Automotive
Avant-Garde

By: Daryl VIllanueva
Founder, Chief of design - Bandit9

2011: Like many companies out there, Bandit9 was born out of frustration. I’m the kind of guy that dreams of worlds depicted in science fiction films and comic books. I noticed what was on the street was a far cry from what we are capable of.

At the time, heritage, vintage, retro, remakes, reissues had completely taken over. And we were perfectly satisfied. Where is the ingenuity, the pioneering spirit, the boldness? This was the most frustrating part of it all. It felt like we just gave up. It felt like we just didn’t give a damn. Were we to resign ourselves in an endless loop and rehash what has been?

Someone needed to look after the future. So I started a motorcycle company that focused on what could be rather than what was.

I get it. Are we so arrogant to say that it is us that will alter the course of the industry? No, not at all. We do, however, believe we can inspire someone out there who can change the future.

Our cars and our motorcycles symbolize possibilities and I think that’s why so many collectors, museums and individuals gravitate towards our work. They demonstrate the notion that if we can think it then we can make it.

And that the only difference between fact and fiction is time.

TL;DR: Coveted by museums and collectors, Bandit9 produces futuristic vehicles at the intersection of science fiction and art through modern engineering and state-of-the-art technology.

MILESTONES

  • A Seat in History

    Bandit9 became part of history—inducted into the holy grail of automotive design, side by side with Ferrari and Bugatti.

  • A New Era

    Our first car. Fully electric. F1-esque. We don’t ease into anything. We arrive swinging.

  • Ballistic Motorcycle

    A bold collaboration with Triumph. Inspired by mobula rays. Crafted with aerospace precision. Supermarine moves like a creature born of sea and sky.

  • Runway to Runway

    Two exclusive EVE builds created for Asia’s leading fashion house. Industrial design crossed into couture.

  • Museum-Worthy

    The EVE Alchemist made its museum debut at QAGOMA—blurring the line between machine and modern art in one of Australia’s top cultural spaces.

  • LVMH Calls

    LVMH wanted to create a machine for their legendary Paris flagship. One that could stand next to Dior, they called Bandit9.

  • Haute Machinery

    Haute horology brand MB&F commissioned a bespoke EVE for their M.A.D. Gallery in Geneva and Dubai—where art meets machine

  • Three Times Immortal

    Barber Motorsports Museum, home to the largest motorcycle collection in the world, holds three Bandit9 machines in its permanent archive.

  • Garage of the Future

    The Arsenale commissioned a Bandit9 build for their gallery inside Zaha Hadid’s ultra-futuristic hotel in Macau

  • Collected by Haas

    The Haas Moto Museum—a sanctuary for the most iconic motorcycle designs in the world—acquired two Bandit9 machines for its permanent collection.

  • Her Majesty's Machines

    Royal Enfield commissioned two all-chrome mechanical sculptures—machines stripped to essence, engineered like kinetic sculptures.

Masterpieces in Motion

Van Daryl Vicente Villanueva is the Founder and Design Chief of Bandit9, a sculptural motorcycle atelier redefining what vehicles can be. With a 15-year background in design and a career that began as a Creative Director in advertising, Van Daryl brings a narrative precision and cinematic vision to every build.

Influenced by science fiction and the language of sculpture, his creations are as at home in a museum as they are on the road—artworks with engines, designed to live across worlds.

His work has been exhibited or collected by institutions such as the Petersen Automotive Museum, Barber Motorsports Museum, Haas Moto Museum, QAGOMA, MoMA, and MB&F’s MAD Gallery, and featured by global brands and platforms including LVMH, Triumph, Royal Enfield, GQ, Esquire, Robb Report, and the BBC.

Bandit9 doesn’t just build machines—it builds ideas. Pieces that stop people. Challenge them. And make them question whether what they’re seeing is even possible.