The Porsche 911 is probably every driver's dream, as it represents the pinnacle of sports cars with internal combustion engines. It wouldn't be what it is without its six-cylinder engine, but that doesn't mean it can't be changed. Some aftermarket companies are swapping gasoline engines for electric ones, such as Kindred's new electric Porsche 911 G series.
The Porsche has been given Kindred's Grayback electric powertrain with a rear-mounted electric motor. It delivers 380 horsepower and 380 Nm of torque. It's powered by a 400-volt, 62.2 kWh battery and has a 40/60 weight distribution. Kindred claims a range of 362 kilometers.
The electric Porsche 911 also has "sharper response, more predictable handling and a power delivery that enhances, not overpowers, the car's character." This transformation can be done on 911 models produced from 1974 to 1989.
Inside, Kindred has added a few modern touches, such as wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, an upgraded HVAC system, and heated front seats. It also comes with a MagSafe wireless charger, a Nappa leather interior, and modern controls.
Kindred will produce and deliver its electric 911 from the first quarter of 2027. Details on color and options will be revealed in August. The starting price is $299,000, and production is limited to just 12 units. Each Porsche will undergo a complete restoration.
FORD
Ford Mustang TLD Signature Edition
Ford has expanded its Mustang Ecoboost lineup with a special edition Mustang TLD Signature Edition.
Since 1981, Troy Lee Designs has enlivened the world of motorsports with bright, bold, and colorful designs. Starting in the two-wheeled world of motocross, it’s since attracted star drivers in NASCAR, IndyCar, and Formula 1. And now, the “Art and Speed” style that Troy Lee pioneered is coming to the Ford Mustang EcoBoost with the new TLD Signature Edition package.
“At Troy Lee Designs, we’re known for our paint shop, where we’ve painted helmets for some of the fastest racers in the world — from motocross and mountain biking to IndyCar and even Formula 1,” Troy Lee said. “I love all the details we were able to achieve with the TLD Signature Edition package, but getting to work with the iconic Mustang pony and incorporate that into the design was really special.”
Collaborating with the Ford Design team, Troy Lee Designs developed vivid red, orange, purple, and yellow body side graphics that integrate the Pony badge and the company's logo.
“[The pony] is such a recognizable symbol, so being able to reinterpret it through the Troy Lee Designs lens was a dream,” Lee said.
Available exclusively in Shadow Black, the bright graphics and standard Sinister Bronze 19-inch wheels provide sharp contrasts that help the TLD Signature Edition stand out on the road.
For the TLD Signature Edition, the Ford Design team selected the hood, front fascia, and grille from the Mustang GT.
The special Mustang is named after Troy Lee Designs (TLD), a renowned helmet designer who collaborated with Ford’s design team on the project. The package includes unique red, orange, purple and yellow side graphics, among other things.
The car, exclusively available in Shadow Black, also features 19-inch Satin Bronze wheels, Satin Bronze badging and Satin Bronze front grille vents. The package also includes colorful hood graphics.
Sinister bronze details tie the look together. They appear on the 19-inch wheels, the grille nostrils, and the pony emblem. The theme is consistent, so the package feels more complete than just a set of decals.
Ford has never shied away from special edition Mustangs. There’s always something on the program – special heritage track models or just appearance tweaks – that gives buyers a little more personality than the standard car.
This time, Ford has teamed up with Troy Lee Designs (TLD) to introduce the Mustang TLD Signature Edition. If you follow motorsports, you’ve seen TLD’s work – custom-painted helmets and gear that stand out in motocross, IndyCar, NASCAR, and even Formula 1. The company even collaborated with Land Rover over two decades ago and with Mazda a few years later. Now this is the scope.
The goal: to bring the same “Art and Speed” vibe to a Ford Mustang you can actually buy.
GT Attitude, EcoBoost Foundation…The exclusive 2026 Mustang EcoBoost Premium TLD Edition starts with the four-cylinder coupe but borrows some of the V8’s attitude. Up front, it gets the hood, front fascia, and grille from the Mustang GT, so it looks sharper and more serious than a regular EcoBoost.
Beyond differentiating this package from the standard Mustang EcoBoost with its more purposeful appearance, the Mustang GT components allow additional creative touches. The nostrils on either side of the grille are finished in Sinister Bronze, as is the pony badge at the center. And for the hood, colorful graphics are included. The cabin is available exclusively in Carmine Red and includes a serialized IP badge.
Inside, it's equally bold. The cabin is all Crimson Red, which stands out against the black exterior. Each car gets a numbered emblem on the dashboard, so there's no mistaking this for a regular Mustang.
It only comes in Shadow Black, which sets the stage for the bold graphics that run along the sides. Red, orange, purple, and yellow details distort the usual pony emblem and extend throughout the body. It looks more like something you'd see on a race car than in a showroom.
Sinister bronze details tie the look together. They appear on the 19-inch wheels, the grille nostrils, and the pony emblem. The theme is consistent, so the package feels more complete than just a set of decals.
Mechanically, the TLD Signature Edition retains the usual EcoBoost setup. The 2.3-liter turbocharged engine remains unchanged, so you get the same accessible performance and lighter front end as other four-cylinder Mustangs.
Ford isn't building many of them – just 550 units. That makes it one of the rarest appearance packages you can get on a new Mustang right now.
The TLD Signature Edition package costs $3,000, so it's an easy way to stand out without jumping to a higher level or seeking more power. Orders for the 2026 Mustang lineup – including this one and the Mustang RTR – open on March 27. Deliveries begin later this year.
Meanwhile, the new Mustang Dark Horse SC, which starts at $103,490, will be available to order in April.
Autonews
terça-feira, 31 de março de 2026
AUTONEWS
Self-driving cars may need to adapt to share roads safely with runners, study reveals
A new study on how runners may choose to interact with self-driving cars is challenging assumptions on how automated vehicles will navigate safely on the roads of the future. Researchers at the University of Glasgow and KAIST in South Korea led the study, which used augmented reality tech to explore for the first time how runners' behavior differs from walkers when they are crossing roads and junctions.
Their research revealed that runners are much more likely to take risks when negotiating traffic than walkers are. During the study, the runners often took less time to process the road conditions around them and sometimes chose to run ahead of oncoming cars in order to maintain their target pace. On several occasions, they were "struck" by virtual vehicles in the team's simulated road tests.
The team's findings could help develop better safety systems for automated vehicles, or AVs, which have largely been trained to expect the people around them to behave much more cautiously while walking. They suggest that displays of lights on the exteriors of cars called "external Human-Machine Interfaces," or eHMIs, could enable them to communicate their intentions more quickly and effectively.
Well-designed eHMIs could replace the usual non-verbal cues like waves, eye movements, and deceleration which human drivers currently use to show people around them how they intend to proceed. Based on their research, the team suggest an eHMI design called DualBeam, which uses new types of lights on the vehicle to help runners make swift but well-informed crossing decisions.
Professor Stephen Brewster, of the University of Glasgow's School of Computing Science said, "In our research group, we've been working for several years now on developing eHMIs which could help self-driving cars share the roads safely with vulnerable road users such as cyclists. In doing so, we realized that there's been very little research into how runners might expect to interact with driverless cars.
"That's surprising on a couple of levels. One is that running is the most popular physical activity in the world, with more than 600 million people estimated to run recreationally. The other is that self-driving car journeys are booming, with a million AV trips a month in the U.S. alone. Clearly, it will be increasingly important to ensure that runners and AVs can share the roads safely in the years to come. We were keen to explore how self-driving cars could use eHMIs to speak the language of runners as well as bike riders to help maximize road safety."
In order to test how walkers and runners might interact and communicate with self-driving cars, the team used an augmented-reality headset to mix real-world conditions with a life-size simulated AV. The virtual environment enabled them to safely test how self-driving cars might behave around runners and walkers in the future.
The study's 24 participants went outdoors wearing the headset, which showed them a virtual urban environment overlaid on the real world. The participants either walked or ran towards a junction with a simulated AV approaching.
The study setup. The top images show a participant using an AR simulator to navigate a virtual crossing while either walking or running, and their point-of-view of an augmented urban environment in the simulator. The bottom images show the tested eHMI conditions: LightRing (red/green color changing lights), CyanBand (animated cyan lights on the front) or no eHMI at all. Credit: arXiv (2026)
The simulated car had either no safety features displayed on its exterior, or one of two eHMIs. One eHMI, a ring of lights around the car the team called a LightRing, showed green to indicate it was safe for the participant to continue or red to help them decide to stop. The other, a strip of animated cyan lights called CyanBand, swept the lights inward to show it is slowing and in the opposite direction to display acceleration. Sometimes the car stopped for the participants, and sometimes it did not.
Although both runners and walkers reported that they found it easier to determine the car's intentions if it used an eHMI, the differences between their behavior in all cases was striking.
When walking, participants had time to slow down or stop and verify the eHMI signals with the vehicle's driving or braking behavior. This increased their trust in the AV's intentions and allowed them to make safe and informed crossing decisions.
In contrast, when running, participants felt more motivated to cross to maintain exercise. They were unlikely to slow down or stop when approaching the crossing. This gave them less time to make informed decisions, resulting in an overreliance on the display, riskier crossing decisions, and a lack of trust on the AV's intentions.
The runners struggled to process the animation of the CyanBand lights in the limited time they had to focus on them while approaching the junction, while walkers found it useful. The LightRing display's simple red-and-green color scheme, on the other hand, was much more immediately legible to both groups.
Runners also collided with the vehicle three times during the study, while walkers avoided any contact with the cars. In two of the collisions, the runners saw a red light but chose to run ahead anyway, misjudging the vehicle's pace and causing a simulated collision.
Ammar Al-Taie is one of the paper's corresponding authors. He worked on the research at the University of Glasgow before moving to KAIST in South Korea, where he is now based.
He said, "I'm a runner myself, and I've noticed that crossing roads while running feels different than when I'm walking. I'm much more motivated to keep moving because slowing to let a car pass and accelerating again takes a real physical effort. Paired with that is an increased mental effort of trying to process what's around me as I'm running, and judging whether it's safe for me to keep going at my current pace.
"In this study, we found evidence to suggest these are common feelings for runners, and that they do seem more tolerant of risk if it helps them keep moving. That makes them a riskier class of road user for self-driving cars to deal with, and suggests that more needs to be done to test self-driving cars with runners as well as walkers, and to find new ways to facilitate communication between cars and people."
In the paper, the team propose adapting their findings into a new eHMI called DualBeam, which places two rows of lights around each side of the car with colors chosen to be quickly understandable but avoiding the over-familiarity of red and green. Instead, an amber ring would signify the car does not intend to yield, while a purple one would show that the car intends to let the runner pass safely.
The team also propose that DualBeam could integrate an early-warning system which would send vibration or sound alerts to runners' smart watches or earbuds to highlight an approaching AV, enabling them to better assess risk without breaking stride.
Provided by University of Glasgow
LAND ROVER
Freelander 97 Concept: made in china
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and China's Chery announced plans to jointly develop a new range of electrified vehicles for their joint venture, CJLR, back in 2024. These cars will be sold under the new Freelander brand, which is the name Land Rover has previously used for its compact SUV. Finally, today the first new Freelander was presented, but still in concept form.
It is an electric 4x4 model Freelander 97, with the number 97 in the name paying tribute to the year of release of the first Land Rover Freelander (which appeared in 1997).
The Freelander 97 also references the design of its Land Rover namesake with its distinctive diagonal C-pillar, which is reminiscent of the detachable hardtop of the original short-wheelbase car.
According to previous announcements, this first new Freelander should be launched on the market in the second half of 2026.
The brand has announced plans to introduce a new model every six months for the next five years. Each will be offered with a choice of EV, REx or PHEV powertrains.
The partnership leverages the brands’ individual strengths, leveraging Chery’s manufacturing (in Changshu) and development resources, along with Land Rover’s design capabilities. All vehicles will be SUVs that will use Chery’s previously announced vehicle architecture. The platform is designed to support both fully electric, extended-range powertrains and plug-in hybrids, while also enabling ultra-fast charging.
The first model “reflects the original spirit of the Freelander, but has been modernized to appeal to discerning, tech-savvy Chinese consumers,” Chery said.
The Freelander range will first launch in China, with “potential for global expansion,” including Europe.
The Freelander will sit in a different market segment from JLR’s imported top-of-the-line models in the country, such as the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Land Rover Defender.
JLR has announced that the Freelander will be sold through a network of its own dedicated dealerships run by Chery.
by Autonews
AUTONEWS
Before launching to the Moon, the following happens: the heaviest vehicle on the planet goes into action
The Artemis II mission takes off (probably) today towards the Moon… but first, a unique machine takes center stage, capable of moving more weight than any other vehicle ever built.
It's called Crawler Transporter 2… and it is, literally, a beast. A colossal and unique vehicle, capable of moving the 2,500-ton SLS rocket that will propel the Orion spacecraft, carrying four astronauts around the Moon 55 years later.
But before taking off, it needed to be transported from the assembly area to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This task falls to the Crawler, a monster 40 meters long by 35 meters wide (to give you a better idea of its size, three of them would fill an entire football stadium) and up to 8 meters high, weighing, believe it or not, 3,000 tons! (The equivalent of 15 times the weight of the Statue of Liberty, to continue with American icons) and with enough power to move more than 8,000 tons from the assembly area to the launch pad.
Numbers so immense that they are almost impossible to imagine... and which represent an unparalleled record on the entire planet. In fact, NASA's Crawler Transporter 2 is, according to the Guinness World Records, the heaviest self-propelled vehicle in the world.
16 engines, 1.6 km/h... and insane fuel consumption.
And how do they do it? Thanks to 16 locomotives (each with 375 horsepower), two 2,220 hp diesel engines each, and their two extremely powerful electric generators (capable of producing 1,500 kW each, enough energy to power 17 international space stations). Enough energy to transport not only rockets or spacecraft, but also the launch tower.
The speed at which this happens varies depending on the spacecraft being moved, as specific calculations are made for each one to ensure maximum safety. However, they are designed to roll at 3.2 kilometers per hour when unloaded and 1.6 km/h with their payload. In the case of the Artemis II launch, the operation took 12 hours... that is, much slower than if it had been done at a human pace.
Another curious fact is the Crawler's fuel consumption, which, as you can easily imagine, is superhuman. It has a diesel tank with a capacity of 19,000 liters, and with each liter it can barely travel 2.5 meters. In other words, compared to cars, its consumption would be almost 39,000 liters per 100 kilometers. A number that defies all automotive logic.
It has a variable-height hydraulic suspension system (between six and eight meters) that allows it to attach under the mobile launch platform where the rocket is located, raise it (leveling each corner precisely and independently), and move it the 6.8 kilometers that separate the assembly building from platform 39B, from where Artemis II will depart with the goal of orbiting the Moon.
More than 50 years moving rockets...The giant conveyor belts have been in operation for more than half a century. Their first mission was with the Saturn V rocket of the Apollo program in 1967, and today they continue to be fundamental to the new space age (in fact, they will also participate in future missions to Mars). During this period, they have traveled more than 8,000 kilometers, almost the distance from coast to coast of the United States.
And today this will happen again. Because before humanity returns to the Moon… someone needs to get the rocket to the launch line.
The Crawler-Transporter 2 (CT-2) is a giant self-propelled vehicle from NASA, weighing approximately 3,000 tons, used to transport the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis program. In operation since 1965, this 60-year-old behemoth carries payloads of up to 8 million kg at a maximum speed of 1.6 km/h from the VAB to the launch pad.
Key highlights of the Crawler-Transporter 2(below):
Payload capacity: The CT-2 has been reinforced to support payloads of up to 18 million pounds, essential for the Artemis program.
Dimensions and weight: Measuring approximately 30 x 35 meters, the CT-2 weighs approximately 6.6 million pounds (about 3,000 tons).
Steering and Movement System: It has eight tracks (two per corner), each with 57 shoes, weighing 1 ton each. It uses a hybrid diesel-electric engine system to move.
History: Used for the Apollo (Saturn V), Space Shuttle, and now Artemis programs.
Consumption: Consumes approximately 390 liters of diesel per kilometer.
The "Rock Path": Travels on a special gravel path at a maximum speed of about 1.6 km/h to 3.2 km/h.
Maintenance and longevity: The CT-2 has undergone significant overhauls, including engine replacement, to ensure its operation for years to come.
Operating team: A "rollover" (trip to the platform) requires a specialized technical team, with about 18 to 20 people monitoring the systems.
The CT-2, along with its twin CT-1, represents one of the largest self-propelled vehicles in the world.
Autonews and Mundoquatrorodas
segunda-feira, 30 de março de 2026
AUTONEWS
SimRacing: Truck driver keeps driving virtually while stuck in traffic
Truck drivers need a way to unwind, too - it's just unfortunate that most of them have to spend their nights stuck in the same vehicle they spend their workdays in. But one driver has found what might just be the ultimate solution: just replace the passenger seat with a $6,000 sim racing rig. You can even get in a few laps while you're stuck in traffic.
That's exactly what Reddit user ZanaZamora has done. You can see it all in the clip below (via Highlight Reel), but the driver, at a standstill behind backed-up road traffic, simply hops over to the passenger seat to start a racing lap on a full-fat sim rig.
"Been waiting to get stuck in traffic ever since installing this rig just to make this video lol," ZanaZamora says in the post. "Road was shut down due to an accident, said we could u turn across the median, I said one minute I need to do something REAL QUICK."
A long-haul truck driver shows on Reddit just how far gaming in a truck can go: instead of a simple console in his cab, he has installed a complete SimRacing station. The setup, which costs around $6,000, may seem a little over the top, but it could be entirely justified in the monotonous day-to-day life of a trucker.
It is not uncommon for long-haul truck drivers to make themselves comfortable in the cab of their truck with a TV and a console. Reddit user u/ZanaZamora, however, has taken the idea of gaming in a truck to the extreme. Instead of a conventional gaming setup, he has built a full SimRacing rig into the cab of his truck.
According to the Redditor’s own account, he dug deep into his pockets for the tech. The SimRacing setup alone – including force-feedback base, steering wheel, pedals, chassis and seat – cost around $1,600. On top of that comes additional equipment for flight simulations. The driver estimates around $1,100 for the flight stick, throttle and rudder pedals. The trucker is also by no means going for a budget option when it comes to the PC.
According to his own statement, his system includes a build with a 14th-generation Intel Core i9 and a GeForce RTX 5080. The PC alone reportedly cost him around $2,800. On top of that come an ultrawide monitor and a Meta Quest 3, at around $300 each. According to his own calculations, the total setup comes to around $6,000. At first glance, that kind of custom build may seem excessive. From the perspective of a long-haul driver, however, the effort is quite understandable.
Anyone who is on the road for days at a time spends many hours alone and does not always have many meaningful ways to fill that time. Unlike a movie or a few videos on a phone, SimRacing is something you can really work at and steadily improve in. According to the Redditor, even a half-hour break is enough to drive a few clean laps, work on braking points, or simply clear your head for a moment. Life as a long-distance truck driver involves a great deal of routine and a certain monotony. In that context, a hobby that combines concentration and ambition can justify a $6,000 investment. By his own account, the Redditor has even taken part in an iRacing series in recent months and worked his way up to 151st place worldwide in the GT4 series.
TUNNING
ABT Audi SQ5 Sportback
Audi's SUV from the D segment that hides behind the SQ5 badge is powered by a three-liter V6 turbocharged petrol engine that develops 367 hp and 550 Nm of maximum torque. Far from average, but still not enough for the specialists at ABT who took care of the additional "stable".
The potential of the turbocharged V6 engine that powers the current SQ5 is enough for the Audi SUV, which is offered in two body styles, to reach "hundreds" from a standstill in just 4.5 seconds and reach the electronically limited 250 km/h without any special hesitation. More than enough for most, not least for the enthusiasts at one of the most famous German tuning companies that deals (also) with cars from Ingolstadt.
For owners of the Audi SQ5 Sportback in Kempten, they have prepared two tuning packages that will make the SUV even more attractive, powerful and faster. With the basic package offered under the name "Abt Power S", the engine power is 440 hp, but there is also the "Abt Power R" option with which the driver can count on 470 "horses" and 650 Nm of torque, which will (with better intermediate acceleration and unchanged top speed) ensure that the SQ5 reaches 0 to 100 km/h even faster.
With the additional "stedt" have also arrived new carbon body components that make the SQ5 Sportback look even more "warlike", which is also contributed by the matte black quad tailpipes of the adaptive exhaust system, and behind the ultra-light 22-inch black ABT EVO rims with 255/35 tires, new springs are hidden, with which the ground clearance is lower by 45 millimeters.
For all the elements that come with the "Abt Power R" package, including installation costs and TÜV inspection, you need to set aside 24,520 euros. ABT emphasizes that all components can be ordered separately. Good news for those who do not want to change the original look of their SQ5; for 4,590 euros they can count on an engine that develops 440 hp.
