wagons are almost extinct across many regions, sedans are an endangered species and sports cars are also starting to feel the heat. Meanwhile, CUVs, SUVs, and trucks live a fine lifestyle and just proliferate into every possible automotive sector. Mini-SUVs like the Suzuki Jimny? Check. An entire range of CUVs and SUVs, plus pickups dwelling across all segments? Double Check. The EV revolution? No worries, we have that as well.
And the likes of ultra-luxury super-SUVs from brands that would not have been caught dead looking at high-riding 4x4s in their ritzy production facilities just a couple of decades ago? Hey, there you go, triple-check. They are everywhere, frankly. The Aston Martin DBX707 can be found all around the world and involved with the queen of motorsports, as its ‘medic.’ Yep, the 697-hp British crossover has just become the official Formula One medical car! A Lambo that can pretend it likes the great outdoors is like a cat that says it loves water. But then again, we already have the original Urus and now also the Urus S and Urus Performante follow-ups.
Photo: emrEHusmen / YouTube
The Brits that were once like brother and sister – aka Bentley and Rolls-Royce – are now fighting for supremacy with Bentayga and Cullinan armies. Sure, according to the aftermarket realm, the latter has already won the war. Still, more foes are gathering at the ‘borders,’ to the tune of the upcoming 715-hp Ferrari Purosangue V12 coach door and 738-hp BMW XM Label Red plug-in hybrid callings. As such, no wonder automotive enthusiasts have started to think that all these models represent a virtual ‘stratosphere’ of the automotive industry. But, when speaking of all things digital, we really need to set our sights a little higher – perhaps towards an unofficial throne floating at the edge of space, somewhere in the ‘mesosphere.’
Anyway, enough with the metaphors, and let us think of what comes next after Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, or Rolls-Royce ultra-luxury SUVs. According to Turkey-based automotive designer and consultant Emre Husmen, we should all be dreaming not of the times when McLaren also embarks on the CUV journey of high-performance discovery, but rather of more exotic ideas like Bugatti, Koenigsegg, and – why not – Pagani. Speaking of the latter Italian manufacturer of hypercars and exotic components residing in San Cesario sul Panaro, the province of Modena, which just launched only its third model series after the Zonda and Huayra, the Utopia should be joined – as soon as possible – by a crossover SUV companion.
The interesting dream first came to life for the pixel master after a Pagani museum visit back in 2020. But then life happened, and the project was derailed into a Bentley SUV. Recently, though, the CGI expert came to his digital senses and again retconned the virtual crossover into a Pagani SUV riddled with the company’s signature oval styling. And while the project has remained at an ideation sketch stage, it still feels almost complete because there are numerous POVs (front, side, rear, and cockpit) in the behind-the-scenes making-of video embedded below. Plus, the artist has also imagined a fitting name – Pagani ‘Lodos’ – which is inspired by a feisty SW wind that predominates in the Aegean and Marmara Seas, plus the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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