AUTONEWS

Self-driving cars are poorly prepared for high-risk road situations—here's how AI can improve them

Self-driving cars have made impressive progress. They can follow lanes, keep their distance, and navigate familiar routes with ease. However, despite years of development, they still struggle with one critical problem: the rare and dangerous situations that cause the most serious accidents.

These "edge cases" include sharp bends on wet roads, sudden changes in slope, or situations where a vehicle approaches its physical limits of grip and stability. In real-world deployments, which often involve some level of shared control between driver and automation, such moments can arise from human misjudgment or from automated systems failing to anticipate rapidly changing conditions.

They happen infrequently, but when they occur, the consequences can be severe. A car might handle a thousand gentle curves perfectly, but fail on the one sharp bend taken a little too fast.

Current autonomous systems are not trained well enough to handle these moments reliably. From a data perspective, these events form what scientists call a "long tail": they are statistically rare, but disproportionately important.

Collecting more real world data does not fully solve the problem, because deliberately seeking out dangerous conditions is costly, slow, and risky. Many of these scenarios are simply too dangerous to practice in real life. We cannot deliberately put vehicles into near-crashes on public roads just to see whether the software can cope. If an AI system rarely sees extreme situations during training, it has little chance to respond well when they occur in real life.

In the current fleet of self-driving cars, a human in a control center is often at hand to intervene if something goes wrong. But to achieve fully driverless cars, researchers need to find ways of effectively training AI systems to handle high-risk situations.

Our research team at Dublin City University, working with colleagues at the University of Birmingham, has been tackling this gap.

We have developed a virtual "proving ground" that uses generative AI to safely create rare, high-risk driving scenarios, allowing vehicles to learn from them without putting anyone in danger. Instead of waiting for rare events to happen naturally, we can teach an AI model to create realistic but challenging driving scenarios on demand, including ones that push vehicles close to their physical limits.

Practicing safely...The generative AI that is used in our system is designed to learn from real driving data and then produces new, realistic scenarios. Crucially, it does not just reproduce typical roads and speeds.

It focuses deliberately on the most demanding situations including sharp curves, steep slopes and high speeds, combined in ways that challenge both human drivers and automated systems. This allows us to expand the range of situations a vehicle can experience during training, without ever leaving the simulator.

In effect, the car can "practice" dangerous situations safely, repeatedly and systematically. However, the goal of our work is not to replace the human driver entirely. Instead, we focus on human–machine shared driving: a partnership in which the car and the driver support each other.

Humans are very good at intuition, anticipation and adapting to unfamiliar situations. Machines excel at fast reactions and precise control. Shared driving aims to combine these strengths. In our system, control is continuously adjusted depending on risk.

When the road is straight and safe, the driver remains firmly in charge, but when the system detects a high-risk situation, such as a sharp bend that the driver may be approaching too quickly, it smoothly increases the level of automated assistance to help stabilize the vehicle. Importantly, this is not a sudden takeover. The transition is gradual and adaptive, designed to feel natural rather than intrusive.

To evaluate the system, we went beyond pure simulation. We used a driver-in-the-loop platform, where real people sit in a high-fidelity driving simulator and interact with the AI in real time. The results were encouraging. Less experienced drivers benefited most: when they struggled on complex or winding roads, the system provided timely support, reducing the risk of losing control.

At the same time, the system avoided unnecessary intervention during safe driving, helping drivers feel more engaged rather than overridden. Overall, this adaptive approach led to safer, smoother driving compared with fixed or overly conservative control strategies. It also allows both the human driver and the AI to improve at their handling of extreme road situations.

Autonomous vehicles are often judged by how well they handle routine driving, but public trust will ultimately depend on how they behave when things go wrong. By using generative AI to train vehicles on rare but critical scenarios, we can expose weaknesses early, improve decision making, and build systems that are better prepared for the real world.

Just as importantly, by keeping humans in the loop, we can design automation that supports drivers rather than replacing them outright. Fully driverless cars may still be some way off, but smarter training systems like this can help bridge the gap by making both human-driven and automated vehicles safer on today's roads.

Provided by The Conversation

AUTONEWS

Strong winds and gusts pose a danger to trucks, trailers, and vans

Portugal is well aware of the potential for heavy rain to cause damage. Recent storms have also highlighted the destructive risk of strong winds, which are more dangerous for certain vehicles.

In Portugal, it is (sadly) common to have to deal with the damage caused by excessive rainfall, as well as the floods and flash floods associated with this phenomenon, but the strong winds that hit us in the wake of the most violent storms are practically a novelty. And, when these winds reach speeds close to 200 km/h, the damage they can cause impresses anyone. If we have already seen what can happen to trees and the most fragile roofs, it is advisable to take precautions regarding the damage that these air masses, which move at speeds that not all cars can reach, can cause to vehicles, especially those with large surfaces that sometimes act like sails.

We are all familiar with how easily a flash flood can sweep away dozens of cars, but most drivers are less likely to be aware of the risk that certain types of vehicles face when the wind reaches unusual speeds. And it is not even necessary for the wind to equal or exceed 200 km/h, because even at more moderate speeds, it is easy to turn or unbalance and cause larger vehicles to overturn, sometimes throwing them against others traveling in the opposite direction.

While strong winds overturning vehicles are still (thankfully) a rarity in our country, there are other regions of the globe where this type of accident is quite common, and to prove it, we have used some images published this month on the social network X, in which a semi-trailer truck traveling on a national road is seen being overturned when it was traveling near Dumas, Texas. In a region where the US National Weather Service predicted winds between 56 and 72 km/h, with gusts of up to 113 km/h — well below the 200 km/h maximum felt in Portugal, more specifically in the central region — the consequences of the wind force hitting the side of the semi-trailer are visible, causing it to tilt to one side and resulting in the accident, without the tractor driver being able to prevent it. It is worth remembering that a 40-foot semi-trailer pulls a trailer that is 12.2 meters long and 2.6 meters high, which gives it a lateral surface area of ​​31.6 m2, a value equivalent to the mainsail of a generously sized sailboat reefed for strong winds.

According to local press, the authorities' criticism was mainly directed at drivers who, at the wheel of empty vehicles—meaning vehicles with little weight but a lot of area exposed to the wind—insisted on traveling through areas where excessively strong winds were expected. This implies extra caution for those driving trucks and semi-trailer tractors, whether empty or carrying very bulky but light loads. But while trucks are in the hands of professional drivers and companies specializing in logistics, there are other vehicles in the hands of private individuals and drivers, such as vans, caravans, and motorhomes, where the surface area exposed to the wind is proportionally larger than the weight they carry most of the time.

Still in Texas, a second accident occurred in recent days when a vehicle, not a truck but a pickup truck towing a smaller trailer, also veered off course due to the force of the wind, with the result being equally evident in a post published on X. Along with these two examples recorded on video, the local sheriff's office reported several other accidents in the region, resulting from the wind that particularly battered vehicles whose volume exceeded the weight of the vehicle combination.

Strong winds and sudden gusts create severe, often underestimated, hazards for commercial vehicles, specifically trucks, trailers, and vans. Due to their large surface area, known as "sail area," these high-profile vehicles are prone to swaying, drifting between lanes, or rolling over. Empty or light trailers are particularly susceptible to wind-induced accidents because they lack the weight to stabilize against lateral, or side, forces.

Key risks to vehicles(below):

Rollovers: Strong crosswinds can catch the side of a trailer and flip the vehicle entirely. Gusts of 60+ mph are considered severe, but lower speeds can still cause issues.

Jackknifing: Winds can push the trailer faster than the cab, causing it to swing out and create a 90-degree angle with the tractor.

Lane drift: Sustained winds and gusts can force vehicles out of their lanes, pushing them into adjacent lanes or off the road.

Danger to others: A swaying, tipping, or runaway trailer poses a major threat to surrounding vehicles, often resulting in multi-vehicle pileups. 

Vulnerable conditions & areas(below):

Empty trailers: Without heavy cargo to anchor them, trailers are highly unstable in high winds.

Open aeas & bridges: Open plains, mountain passes, bridges, and overpasses are high-risk areas for sudden, intense gusts.

Passing large vehicles: Passing or being passed by another large vehicle creates wind tunnels that can cause sudden, intense pressure changes, pushing or pulling the trailer.

Wind Speed thresholds: While dangerous, 30–40 mph winds require caution, 40–60 mph increases the risk of, and 60+ mph poses severe danger.

Safety tips for drivers(below):

Slow down immediately: Lower speeds reduce the force of the wind on the vehicle and improve control.

Keep two hands on the wheel: Maintain a firm, two-handed grip to handle sudden steering shifts.

Stop and park: If conditions become unmanageable, find a safe, sheltered location to pull over and wait for the wind to subside, ideally parking facing into the wind.

Check weather and route: Review wind forecasts and avoid exposed bridges or open roads when high-wind warnings are in effect.

Ensure proper cargo loading: Verify that all doors are secured and cargo is evenly distributed.

by Autonews

 

AUTONEWS

Parking-aware navigation system could prevent frustration and emissions

It happens every day—a motorist heading across town checks a navigation app to see how long the trip will take, but they find no parking spots available when they reach their destination. By the time they finally park and walk to their destination, they're significantly later than they expected to be.

Most popular navigation systems send drivers to a location without considering the extra time that could be needed to find parking. This causes more than just a headache for drivers. It can worsen congestion and increase emissions by causing motorists to cruise around looking for a parking spot. This underestimation could also discourage people from taking mass transit because they don't realize it might be faster than driving and parking.

MIT researchers tackled this problem by developing a system that can be used to identify parking lots that offer the best balance of proximity to the desired location and likelihood of parking availability. Their adaptable method points users to the ideal parking area rather than their destination.

In simulated tests with real-world traffic data from Seattle, this technique achieved time savings of up to 66% in the most congested settings. For a motorist, this would reduce travel time by about 35 minutes, compared to waiting for a spot to open in the closest parking lot.

While they haven't designed a system ready for the real world yet, their demonstrations show the viability of this approach and indicate how it could be implemented.

"This frustration is real and felt by a lot of people, and the bigger issue here is that systematically underestimating these drive times prevents people from making informed choices. It makes it that much harder for people to make shifts to public transit, bikes, or alternative forms of transportation," says MIT graduate student Cameron Hickert, lead author on a paper describing the work.

Hickert is joined on the paper by Sirui Li Ph.D. '25; Zhengbing He, a research scientist in the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS); and senior author Cathy Wu, the Class of 1954 Career Development Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS) at MIT, and a member of LIDS. The research is published in IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems. It is also available on the arXiv preprint server.

Accounting for the search for parking and the post-parking walking leg can increase the accuracy of personal vehicle travel time estimates, save time, and improve cross-mode comparability. Credit: arXiv (2026)

Probable parking...To solve the parking problem, the researchers developed a probability-aware approach that considers all possible public parking lots near a destination, the distance to drive there from a point of origin, the distance to walk from each lot to the destination, and the likelihood of parking success.

The approach, based on dynamic programming, works backward from good outcomes to calculate the best route for the user.

Their method also considers the case where a user arrives at the ideal parking lot but can't find a space. It takes into account the distance to other parking lots and the probability of success of parking at each.

"If there are several lots nearby that have slightly lower probabilities of success, but are very close to each other, it might be a smarter play to drive there rather than going to the higher-probability lot and hoping to find an opening. Our framework can account for that," Hickert says.

In the end, their system can identify the optimal lot that has the lowest expected time required to drive, park, and walk to the destination.

But no motorist expects to be the only one trying to park in a busy city center. So, this method also incorporates the actions of other drivers, which affect the user's probability of parking success.

For instance, another driver may arrive at the user's ideal lot first and take the last parking spot. Or another motorist could try parking in another lot but then park in the user's ideal lot if unsuccessful. In addition, another motorist may park in a different lot and cause spillover effects that lower the user's chances of success.

"With our framework, we show how you can model all those scenarios in a very clean and principled manner," Hickert says.

Crowdsourced parking data...The data on parking availability could come from several sources. For example, some parking lots have magnetic detectors or gates that track the number of cars entering and exiting.

But such sensors aren't widely used, so to make their system more feasible for real-world deployment, the researchers studied the effectiveness of using crowdsourced data instead.

For instance, users could indicate available parking using an app. Data could also be gathered by tracking the number of vehicles circling to find parking, or how many enter a lot and exit after being unsuccessful.

Someday, autonomous vehicles could even report on open parking spots they drive by.

"Right now, a lot of that information goes nowhere. But if we could capture it, even by having someone simply tap 'no parking' in an app, that could be an important source of information that allows people to make more informed decisions," Hickert adds.

The researchers evaluated their system using real-world traffic data from the Seattle area, simulating different times of day in a congested urban setting and a suburban area. In congested settings, their approach cut total travel time by about 60% compared to sitting and waiting for a spot to open, and by about 20% compared to a strategy of continually driving to the next closest parking lot.

They also found that crowdsourced observations of parking availability would have an error rate of only about 7%, compared to actual parking availability. This indicates it could be an effective way to gather parking probability data.

In the future, the researchers want to conduct larger studies using real-time route information in an entire city. They also want to explore additional avenues for gathering data on parking availability, such as using satellite images, and estimating potential emissions reductions.

"Transportation systems are so large and complex that they are really hard to change. What we look for, and what we found with this approach, is small changes that can have a big impact to help people make better choices, reduce congestion, and reduce emissions," says Wu.

Provided by Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

 

FLKON

F Ikon: The supercar from UAE with a Chevrolet Corvette powertrain

FLKON is a supercar brand made in the Emirates, engineered for true purists who live for the joy of driving. It is a road-legal machine designed to engage every sense, delivering an exhilarating connection between driver and car through precision engineering and uncompromising intent. Rooted in the ambition and craftsmanship of the UAE, FLKON exists to celebrate driving in its purest form.

The 5.5-liter Chevrolet V8 LT6 engine installed in the Corvette Z06 could soon appear in another exotic supercar. Its development was recently announced by the startup F lkon Cars. According to the project's creators, the car called F lkon will become the first national supercar of the United Arab Emirates.

Planned as a competitor to Ferrari and Koenigsegg models, F lkon does not even exist as a prototype yet - all photos and videos of the Arab supercar were generated using neural networks. To produce real F lkon cars, the startup from the UAE needs 88 million dirhams, or almost 20.5 million euros. F Ikon Cars plans to raise this amount by attracting investors.

The Corvette Z06's 5.5-liter Chevrolet V8 LT6 engine, with dual overhead camshafts in each head of the aluminum block, a flat crankshaft and a dry sump lubrication system, could soon appear in another exotic supercar. Its development was recently announced by the startup F lkon Cars. According to the project's creators, the car, called F lkon, will become the first national supercar of the United Arab Emirates.

Planned as a competitor to Ferrari and Koenigsegg, F lkon does not even exist as a prototype yet - all photos and videos of the Arab supercar were generated using neural networks. To produce real F lkon cars, the UAE startup needs 88 million dirhams, or almost 40 million marks. F Ikon Cars plans to raise this amount by attracting investors, who are promised a net annual income of 30 to 130 million dirhams (from 13.5 to 58.8 million KM).

If the money is raised, production of the supercar will begin in the Jebel Ali Free Zone in the UAE. According to the published marketing materials, the F Ikon will be a rear-wheel drive, mid-engine supercar, which is the best concept for true sports car enthusiasts. The F Ikon will be built on a carbon fiber monocoque, complemented by aerodynamic carbon fiber body panels with an aggressive design.

If the money is raised, production of the supercar will begin in the Jebel Ali free zone in the UAE. According to the published marketing materials, the F lkon will be a supercar with rear-wheel drive and a mid-engine, which is the best concept for true fans of sports driving. The F Ikon will be built on a carbon fiber monocoque, complemented by aerodynamic carbon fiber body panels with an aggressive design. To transfer the high power of the Chevrolet V8 5.5 liter LT6 engine, buyers will be able to choose between a 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic transmission. 

A number of customization options are also available, including gold-anodized suspension links. The exact timeframe for the start-up of the F Ikon supercar has not been announced. It will likely depend on the startup's financing. Currently, the Arab entrepreneurs have raised 65 percent of the required amount.

Autonews and Mundoquatrorodas

ASTON MARTIN

Man buys Aston Martin DBS 770 Ultimate for $510,486, drives 1.1mi, sells for $350,007

This 2023 Aston Martin DBS is one of just 300 coupe units in 770 Ultimate edition form, and it features a gray exterior and a blue leather interior. It was purchased new by its original owner for $510,486 a few years back, and after driving it for just 1,100 miles, that same person decided to auction it off to the highest bidder.

As fate would have it, the car sold, and it did so for $350,007. Yes, a lot of Aston Martins tend to go for six figures that end in 007, for obvious reasons.

Look, anyone who’s an Aston Martin fan should know that if you’re on somewhat of a budget, the best thing you can do is wait a few years because these cars depreciate like nobody’s business. It doesn’t matter if it’s some special edition model or something more conventional. They just can’t hold their value as well as their rivals from Porsche, Ferrari or Lamborghini.

It’s why I’m sometimes amused by those who compare Aston Martin with Ferrari. There’s very little the former can do to match the prestige of the Italian supercar-maker, and collectors are well aware of this. It’s like the current 12Cilindri vs. Vanquish debate. You can talk all you want about how the latter is perhaps better looking or how it would be your choice if you had one – that's basically nonsense.

It’s always going to be the New York Mets versus the New York Yankees. It’s just the way it is.

Now, about this 770 Ultimate. It’s a cool car; there’s no doubt about that. It looks awesome, with the gray exterior, black-finished grille, and carbon fiber accents. It has a carbon fiber rear spoiler, carbon fiber roof strakes, quad exhaust outlets, a carbon fiber roof, LED headlights and taillights, plus a set of 21” twin five-spoke alloy wheels with Pirelli rubber and black-finished brake calipers. This DBS also features a factory-standard Adaptive Damping System.

Meanwhile, inside is where you’ll find heated and ventilated seats, carbon fiber trim accents, a 360-degree camera, keyless entry, dual-zone automatic climate control, a Bang & Olufsen sound system, 770 Ultimate branding (center armrest and door sill), and a whole lot of blue leather that extends from the seats to the dashboard, steering wheel, center console, and door panels.

As for performance, there’s a lot of it, but it’s mostly targeted at the straight-line Hyper GT lifestyle. There’s a twin-turbocharged quad-cam 5.2-liter V12 engine, sending 759 horsepower to the rear wheels via a rear-mounted ZF eight-speed automatic gearbox with a limited slip differential and active torque vectoring.

In terms of 0-60 times, the 770 Ultimate should be able to get you there in a little over 3 seconds, before maxing you out around roughly 211 mph (340 kph). It’s certainly not lacking in the speed department.

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PORSCHE

Bought a new car for 235,000 euros and sold it for 285,000 euros after 825 km

A buyer in the US bought a new Porsche 911 GT3 for 235,000 euros and resold it after only 825 kilometers for around 285,000 euros. The Autorevolution portal writes that the first owner bought the vehicle from a Porsche dealer in California.

The great sports car comes with a 4.0L six-cylinder boxer engine with 502 hp, a seven-speed PDK transmission, and has numerous additional options such as front axle lift, rear axle steering and adaptive sports seats.

The car changed hands via the auction platform Bring a Trailer. Although the 911 GT3 is not officially a limited model, Porsche traditionally produces smaller quantities of the vehicle. This leads to long waiting times, and in this case, an increase in the price of a used car.

So some Porsches and super sports cars are a good investment…

Autonews 

FORD

Ford F-Max 2026: new Front, new Cockpit

Ford Trucks raises the bar for competition in the extra-heavy truck segment with the launch of the new F-MAX in the European market. The updated version introduces a series of innovations in exterior and interior design, in addition to being powered by the Ecotorq GEN2 engine, which Autonews got to know up close at IAA Transportaion 2024. This engine promotes fuel economy that can reach 11.3%.

On the outside, the F-MAX features a redesigned front end, with a front grille that integrates with the cab, giving it a modern and aerodynamic look. The headlights with black bezels, now standard on the model, reinforce the aesthetic and functional appeal. One of the technological highlights is the Digital Mirror System, which improves the aerodynamic efficiency of the assembly and maximizes driving safety through its Sentinel mode.

Fuel consumption decreased by 11.3%...But, far from it: Ford Trucks takes the opportunity to surprise and suddenly publishes photos of an even more renewed F-Max online. The manufacturer refers to it as the "new F-Max" and, in addition to the modern design, cites a reduction in fuel consumption of up to 11.3% as the main feature of the new generation. The reason for this truly impressive efficiency gain is quickly explained: firstly, it is due to detailed aerodynamic improvements, such as the active closing of the front grille, spoilers on the A-pillars and the rearview mirrors with camera, already present in the current model, which, unlike competitors, are mounted on the door panels, below the side windows, in Ford Trucks, instead of above, on the edge of the roof. Secondly, it is due to the second-generation Ecotorq diesel engine, developed in-house.

The refined inline six-cylinder engine still uses a displacement of 12.7 liters, but now offers a maximum power of 510 hp and 2,600 Nm of torque – an increase of 10 hp and 100 Nm compared to its predecessor. It is coupled to a 16-speed automated transmission with overdrive, also developed in-house, which reduces the engine speed to around 1,200 rpm at 85 km/h in the tractor's standard configuration.

Transcontinental-style radiator grille...Ford Trucks didn't limit itself to just the technical aspects of the new model. The new F-Max also aims to impress drivers with its looks and comfort. "The redesigned F-Max grille integrates perfectly with the body, giving the vehicle a modern and elegant appearance," writes the manufacturer. And, in fact, the new front end, with its standard darkened headlights and body-colored grille, looks even more refined and harmonious than the previous model. In addition, the horizontal bars in the body color will certainly remind longtime Ford fans of the beloved Transcontinental. A subtle reference to the legendary 1970s model – which is already a reason to celebrate!

The interior features a 12-inch digital instrument panel and a 12.4-inch multimedia display that allows the driver to customize themes and information flow, as well as an induction cell phone charger. Security in parking situations has been enhanced with the inclusion of the Max Security Lock.

Modern cockpit, practical layout of the sleeping area...Inside, however, the last similarities with the historic pickup have definitively disappeared: in the new generation, the electronic ignition has been replaced by a start/stop button. The tachometer and speedometer have disappeared, giving way to a fully digital 12-inch instrument panel. Even the handbrake lever with its leather boot is gone; the electronic parking brake is now standard on the F-Max. The new minimalist look goes well with the robust Ford and reinforces its ambition to compete on an equal footing with already established European automakers. This is also demonstrated by the new 12.4-inch touchscreen multimedia display and the wireless smartphone charger.

To complement the engine's internal efficiency, the exterior design was meticulously revised by the brand's engineers from an aerodynamic perspective. The new front of the Ford F-Max now features a redesigned grille that integrates seamlessly with the cabin, giving it a modern and elegant appearance while channeling air more efficiently.

However, the most notable and safest aerodynamic innovation is the Digital Mirror System. By replacing bulky traditional rearview mirrors with high-definition cameras and internal screens, the Ford F-Max not only significantly reduces wind resistance, which translates directly into fuel economy, but also dramatically improves driving safety.

The new voice assistant could be really good, if it works well. According to Ford Trucks, it should be fluent in 13 languages ​​and control standard functions such as air conditioning, radio and hands-free phone system. These functions can also be controlled by the drivers of the new F-Max from the cab, using a handy 7-inch touchscreen on the rear wall of the cab. The cab, which the manufacturer claims has a volume of 13 cubic meters, also features a spacious refrigerator, a rear upper storage compartment and side walls illuminated by individually adjustable indirect ambient light. A cozy spot for a good night's sleep, especially since Ford Trucks, like many competitors, offers a Max Security Lock mechanical lock for the new F-Max. A practical feature that increases the anticipation for the first long trip in the new Ford.

by Autonews

VW

Golf Bentley W12-650

What is the Volkswagen Golf W12-650? Back in 2007, Volkswagen needed something jaw-dropping to show off at Worthersee GTI-Treffen – a GTI fan festival hosted in Austria every year until it was canned in 2024 amid friction with the local community.

So two months before GTI-Treffen, VW designers started raiding the group’s vast parts bin to create something truly astonishing. It started with the humble body of a fifth-generation Volkswagen Golf GTI, but the 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine wasn’t quite crazy enough.

So the 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged W12 engine from the Bentley Continental GT was shoehorned in. It would never fit under the Golf’s bonnet, so out came the rear seats and the whopping engine was slotted right behind the driver.

To put all 650hp to the ground it had the rear axle from a Lamborghini Gallardo and the automatic gearbox from the Volkswagen Phaeton luxury limousine, as well as the front brakes from an Audi RS4 to make sure it can stop properly.

The body was also widened by 6.3 inches to make way for both the side-mounted air intakes and the massive tyres, and the W12-650 also sits almost 3.0 inches lower to the ground than the standard Golf GTI.

All these changes come together to create a hot hatchback with as much power as a modern Lamborghini Urus, and one which does 0-60mph in less than four seconds. The W12-650 also achieved a top speed of 201mph, making it just as fast as the Lamborghini Gallardo.

I was hugely excited to get to see the W12-650 in the metal. Ever since I watched the feature on Top Gear back in 2007 with this car, I’ve been obsessed with it. The car has been wrapped red for the launch of the Golf GTI 50, but I reckon it looked way better in its original white paint. Despite this, the attention to detail is still fantastic.

I thought a concept car as complex as this hastily thrown together in two months would be falling apart 19 years later, but the build quality is really impressive. Nothing looks tacked-on or like an afterthought – it’s much closer to a production car from the outside than I expected.

And it just looks so cool. I always thought the Mk5 Golf GTI was the best-looking of the lot, but the W12-650 is on another level. The ridiculous flared arches and massive side vents are plain juvenile, and I love it for that.

Up close there are also some hidden details which you may have missed on TV, such as the roof vent behind the rear spoiler and the hidden vents behind the rear windows. The bootlid is also sealed shut, which I can only imagine makes maintenance a pain.

Stepping inside, it does become more obvious that this is just a concept car. None of the buttons or switches are real, but it does still look the part. The transparent switch guards on the dashboard give it a racecar vibe, as do the black and white Alcantara bucket seats.

The Golf W12-650 is an example of a car company making something just because it can. It’s a showcase of what can be done when the designers aren’t hamstrung by emissions regulations, or the need for a spacious boot or back seats.

Above all else, the W12-650 is dumb in the best possible way. Putting a 650hp W12 engine in the middle of a Golf was always going to end in chaos, and reviews of the car at the time were mainly centred on just how terrifying it was to drive. It was snappy, unpredictable and just downright hilarious.

It sometimes happens that before we're even allowed to get into a car, we're presented with a form marked "embargo." By signing it, we solemnly promise not to reveal anything about the car in question before a certain date. That's why you sometimes see many car websites publish a review at the exact same time: the embargo has expired. But an embargo on a car that's almost 20 years old is something new.

Because you're looking at the 2007 Golf GTI W12-650. In case you're wondering why everyone is suddenly writing about the car: it's because the embargo has expired. Because there's absolutely nothing new, except the color. Volkswagen's crazy project was originally white, but for the GTI's 50th anniversary, they wrapped the car in Tornado Red. This is the color of the original GTI. And the color is available for the first time on the eighth generation of the GTI. The name contains all the information you need to know. It's Volkswagen's over-the-top answer to the Clio V6. Volkswagen put a twin-turbocharged W12 engine with 650 hp in the back of this fifth-generation Golf. The rear axle and rear brakes come from a Lamborghini Gallardo, the front brakes from an Audi RS4, and the gearbox from a Volkswagen Phaeton. The car is 16 centimeters wider at the back, and the tires are 295 millimeters wide.

The best part: the car actually works. Concept cars are usually held together with a bit of chewing gum and duct tape, but not here. You can simply get in, turn the key, and drive away. It happens without any hesitation. Okay, we weren't allowed to exceed 30 km/h (19 mph), but that doesn't matter. We managed to cross it off our bucket list.

The W12 GTI has rear-wheel drive and accelerates to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.7 seconds. Its top speed is 325 km/h (201 mph). A production Golf has never been this fast. Air enters through the rear windows for the engine, and the roof acts as a giant spoiler. Volkswagen does mention in an old press release that these kinds of modifications can void your factory warranty. Good to know.

Because it's possible, actually. Every year, there was a big party in Wörthersee, Austria, where Volkswagen enthusiasts gathered. Almost every year, Volkswagen came up with something fun for the occasion. This was the most extreme toy they ever devised for the GTI meeting. Unfortunately, there were never any real plans to put the car into production.

by Autonews