BENTLEY

Bentley Supersports: an English lord with Porsche DNA

To make a car sportier, certain basic principles are followed: increasing power, improving the transfer of that extra power to the road (optimized chassis, upgraded tires, and greater aerodynamic efficiency for better grip), and reducing weight. This is exactly what Bentley did under the direction of its new CEO, Frank-Stephen Walliser, who arrived from Porsche in 2024—bringing the ideal profile to develop the first Bentley since taking the helm of the British brand. And it shows.

Starting with the last point—weight—the Bentley Supersports is the lightest model in the last 85 years; it is nearly half a ton lighter than the Continental GT and also the first model in this range to dip below the 2,000 kg mark. The main factor contributing to this significant weight reduction was the omission of the all-wheel-drive system. The roof—made of aluminum on the standard Continental GT—was replaced with a lighter carbon-fiber version, further lowering the car's center of gravity. Inside, the two rear seats, along with their speakers and wiring, were removed, and sound-insulation materials were stripped from the cabin. Certain driver-assistance systems are also absent from the Supersports, as it is a car focused more on track performance.

Finally, at the intersection of weight and aerodynamics, almost all new bodywork elements are made of carbon fiber, serving the same objective. All these features have a practical function—reducing weight and improving aerodynamics—with none included for purely aesthetic reasons. Collectively, these aerodynamic components generate over 300 kg of additional downforce (at 250 km/h) compared to a Continental GT Speed. This, in turn, helps optimize weight distribution between the front and rear, starting at 54%–46% (with the vehicle stationary, shifting toward the rear as speed increases).

The lower front bumper is new and incorporates a front splitter (the largest ever fitted to a road-going Bentley). This bumper includes two new cooling ducts on each side to lower engine and brake temperatures. The new laser-cut aluminum mesh grille features a design unique to the Supersports model. Profiles have been added behind the front wheels and on the side skirts to reduce lift during hard acceleration and improve airflow along the vehicle's flanks. This is also the function of the new rear diffuser, which works in tandem with a spoiler mounted atop the trunk lid.

The bold interior features carbon fiber accents and a combination of genuine leather and synthetic material (Dinamica). The rear seats have been replaced by a leather-trimmed carbon fiber monocoque structure.

As previously mentioned, the significant weight reduction achieved in the powertrain stems from the absence of a plug-in hybrid system (which requires a heavy battery) and the fact that it features rear-wheel drive only (it is the first road-legal Continental GT without all-wheel drive).

A record-breaking engine...The 4.0L twin-turbo V8 engine received a reinforced crankshaft, upgraded cylinder heads, and higher-boost turbochargers to generate the highest specific power output ever produced by Bentley: 166.5 hp/liter, resulting in a total of 666 hp and 800 Nm of torque. It is mated to an eight-speed ZF dual-clutch automatic transmission—used across the Bentley lineup but featuring reinforced clutches and a new gear-shifting strategy (faster shifts, with special attention paid to downshifts during braking to enhance the Bentley Supersport's stability).

The engine breathes through a titanium exhaust system (developed with specialist Akrapovič), producing a sound far more expressive than any other Bentley—and "completely natural," as Bentley Technical Director Mathias Raabe insists. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds and reaches a top speed of 310 km/h.

Power is sent exclusively to the rear wheels via an electronic limited-slip differential (eLSD), with a rear track 16 mm wider than that of the Continental GT. The eLSD features torque-vectoring assistance during braking, and both systems work in tandem to optimize turn-in and traction. Rear-wheel steering is retained for maximum agility.

New calibrations have been introduced for the steering, suspension, traction control, and electronic stability control (ESC). Stability control settings allow the driver to select tolerance levels ranging from minimum to high (specifically, "Dynamic Mode," which permits a degree of slip and oversteer within the vehicle's reaction limits) or even to deactivate the system completely.

Three driving modes... There are three driving modes: "Touring" mode is equivalent to the Continental GT Speed's "Sport" mode but combines it with increased ground clearance (104 mm), softer damping, and a more subdued exhaust note. "Bentley" mode is sportier, featuring adjustments to transmission strategy, throttle response, and chassis settings; exhaust valves open to intensify the sound, and launch control is activated. "Sport" mode (which lowers the vehicle by 1 cm) maximizes chassis and engine response. For city driving or navigating certain garages, a "Lift" function allows the driver to raise the vehicle's front end by 5.5 cm.

The vehicle features a double-wishbone front suspension and a multi-link rear axle, along with air springs and new dual-chamber dampers offering independent compression and rebound control. The Bentley Dynamic Ride system, which electronically manages stability, can apply up to 1,300 Nm of torque to each axle within 0.3 seconds. The braking system—the largest ever fitted to a production car—comes standard with 440 mm silicon-carbide (CSiC) discs and 10-piston calipers on the front axle, and 410 mm discs with four-piston calipers at the rear. The calipers are black as standard, with an optional red finish.

The Supersports comes equipped with new 22-inch forged and machined aluminum alloy wheels, developed in collaboration with specialist Manthey Racing. Two tire options are offered: the standard Pirelli P-Zero and the new high-performance Trofeo RS tire as an option. With the Trofeo RS tires, chassis modifications, and weight reduction, the Supersports can corner approximately 30% faster than a Continental GT Speed, generating a maximum lateral force of up to 1.3 g.

Laguna Seca as a proving ground...Before hitting the Laguna Seca track, Bentley's current CEO acknowledged the significance of the moment: "This car is more than just the most driver-focused Bentley ever. It represents our brand's return to producing more extreme cars and, personally, my first complete project since joining Bentley Motors."

However, I couldn't resist the urge to tease a little and asked Walliser if limiting production to 666 units—with about 200 destined for European customers—instead of 500 (given that the 2017 Supersports had 710 hp and that was also the total number of cars produced) might have been a fitting tribute to the Supersports' history. Smiling, the CEO admitted, "That’s a very valid question, but we believe this volume of 500 units will sell out quickly among potential customers and help the vehicle appreciate in value later on, as there will be fewer units than the market could easily absorb."

Then, I headed to the Laguna Seca circuit near Monterey Bay, where Auto Week had taken place just the day before. The track was 3.6 kilometers long and featured 11 corners—some quite demanding, especially the famous Corkscrew. I entered it completely blind, plunging down a dizzying drop where the only reference point for the turn was a pine tree on the horizon. At the finish line, it is clear that—between the incredible stopping power provided by the largest brake discs ever fitted to a road car and the drastic weight reduction—the Supersports impresses in both acceleration and braking. That is no small feat, considering it can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.7 seconds.

In the Supersports version, the transmission delivers a sportier response, delaying upshifts and executing earlier downshifts—particularly in Sport mode, where the engine also takes on a deeper, more commanding note.

Naturally, the immense stopping power inspires confidence during the few laps I managed to drive in the Supersports; this is further aided by the superior grip of the Pirelli Trofeo RS tires fitted to the two pre-production cars used for this activity in California (these represent the sportiest tire option for this model).

Without route directions...Although we couldn't test the suspension's performance on uneven surfaces (there was no road testing), it is notably firm, and body roll is very well controlled. And while I wasn't able to disable the stability control (a limitation imposed by Bentley), it is evident that the rear end is more responsive than in the Continental GT Speed ​​(AWD), making cornering more enjoyable. Furthermore, the front axle's excellent grip clearly contributes to making this Supersports even more thrilling in more extreme driving modes.

Wearing a mandatory helmet on the track always creates a sense of claustrophobia and limits direct visual contact with the cockpit, yet the interior retains the layout of the rest of the Continental family: excellent materials (carbon fiber, Alcantara, leather, and aluminum predominate) and high-quality finishes on the upper dashboard and door panels. However, there are still some plastics on the center console—where almost all manual controls are concentrated—that are less refined than they should be. This includes the rotary drive mode selector; in a car that frequents high-speed circuits or encourages spirited road driving (conditions permitting), it would be preferable to have this control on the steering wheel.

Our first impression: The Supersports is the Bentley model that most seeks to awaken the racing driver within each of us. The chassis setup—and especially the rear-wheel-drive configuration—is key to achieving this goal. Without hybridization, it delivers 666 hp and exceptional performance, aided by weight-saving measures that shed half a ton.

Autonews

 

SKODA

Electric Skoda Peaq travels 936 km on a single charge

Skoda is reaching new heights with the Peaq! Sorry…I couldn’t resist. This is the Skoda Peaq; a seven-seat electric SUV that, at 4.9-metres long, is a fraction longer than the Peugeot E-5008 and Mercedes GLB, and a bit shorter than the Kia EV9 and Hyundai Ioniq 9, but you could argue that all of these big, posh seven-seaters are rivals to the new Peaq, so it’s got some serious competition. You can also think of it as the new, electric version of the popular Skoda Kodiaq.

We’ve now driven a disguised version of the Peaq (for a very brief time!) and also had a good look around it in the studio, so we’re here to tell you if this is the seven-seat EV that you should be buying. 

Range, battery and charging...It’ll be offered in many European markets with a smaller 61kWh battery for a range of up to 286 miles (460km). For now, the UK is only getting the long range Skoda Peaq 90 and all-wheel drive 90X models, both of which use an 86kWh NMC battery for a WLTP range of up to 390- and 372 miles respectively.

For now, we won't be getting the smaller battery Skoda Peaq 60 in the UK - which is a shame, as a 61kWh battery with a range of 285 miles (460km) could be a great entry model. Still, most of the major European markets will be able to get the Peaq 60. 

In the UK, we get the 90 and the 90X, which both get an 86kWh NMC battery for a WLTP range of up to 390 miles, or 372 miles if you go for the all-wheel drive 90X.

As for charging, you get peak DC rapid charging of up to 199kW, which is almost as quick as the charging on the Hyundai Ioniq 9 and Kia EV9, and will get you a 10- to 80% charge in 28 minutes. Skoda is also offering vehicle-to-load, with a nifty domestic socket in the boot (just like the one in the wall at home) that can charge any of your electrical devices from the high voltage battery. Perfect for running a portable fridge when you’re camping. Or just really want cold drinks.

This is the bit that matters on a car like this, isn’t it! The good news is that you won’t be disappointed if you are looking at this because you’ve got three (or more) kids. There’s 222 litres of boot space behind the third row of seats, which will easily take a lightweight buggy and a few soft bags, and kids or average-sized adults in those fold-down rear seats will be relatively comfortable. Taller teens or adults will struggle for legroom – as you can see from Nic’s video! But I’m 5ft 4in and I fit back there just fine, and you get charging ports and cupholders, too. 

Drop those rear seats flat into the boot, and you’ve got a big five-seat SUV with an 890-litre boot capacity, which is pretty vast and will take your chunky double buggy, a couple of big dogs and just about anything else you can throw at it!

It all started with an idea from two Škoda employees, Marek Jež and Jakub Krs: How far can the new electric seven-seater Škoda Peaq travel on a single charge of its 91 kWh battery?

To find out, they set off from Mladá Boleslav to the Netherlands.

The production Škoda Peaq traveled 936 kilometers without charging. Everything was carried out under the supervision of the certification body TÜV SÜD.

  

Autonews

 

AUTONEWS

Cooling overheated summer railways with “thermal-blocking textile” technology!

The Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI) has developed the world's first rail-mounted thermal-blocking textile system featuring an automated installation and removal mechanism. This innovative technology is designed to drastically mitigate overheating and thermal expansion in railway tracks during extreme summer heat.

High-speed ​​securement: The system utilizes optimized magnetic fastening and dual-locking mechanisms. It remains secure even in winds of up to 66 m/s (237 km/h) and withstands the aerodynamic forces generated by high-speed trains (such as the KTX) traveling at 300 km/h.

Field tests completed: Effectiveness and long-term durability were validated through real-world tests conducted between June and October 2025 on the Jungbu Inland high-speed line.

Commercialization: KRRI has signed a technology transfer agreement with PITCHCABLE Co., Ltd. to launch commercial application and expand the technology's use to building facades and highway infrastructure.

As extreme heat waves intensify due to recent climate change, railway rail temperatures now exceed 60°C during summer, increasing track deformation risks. This has necessitated speed restrictions, causing delays and raising safety concerns as a social issue.

The Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI) (President: Sagong Myung) has developed the world's first "rail-mounted thermal-blocking textile with automated installation and retrieval system" to dramatically mitigate temperature rises on railway tracks during extreme summer heat.

Currently, rail temperature reduction during summer relies almost entirely on water-spraying systems, which have significant limitations: high installation costs and continuous water consumption. Therefore, a water-free, cost-effective alternative has been strongly needed.

KRRI's technology lowers rail temperatures by attaching a special heat-blocking textile to the rail using magnetic force to block solar radiation. The “heat-blocking textile” features a multilayer structure composed of a special coating that reflects more than 85% of solar radiation, combined with magnets and fiberglass layers. Once installed, the system requires no additional operating costs and poses no risk of failure, offering both stability and economic efficiency.

Field demonstrations were completed on the Gwangju Line of the conventional railway network in the summer of 2024 and on the Jungbu Inland High-Speed Line in the summer of 2025. The results verified a maximum rail temperature reduction of 10.9°C, with no performance degradation observed after testing. The technology was stably applied to both conventional and high-speed rail types*, and certified testing** confirmed outstanding durability, with performance maintained for more than 10 years.

Thermal-blocking Textile and Structural Diagram Developed by Dr. Kang Dong-hoon’s Research Team at KRRI. Credit:Korea Railroad Research Institute

KRRI also developed a fully integrated "all-in-one automated system" that covers the complete lifecycle from installation through retrieval of the thermal-blocking textile. The system enables all operations from cleaning foreign substances off rail surfaces, applying the textile, to retrieving it after the summer season with a single piece of equipment. Its modular design allows two operators to easily transport, assemble, and disassemble it, and the system can operate at speeds exceeding 2 km per hour, significantly reducing both time and cost.

KRRI verified the safety and durability of the thermal-blocking textile technology. The system remained secure even under strong opposing winds generated by KTX trains traveling at 300 km/h. The magnetic attachment force was optimized to withstand wind speeds of up to 66 m/s (1.5 times stronger than high-speed train-induced wind), and additional dual fastening mechanisms were applied to ensure that the textile remains firmly attached even during high-speed train operation.

The technology’s excellence was further recognized at the “2025 Seoul International Invention Exhibition (December 3 to 6, 2025, COEX Hall C, Seoul),” hosted by the Korean Intellectual Property Office and the Korea Invention Promotion Association. The thermal-blocking textile patent won the Grand Prize, and the automated equipment patent received the Silver Prize. Additionally, at the "2025 New Technology Commercialization Promotion Conference (December 10, 2025, Peace & Park Convention, Seoul)" hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Korea Industrial Technology Association, the technology obtained National New Excellent Technology (NET, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Certification No. 1594), further validating its innovation.

Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI)

AUTONEWS

Study reveals substantial misdirection in EU automotive regulation

CirculaTUM, the interdisciplinary research network of the Technical University of Munich (TUM), has been researching the decarbonization of the automotive sector since the beginning of the year. The findings of the most comprehensive study in this field to date reveal substantial misdirection in European Union climate policy regulation.

They were presented(https://mediatum.ub.tum.de/1861116) Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, at a press briefing at TUM in Munich.

Drawing on 19 studies with 47 modeled scenarios, the white paper documents substantial misdirection of EU climate policy in the automotive sector, both economically and environmentally. Given the political decisions on the future of Europe's automotive industry expected this fall, TUM President Thomas F. Hofmann commissioned the study at the beginning of the year.

Under the leadership of the three professors Johannes Fottner, Magnus Fröhling and Tim Büthe, the study became the most comprehensive analysis to date of vehicles' climate footprint across their entire life cycle, from production through use to disposal. The study demonstrates the central flaw in the EU's CO₂ regulation, which measures a car's climate footprint at a single point: the tailpipe. Instead, the TUM researchers propose a life-cycle-based standard that credits every verifiable contribution to reducing fossil emissions.

TUM's analyses show that battery-electric vehicles reduce life-cycle emissions by an average of 41% (in about 92% of cases). The range of deviation from combustion vehicles' CO₂ emissions extends from a reduction of 89% to an increase of as much as 21%. The tailpipe-only metric masks these differences, along with any climate contribution beyond the powertrain.

If a manufacturer invests in near-CO₂-free steel, a supplier decarbonizes battery production or a recycling company keeps critical raw materials in the loop, none of that improves the regulation's metric under the EU's current rules by a single gram. Regulation that does not capture relevant contributions to decarbonization cannot reward them either. And what it does not reward, industry will not finance at scale.

"The greatest economic and environmental misdirection lies in the fact that the European Commission's regulation is based exclusively on CO₂ emissions from tailpipe exhaust," Fottner says. "Under this logic, purely battery-electric vehicles are considered climate-neutral. The industry's diverse efforts to reach climate targets—through green steel or circular economy practices, for instance—go unrewarded as a result."

Europe, he adds, can no longer afford to overlook this emissions reality.

EU will miss its own target without reform...According to one of the studies considered (Tang et al., 2023), at the pace of electric-vehicle adoption targeted by the EU, the passenger car sector would deliver only about 80 million tons of CO₂ reduction by 2030—yet roughly 188 million tons would be needed to meet the EU's own targets.

The reform of Regulation (EU) 2019/631 is part of the Automotive Package presented by the European Commission in December 2025. The vote in the European Parliament's plenary session is currently scheduled for Nov. 23, 2026.

According to the study, however, the current Automotive Package, with its credits for steel and fuels, covers at most 10% of a manufacturer's mandated CO₂ reduction and does not close the actual gap. The CirculaTUM study therefore considers the proposed life-cycle-based standard also necessary.

Scientists call for sustainable CO₂ accounting..."We are currently seeing a substantial misdirection in the European Union's climate strategy. If it takes its own targets seriously, it can no longer rely solely on tailpipe measurement," Hofmann says. "I call on Parliament and the Council to use the ongoing revision of the Automotive Package to introduce mandatory, verified life-cycle reporting. Time is short, and the scientific findings must be factored into the reform debate."

From a logistics perspective, the situation is better than current regulation would suggest, Fottner says. "There is already real progress today in building traceable supply chains for green steel and in recovering materials at the end of a vehicle's life—progress that current regulation simply fails to capture. Regulation that does not recognize this gives industry no incentive to realize this potential, even though it is already prepared to do so."

Life-cycle assessment is not regulatory uncharted territory either, Fröhling emphasizes. "European precedents already exist in the Ecodesign Regulation and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. What matters is that a new standard be built on performance-based crediting that treats every ton of fossil carbon actually saved equally—regardless of where in the life cycle it is saved—while also being practically operable. Steel already offers the most reliable data basis for this and is therefore the right starting point."

Büthe sees opportunities for a political agreement: "At its core, the dispute between the factions in the European Parliament is not about whether a vehicle's life cycle should be captured by regulation, but about how binding that should be. This distinction is often lost in the political sharpening of the debate, but it is decisive for whether a pragmatic solution can still be found in the coming months."

CirculaTUM, the interdisciplinary research network of the Technical University of Munich (TUM), has been researching the decarbonization of the automotive sector since the beginning of the year. The findings of the most comprehensive study in this field to date reveal substantial misdirection in the European Union’s climate policy regulation. They were presented today, Tuesday, September 1, 2026, at a press briefing at TUM in Munich.

Purely battery-electric vehicles reduce CO₂ emissions by only 41 percent on average compared to combustion vehicles. Yet the European Commission counts them as 100 percent climate-neutral.

The reason: EU regulation measures CO₂ emissions only through tailpipe exhaust. Fossil carbon released during a vehicle’s production and through the electricity used to operate it, or not recovered during recycling, is not captured by EU Regulation 2019/631.

This scientifically indefensible stance by the EU will cause the passenger car sector’s 2030 target of reducing CO₂ emissions by 188 million tons to be missed by more than 100 million tons. Combustion vehicles are expected to still make up 78 percent of the vehicle fleet in 2030.

The researchers therefore propose a life-cycle-based standard for defossilization.

Drawing on 19 studies with 47 modeled scenarios, the White Paper documents a substantial misdirection of EU climate policy in the automotive sector, both economically and environmentally. Given the political decisions on the future of Europe’s automotive industry expected this fall, TUM President Prof. Thomas F. Hofmann commissioned the study at the beginning of the year.

Under the leadership of the three professors Johannes Fottner, Magnus Fröhling, and Tim Büthe, the study became the most comprehensive analysis to date of vehicles’ climate footprint across their entire life cycle, from production through use to disposal. The study demonstrates the central flaw in the EU’s CO₂ regulation, which measures a car’s climate footprint at a single point: the tailpipe. Instead, the TUM researchers propose a life-cycle-based standard that credits every verifiable contribution to reducing fossil emissions.

TUM’s analyses show that battery-electric vehicles reduce life-cycle emissions by an average of 41 percent (in about 92 percent of cases). The range of deviation from combustion vehicles’ CO₂ emissions extends from a reduction of 89 percent to an increase of as much as 21 percent. The tailpipe-only metric masks these differences, along with any climate contribution beyond the powertrain.

If a manufacturer invests in near-CO₂-free steel, a supplier decarbonizes battery production, or a recycling company keeps critical raw materials in the loop, none of that improves the regulation’s metric under the EU’s current rules by a single gram. Regulation that does not capture relevant contributions to decarbonization cannot reward them either. And what it does not reward, industry will not finance at scale.

“The greatest economic and environmental misdirection lies in the fact that the European Commission’s regulation is based exclusively on CO₂ emissions from tailpipe exhaust,” says Prof. Johannes Fottner. “Under this logic, purely battery-electric vehicles are considered climate-neutral. The industry’s diverse efforts to reach climate targets – through green steel or circular economy practices, for instance – go unrewarded as a result.” Europe, he adds, can no longer afford to overlook this emissions reality.

Provided by Technical University Munich---CirculaTUM

 

WRC

Ueno Rally del Paraguay 2026 - Sami Pajari takes third consecutive victory

Sami Pajari (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), a 24-year-old Finn, has taken his third consecutive victory in the FIA ​​World Rally Championship.

After victories in Estonia and Finland, Pajari lifted his third consecutive victory trophy in Paraguay, thus returning to the fight for the championship title. The Finn managed to maintain the lead on the final day of the competition and celebrate another victory with a lead of 25.8 seconds. With this triumph, the young Finn is back in the fight for the title.

Pajari is in second place in the championship, with 196 points on his account, which is exactly 20 points less than the number of points on his account of his teammate Elfyn Evans (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1). The Welshman had to settle for fourth place at the finish in Paraguay.

The Hyundai drivers, without much pressure, went full throttle and this time they won second and third place, which is an excellent result. Second place was taken by Hayden Paddon (Hyundai i20 N Rally1), who returned to the TOP category of rally sport, who finished the rally with a lead of 14.2 seconds ahead of his teammate, Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai i20 Rally1), who climbed to the lowest step of the podium.

After many problems on Friday, Oliver Solberg (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) can be satisfied with fifth place, who also won the Power Stage special, winning 5 points, and Josh McErlean (Ford Puma Rally1) reached sixth place. The fastest competitor on Sunday was Sebastien Ogier (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), but due to problems on Friday and the restart, he finished the rally in 34th place, over an hour behind. Thiery Neuville (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) and Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) will also want to forget this rally as soon as possible. Katsuta crashed first on Friday, then made another mistake on Sunday and leaves Paraguay with zero points.

The victory in the WRC2 competition, in which Rally2-specification cars are allowed, was won by home competitor Diego Dominguez (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2), who managed an excellent seventh place in the overall standings.

3. Ueno Rally del Paraguay 2026 - Objective:

1. Sami Pajari / Marko Salminen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:13:28.5

2. Hayden Paddon / John Kennard Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +25.8

3. Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +40.0

4. Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +45.1

5. Oliver Solberg / Elliott Edmondson Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +2:57.0

6. Josh McErlean / Eoin Treacy Ford Puma Rally1 +4:19.0

7. Diego Domínguez / Rogelio Peñate Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 +7:40.5

8. Gus Greensmith / Jonas Andersson Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 +8:03.2

9. Alejandro Galanti / Marcelo Toyotoshi Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 +10:23.0

10. Taylor Gill / Daniel Brkic Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 +10:36.9

by: Autonews

AUTONEWS

eBay bans airbag sales due to counterfeit parts

It was only a matter of time before it happened. eBay announced that airbags and related components would no longer be able to be advertised or sold on its online platform.

According to Collision Repair Mag, the ban is a direct response to the proliferation of counterfeit airbags on the market, as well as the fact that no one, including government agencies, seems to be able to determine where these parts come from.

eBay is a platform known for selling used car parts. Anyone can open an account and anyone can put something up for sale. Although stricter rules have been introduced in recent years about who can sell airbags, counterfeit parts have still found their way onto the platform, sold, and installed in cars without their owners knowing.

A history of airbag-related issues in the U.S...In 2025, a Michigan man was indicted for selling counterfeit airbags on eBay. At the time, the Michigan Department of Justice stated that more than 80% of counterfeit airbags do not function correctly.

Earlier this year, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed that eight drivers had died in accidents involving airbag inflators that failed. According to the website Carscoops, the agency cited the company Jilin Province Detiannuo Automobile Safety System.

Fatal incident...One such counterfeit airbag ended up in a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu driven by Destiny Byassee. According to Value Added Resource, the airbag later exploded in a car accident, killing her instead of saving her life.

Her family sued the manufacturer of the DTN, as well as eBay, arguing that eBay should have investigated the ad and removed it. The court dismissed the part of the lawsuit against eBay that claimed eBay did not create the ad itself or directly handle the counterfeit airbag. The manufacturer of the DTN was found liable and awarded $603 million in damages.

At the same time, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a separate subpoena to eBay requesting information about several user accounts that were selling DTN airbags.

NHTSA also requested information about the policies and procedures governing approved sellers, advertisements, and counterfeit airbags in particular.

Although the NHTSA did not accuse eBay of any wrongdoing, the pressure on the company was clearly intense. The ban on the sale of airbags is a way for eBay to completely withdraw from this risky segment.

What's changing as of September 24? As of September 24, 2026, eBay will no longer allow the sale of: airbags, pyrotechnic modules, and steering wheel airbag covers.

Sellers will have to remove existing listings for these parts by that date. If they don't, eBay will remove them.

In the U.S., the sale of airbag system components—including control units, crash sensors, passenger sensors, and diagnostic modules—will only be allowed to sellers who have been previously approved.

In other countries, sellers will still be able to sell these parts.

It was bound to happen someday, and now it finally has. eBay has announced that airbags and related components will no longer be listed or sold on its online auction platform. "This decision was made following a comprehensive review of the risks these products may pose to eBay users," said eBay in its announcement. Collision Repair Mag reports that the ban is a direct response to the proliferation of counterfeit airbags on the market and the fact that no one, including the government, seems able to figure out where they're coming from.

eBay is a great source for used auto parts. Anyone can make an account, and anyone can put stuff up for sale. Despite increasing restrictions on who gets approved to sell airbags over the years, counterfeits can and do make their way to the platform, get sold, and get installed in cars with their owners none the wiser. One of them found its way to Destiny Byassee's 2020 Chevy Malibu, an airbag that later exploded in a crash and killed her instead of saving her, according to Value Added Resource. Her estate sued manufacturer DTN, as well as eBay, who it claimed should have reviewed and dismissed the listing. A judge dismissed eBay's part of the lawsuit, since it did not create the listing or handle the counterfeit airbag itself. DTN was found guilty, to the tune of $603 million in damages.

At the same time, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a Special Order to eBay seeking information about several accounts that had sold DTN airbags. NHTSA also asked about policies and procedures involving approved sellers, listings in general, and counterfeit airbags in particular. While NHTSA has not accused eBay of any wrongdoing, the heat is clearly on. eBay's ban on airbag sales is its way of jumping out of the fire.

AUTONEWS

Worn traffic signs mislead AI vision systems, exposing autonomous driving risks

Recent research from South Korea has uncovered a critical vulnerability in artificial intelligence vision systems deployed for autonomous driving, demonstrating how naturally deteriorating traffic signs can consistently mislead machine learning models. The study, published in IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing, was led by Associate Professor Seong Tae Kim of Kyung Hee University and Assistant Professor Hong Joo Lee of the Seoul National University of Science and Technology.

To investigate this issue, the researchers developed Adversarial Wear and Tear, or AdvWT, a generative framework that simulates realistic environmental degradation on traffic signage. Utilizing a StarGAN-v2-based image-to-image translation model, the system learns a latent damage representation capable of reproducing diverse physical deterioration while preserving the semantic content of the signs. By progressively adjusting this representation, the framework generates visually authentic but adversarially optimized signage designed to trigger classification errors in deep neural networks.

The framework was rigorously tested across two traffic sign datasets and eight distinct recognition architectures, including lightweight convolutional neural networks like ResNet-18 and MobileNet, as well as transformer-based models. AdvWT achieved near-perfect attack success rates, demonstrating exceptional transferability across different model types. Human evaluation involving thirty-two participants confirmed that the synthetic damage closely matched the perceived realism of physically worn signs. Further validation through physical experiments, which involved printing and photographing adversarial signs under varied distances, angles, and lighting conditions, confirmed that the AI misclassification persisted across real-world capture scenarios.

Beyond identifying vulnerabilities, the research offers a practical pathway for enhancing AI reliability. The bidirectional architecture of the model can simultaneously reverse simulated damage, suggesting applications in digital signage restoration. More critically, integrating AdvWT-generated deteriorated imagery into training datasets significantly improved model generalization and resilience to naturally damaged signs. The authors emphasize that ensuring AI safety in high-stakes environments requires moving beyond average performance metrics to systematically expose and patch failure modes induced by real-world environmental factors. This approach provides a scalable method for stress-testing computer vision systems ahead of deployment in autonomous navigation, industrial automation, and other safety-critical domains.

“We focused on traffic signs because they are exposed to weather and environmental damage,” Lee said, noting that unlike a temporary sticker-based attack, natural deterioration persists until the physical sign is repaired or replaced.

To build AdvWT, the team trained a generative image-to-image model, based on StarGAN-v2, to learn the visual patterns of damaged and undamaged signs. By adjusting the model’s internal representation of “damage style,” the researchers could generate signs that looked naturally worn but were more likely to be misread by AI systems. In a survey of 32 people, the generated images were rated as similarly natural-looking to real damaged signs. Tested against two traffic-sign datasets and eight recognition architectures, AdvWT achieved near-perfect success in fooling lightweight models such as ResNet-18 and MobileNet, remained effective against transformer-based models, and showed the strongest ability among the methods tested to transfer its effect across different AI architectures. When the researchers printed and photographed the altered signs under varying distances, angles and lighting, the effect held up outside the digital environment as well.

The work builds on earlier research showing computer vision can be vulnerable to physical changes people would barely notice. A 2018 study found that stickers placed on a real stop sign caused a deep-learning system to misclassify it in all captured lab images and in 84.8 percent of frames during a moving-vehicle field test. A separate USENIX study found a detector failed to recognize altered stop signs in more than 85 percent of lab frames, and in 63.5 to 72.5 percent of frames in outdoor tests using posters and stickers.

Researchers caution that a vulnerability found in one vision model does not mean a real autonomous vehicle would make the same error, since commercial systems typically combine multiple cameras and sensors, maps and other redundancies. Waymo, for instance, says its driverless system has logged more than 220 million fully autonomous miles through March 2026, with far fewer serious-injury and airbag-deployment crashes than human drivers over the same routes, though those figures are company-reported and don’t rule out individual perception weaknesses. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has separately warned that developmental automated-driving systems can have limitations detecting hazards and predicting how other road users will move.

The researchers say AdvWT also has a defensive use: the same model can restore naturally damaged signs, and training recognition systems on AdvWT-generated damage improved their ability to handle real-world wear. Kim said building reliable AI requires continuously finding where systems fail and using that insight to make them more robust, adding that such work could matter for other high-stakes fields such as healthcare and finance over the next five to ten years. The findings add to a broader case that autonomous-vehicle developers should test perception systems against imperfect, real-world conditions rather than relying only on clean benchmark images, since road signs routinely fade, crack, corrode or become obscured well before anyone deliberately tampers with them.

Worn, faded, or vandalized traffic signs pose a critical risk to autonomous vehicles by misleading the AI vision systems that rely on them for navigation. Because computer vision models are heavily trained on pristine dataset images, real-world degradation can cause severe misclassification or total detection failures.

Texture distortion: Rust, peeling paint, and graffiti alter the sign's surface. AI models can misinterpret these random patterns as entirely different signs (similar to an adversarial attack).

Color fading: Faded red stop signs or yellow warning signs lose their high-contrast distinctiveness, making it hard for neural networks to segment them from the background.

Shape obscuration: Dented edges or partial obstructions (like dirt or stickers) break the geometric boundaries that algorithms use for quick geometric validation.

Inappropriate speed: A faded speed limit sign might be missed entirely, causing the vehicle to travel too fast or too slow for the zone.

ntersection failures: Misinterpreting a worn "Stop" or "Yield" sign can result in dangerous, unprompted entries into oncoming traffic.

Erratic braking: Ghost classifications—where a damaged sign is misread as a hazard—can cause the vehicle to slam on its brakes unexpectedly.

Seoul National University of Science and Technology.