The original Mini Moke had ‘cult classic’ written all over it, and that was before it turned up as a psychedelic transportation device in that high point of 1960s weirdness, The Prisoner. The Moke’s design began life as a stripped-down Mini, beefed up and simplified with a view to creating a compact utility vehicle for military use.
The Moke never made it to the battlefront, but it became a familiar sight as an ultra-light vehicle in beach resorts and other such carefree communities.
Beloved by pop cultural figures of the day, the basic design stayed in production from 1964 until 1993, before it was revived under the initiative of product designer Michael Young.
The new version was given a subtle facelift and was re-engineered for modern conditions, but otherwise the ethos stayed much the same. Young and his team set up a company, Moke International, which started off by part-building the revised car in China, before it was shipped for final assembly in its place of sale.
An electric version was also introduced, which in many ways made it the perfect manifestation of Sir Alec Issigonis’ original concept.
This is the new Electric Moke Californian, a strictly limited production series of the reinvigorated machine, designed in homage to a 1977 Moke Californian edition built at the height of beach buggy mania.
Just 325 examples of the new Californian will be available each year, fully compliant with the States’ rigorous laws as well as being highway legal.
With a top speed of 50mph, it’s perhaps the fastest Moke model ever made, the open-framed body offering an invigorating ride.
Moke Californian, available from Moke International, from $41,900
-
The Sialia 45 cruiser is a welcome addition to the new generation of electric boatsPolish shipbuilder Sialia Yachts has launched the Sialia 45, a 14m all-electric cruiser for silent running
-
Tokyo design studio We+ transforms microalgae into coloursCould microalgae be the sustainable pigment of the future? A Japanese research project investigates
-
What to see at London Craft Week 2025With London Craft Week just around the corner, Wallpaper* rounds up the must-see moments from this year’s programme
-
Our pick of the reveals at the 2025 New York Auto Show, from concept SUVs to new EVsInterest in overseas brands remained strong at this year’s NY Auto Show despite the threat of tariffs designed to boost American-owned brands
-
Mercedes-Benz previews its next-gen people mover with an ultra-luxury EV conceptThe Mercedes-Benz Vision V Concept is an art deco picture palace on wheels, designed to immerse passengers in parallel worlds as they travel
-
2025 Seoul Mobility Show report: all that's new and notableOpened at a time of high national drama, the 2025 Seoul Mobility Show has gone on to underscore Korea’s place at the cutting edge of the auto industry. Guy Bird was there
-
Meet the final drivable prototype of the Telo MT1 pickup truck, shaped by FuseprojectThe Telo MT1 is a modestly scaled EV that turns the traditional all-American approach to pick-up truck design on its head
-
EV start-up Halcyon transforms a classic 1970s Rolls-Royce into a smooth electric operatorThis 1978 Rolls-Royce Corniche is the first fruit of a new electric restomod company, the Surrey-based Halcyon
-
China’s Leapmotor pounces on the European car market with its T03 city car and C10 SUVLeapmotor’s tiny electric city car could be just the tonic for cramped urban Europe. We sample the T03 and its new sibling, the fully loaded C10 SUV, to see if the company’s value proposition stacks up
-
Wallpaper* takes the wheel of the Bentley Blower Jnr for a rich automotive experienceHedley Studios has shrunk the mighty Bentley Blower into this all-electric, road-legal barnstormer. We take it to the streets of London
-
We are the world: Pininfarina’s ‘Orbis’ taps Papal support for an eco-friendly agendaThe Orbis is a ‘symbolic object’, a gift to Pope Francis from the Italian design agency at a time of political upheaval and social fracture around all aspects of sustainability
