Saudi Arabia

In 2020, the Dakar Rally made another controversial move, this time to the endless desert sands and razor-sharp rocky outcroppings of Saudi Arabia for the ultimate torture test of man and machine. And this year's images are absolutely stunning.

Foster + Partners has been commissioned to design a new airport in Saudi Arabia. Named the Red Sea Airport, the project will serve a burgeoning luxury tourist development in the area and will be wholly powered by renewable energy sources.

Plans have been revealed for a new "Giga-Project" named Qiddiya. The huge project's masterplan is designed by BIG and will measure an incredible 334 square km (129 sq mi). It's envisioned as Saudi Arabia's new capital of entertainment, sports, and arts, and is expected to be finished by 2030.

​​Virgin Hyperloop One has expanded its relationship with Saudi Arabia, with the two announcing plans to develop a new test track in the country’s west. The facility would become the world’s longest hyperloop tube as the gulf nation eyes a wider rollout of the futuristic transport system.​

High-profile British firm Foster + Partners recently completed work on a network of train stations in Saudi Arabia. Providing high-speed links between four cities, the buildings are designed to keep visitors at a relatively comfortable temperature even during the scorching summer heat.

A major investment through the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia should provide the capital Lucid Motors needs to complete its Arizona manufacturing facility and get the much-awaited, high-performance electric Lucid Air into production by 2020.

​Virgin Hyperloop One has welcomed the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia to a test facility in the Mojave Desert, showing off a specially branded passenger pod as the county looks to accelerate its efforts to get the futuristic transport system up and running.

During the recent Future Investment Initiative in Saudi Arabia it was revealed that Sophia, a robot constructed by Hong Kong company Hanson Robotics, has been granted citizenship marking the first time in the world a government has granted citizenship rights to a robot.

Rising out of the desert landscape of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia like a giant insect, Zaha Hadid Architects' KAPSARC is a non-profit institution tasked with researching more efficient uses of energy. The building minimizes its own energy use with solar power, water recycling and passive cooling.

The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia is looking past the oil era to a new age of global commerce, and he's building a half-trillion dollar, futuristic paradise of a megacity as its centrepiece. Neom is Dubai 2.0, a lavish international hub based on next-level tech and a new, progressive Saudi politics.