Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more. Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
Ben Branch -
Von Braun’s First Lunar Lander
Wernher Von Braun’s first lunar lander design had room for 25 astronauts, the extraordinary behemoth weighed in at 8,739,000 lbs, was 160 ft tall, 108 ft in diameter and could (theoretically) produce 390,043 ft-lbs of power.
Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins
Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins is a legend in the US drag racing scene, he did all his own engineering and liked to drive with a lit cigar in his mouth.
BSA Afternoon
This image comes courtesy of the Museum of Victoria and it shows a couple taking an afternoon ride on their BSA with their Jack Russell.
Custom Kawasaki Zephyr 750
This Custom Kawasaki Zephyr 750 is, sadly, not real. It’s the work of talented art director and designer Joao Alves of somosEstudio, and I have to say, I like it a lot.
.Free Clothing Tee
.Free Clothing is an Ohio based clothing company with a focus on clean, clear designs.
LC Fabrications ’61 Econoline
Some people have a hard time understanding an obsession with old trucks, 4x4s and vans. They require a lot of work, they blow more smoke than an ageing French prostitute and they require more maintenance than a Jewish mother in-law.
Marko Sunglasses by Tom Ford
These are the new Marko sunglasses by Tom Ford, they were worn by 007 in Skyfall, they’re made in Italy, each pair offers 100% UV/UVB protection and they come in your choice of 4 colours.
Drag Facing
I can’t get past the fantastic look on the face of this drag racer, it’s somewhere equidistant between horror and happiness.
Yamaha XS400 by Hold Fast Motors
The Yamaha XS400 is a hell of a motorcycle, it was first released in 1977 and it came pre-fitted with luxuries like adjustable rear shock absorbers, self-cancelling turn signals and an automatic petcock.
Leica III
Leica is widely considered to be one of the greatest camera manufacturers of all time, the fundamental design of the Leica is so famous that it became a pop-culture icon in its own lifetime.
Sonny
Sonny Barger is, not even arguably, the most famous outlaw biker of all time. He was the main character in Hunter S. Thompson’s book “Hell’s Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs”, he also wrote a series of books, he’s been in a number of feature films and more recently appeared in the television series “Sons of Anarchy” (which is based on Hamlet, interestingly).
Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force Concept
The world of 4x4s is considerably more staid when it comes to design than their smaller 2×4 road based counterparts. Boxy, solid designs tend to be favoured for serious, non-Soccer Mom off-road duties and when designers get all inspired and create something a little curvy, they can actually send the company out of business (a la Hummer).