This Christmas, why not blend a bit of play and practicality? No one wants to give a gift that languishes unused within a week, so we’ve conjured up a selection of things that are either designed to spark joy or assist you with your journey. With luck, our transport-themed gifts will keep taking you places all through the year ahead.
Wallpaper* gift guide: transport editor’s picks
A tiny trip to the Orient with Lego
Lego Ideas Orient Express
Evoke the glamour of golden-era train travel with the Lego Orient Express set. A new set from the Lego Ideas group – which sources inspiration from Lego builders around the world – the 2,500-plus piece set includes the locomotive and two luxurious carriages, along with a cast of eight Agatha Christie-style Minifigures. The set is also compatible with Lego’s long-running L Gauge railway system.
Lego Ideas Orient Express Set, £259.99, from Lego.com
A charger for life
Portable Charger by Gomi
No journey is complete without a power source. We’ve already raved about British brand Gomi’s sustainable Bluetooth speaker. Now the UK company has launched its second product and it’s just as desirable, as well as being designed for longevity. The Portable Charger uses the same recycled material process as the speaker, resulting in a marble-effect casing that is entirely unique for every unit made. Gomi sources its plastics from discarded bags and bubble wrap and its batteries from old e-bikes; each charger has two ports and is designed to be reparable for life.
Gomi Portable Charger, £79, Gomi.design, @gomidesign
A history of the Hyundai Pony
RETRACE monograph by Hyundai
A treat for the car-design obsessive in your life. This, the first publication in Hyundai’s new RETRACE collection, tells the story of the company’s first production cars, starting with the 1975 Pony. Developed by a group of UK automotive engineers, with design input from Italdesign Giugiaro, the Pony was a boxy hatchback that has had a long tail in terms of influence and inspiration. It might be hard to track down, but RETRACE is a richly illustrated book (an edition of 500) that reproduces the original 1970s sketches and drawings, as well as recounting Hyundai’s journey to mass production, and the contemporary cars and concepts that have taken the Pony’s sharp-edged style into the modern era.
More information at Hyundai.news
A sleek two-wheeler
Bo M Electric Scooter
Scooters still live in legal limbo in many countries; even as the tech matures, the law hasn’t quite caught up with the idea of where and when they’re safe to ride. If your location is laissez-faire about such things, then the Bo M Scooter is one of the sleekest new two-wheelers on the block. With a 50km range, a top speed of 35km/h, integral luggage hooks and lights, as well as a magnetic dock for your phone, the Bo M prioritises safety, strength and visibility.
Bo M, available from February 2024, £1,995, Bo.world
A folding holding pattern
Moquette bag by London Transport
London Transport’s Moquette collection takes the hard-wearing fabrics used throughout Underground carriages across the network and turns them into cushions, bags, rugs and more. This folding bag uses the same pattern, if not the fabric, as the newly opened Elizabeth Line, the boldest, busiest and most substantial route across the capital. Also available in two other designs, the bag is made from recycled plastic bottles.
Moquette folding bag, £7.50, LTMuseumshop.co.uk
A super charger for your EV
evec EV Charger
An increasingly essential component of any home, EV chargers are available in all shapes and sizes. Finding the right company to supply and fit a fast charger is still rather hit and miss, but evec has the right blend of affordability and unobtrusive design. Its 7.4kW charger offers Type 1 and Type 2 power and is available in both untethered and tethered versions (no integral cable versus cable). The company’s range extends to dual chargers for two-EV households as well as 22kW commercial designs.
evec 7.4kW EV Charger, Supply and Fit, £799.99, evec.co.uk
The ultimate toy car
UFO74 Cannone by Playforever
Playforever makes model cars that ooze style and solidity. Its new UFO74 Cannone is a thinly veiled homage to the iconic Lamborghini Countach, pared back to express the minimalist angularity of Marcello Gandini’s original concept. It joins a fleet of racing cars, muscle cars and design classics, all created for play or display.
UFO74 Cannone by Playforever, £43.50, Playforever.co.uk, @playforever
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Gallery Fumi makes LA debut with works from Max Lamb, Jeremy Anderson and moreFumi LA is the London design gallery’s takeover of Sized Studio, marking its first major US show (until 9 March 2024)
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Brazil’s Casa Subtração contrasts dramatic concrete brutalism with openness
Casa Subtração by FGMF is defined by brutalist concrete and sharp angles that contrast with the green Brazilian landscape
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Level up at the The Residence, Claridge’s new André Fu-designed penthouse
Claridge’s The Residence is a new purpose-built two-tier glasshouse overlooking London’s skyline
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CES 2024 was a showcase for how to shoehorn AI into next-generation cars
CES 2024 in Las Vegas underlined that future mobility will be shaped by AI, like it or not, as intelligent assistants emerge to guide, plan and converse with their human cargo
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New Hyundai Kona EV is no aesthetic knock-out, but should you really care?
The Hyundai Kona EV sneaks unconventional thinking into the mainstream, cloaking excellent tech in wilfully awkward forms
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Year in review: the top 10 cars of 2023, as selected by Wallpaper’s Jonathan Bell
What were the best four-wheeled offerings of 2023? Transport editor Jonathan Bell takes us through the year’s most intriguing automobiles
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Hyundai Ioniq 6, the brand’s newest EV, impresses with its all-round ability and sweeping lines
We drive the Hyundai Ioniq 6, an electric sports saloon with an idiosyncratic sense of style and lashings of tech
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Genesis’ Luc Donckerwolke brings new shapes to luxury mobility
Luc Donckerwolke, Genesis’ chief brand officer and chief creative officer, on its Europe-only G70 Shooting Brake, the new Genesis EV60 electric vehicle, and the shape of cars to come
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Hyundai and Kia charge ahead in the design stakes
What drives Hyundai? A combination of design, desire and ability.
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Hyundai’s future glows bright with IONIQ Electric and Kona Hybrid
On track to achieving a 75 per cent electrified fleet by next year – Hyundai is accelerating into the future with two new variants of their IONIQ and Kona models
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Hyundai looks to its history for the car of the future
As featured in our February 2020 Wallpaper* Design Awards Issue, Hyundai's latest concept car, the Hyundai 45, is a combination of intelligent interior design and eco-conscious engineering inspired by the company's historic 1970s icons
