Category Archives: NEW CARS

NEW CARS

Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS “Tribute to Transfăgărășan” – Cloud-Kissing in Style

The Transfăgărășan. Jeremy Clarkson once called it “the best road in the world” — and for once, the internet didn’t shout him down. Ninety kilometres of glorious, switchbacking madness draped over the Făgăraș Mountains like some mischievous civil engineer was doodling in spaghetti. And now, it’s got its own Porsche.

Not just any Porsche, mind. This is the 911 Carrera 4 GTS “Tribute to Transfăgărășan” — a Sonderwunsch special so bespoke that only ten will ever exist. Each one was co-designed by its owner with the Porsche Individualisation & Classic team in Zuffenhausen. Think haute couture, but with more tyre smoke.

The first example has just landed in Romania, its Graphite Grey bodywork kissed with Guards Red wheel spokes, matching headlight rings, and the tiniest wink to patriotism — blue, yellow, and red engine grille slats. On the doors, a subtle “Tribute to Transfăgărășan” script; on the B-pillars, a badge that whispers “I’m one of ten — jealous yet?”

Inside? Exactly the kind of obsessive detailing Porsche fanatics dream about. The tribute logo glows on the door sills, is stitched into the headrests, and embossed into the centre armrest. Even the passenger dashboard gets in on the love letter to Romania’s mountain pass.

Underneath the art project lives something seriously potent: Porsche’s new T-Hybrid setup, a 3.6-litre flat-six good for 541PS and 610Nm. Zero to 100km/h in three seconds flat. Top speed: 312km/h. That’s quick enough to make the Transfăgărășan’s hairpins arrive like incoming artillery fire. And unlike plug-in hybrids, it doesn’t carry a small power station around — just 50kg more than the old GTS.

This all kicked off in 2024, when both the Transfăgărășan and the 911 Turbo celebrated their 50th birthdays. The Romanian and Moldovan Porsche clubs threw a mountain party with 110 cars, 200 guests, and enough flat-six noise to keep the marmots awake until Christmas. Porsche’s Sonderwunsch team was so smitten they decided to immortalise the moment in metal and leather.

Nine more of these tributes will find their homes later this August, but only one can claim to have broken in its tyres on the very road it honours. And if you happen to be on the Transfăgărășan when it passes you, do yourself a favour — pull over, take a photo, and listen. That sound is what happens when history, geography, and engineering get along famously.

Source: Porsche

NEW CARS

Ram Dakota Nightfall: The Comeback Kid With a Grudge

Ram has done something we never thought it would do — it’s admitted a mistake. Yes, the Hemi V-8 is back in the 1500, which is basically like getting your favorite pub to put real beer back on tap after a decade of serving kombucha. But while that’s great news for the full-size faithful, there’s still a suspiciously empty parking space in Ram’s lineup — the one marked mid-size pickup.

Enter stage left: the Ram Dakota Nightfall concept. Born in Brazil, rocking enough off-road gear to make a camel jealous, and almost certainly not coming to the US… yet. This is the teaser before the trailer before the movie — but oh boy, does it look promising.

It’s kitted out like a truck that’s just finished binge-watching Mad Max: 33-inch off-road tyres, 18-inch beadlock wheels, Fox suspension, a winch, bronze underbody armour, and a spare tyre bolted into the bed with auxiliary lights… which, admittedly, turns reversing into a game of “guess what you just hit.” But let’s be honest — nobody buying this cares about rearward visibility. They care about looking like they’ve just conquered the Atacama Desert on a Tuesday morning.

The face? All business. A trapezoidal grille big enough to swallow a family of raccoons, RAM screaming across the front in big bold letters, a slim LED light bar tying the headlamps together, and three amber LEDs in the bonnet scoop — a cheeky nod to the TRX and RHO hooligans. It’s corporate family resemblance meets post-apocalyptic fashion statement.

Here’s the thing: this isn’t the Dakota that Ram will eventually sell in America. That one, due in 2027, will be its own beast — body-on-frame, probably STLA Frame underpinnings, a proper rival for the Tacoma, Ranger, and Colorado. But if the South American Dakota is any clue, Ram’s design department is very much in its “gritty adventurer” phase, and we’re here for it.

So, will the American Dakota look like this? Probably. Will it have the same off-road toys? Hopefully. Will it be called “Dakota”? It bloody well should be — because that name deserves to be pulled out of the history bin, dusted off, and sent back into battle.

For now, though, we’ll just have to watch Brazil have all the fun while we wait another couple of years for Ram to finally fill that mid-size-shaped hole in the lineup.

Source: Ram

NEW CARS

2026 Super Snake-R: 850 Horsepower, Zero Compromise

The Ford Mustang Dark Horse is no shrinking violet. With 500 horsepower from a naturally aspirated 5.0-liter Coyote V-8, it already sprints to 60 mph in roughly four seconds and growls like a proper muscle car should. But Shelby American isn’t in the business of “good enough.”

Enter the 2026 Shelby Super Snake-R. Unveiled during Monterey Car Week, the latest Super Snake-R takes the already fierce Dark Horse and cranks the menace to eleven. The centerpiece is a supercharged version of Ford’s 5.0-liter V-8, now producing more than 850 horsepower—20 more than the outgoing Super Snake. That power feeds only the rear wheels through your choice of a Tremec six-speed manual or a 10-speed automatic.

Of course, horsepower without control is just a burnout waiting to happen. Shelby fits fully adjustable coilovers, fat Michelin performance rubber, lightweight alloys, and two-piece slotted brake rotors to keep the Snake-R as composed as it is quick. Out back, a sizeable rear spoiler adds functional downforce, while redesigned front and rear fascias sharpen the Mustang’s already hostile glare. Carbon-fiber body panels shave weight and add visual drama, with five paint options ranging from subtle Carbonized Gray Metallic to eye-searing Grabber Blue.

Inside, the transformation continues. Alcantara-and-leather bucket seats wear Shelby American branding, and manual-equipped cars get a custom billet shift knob—a tactile reminder that you’re in something special. Serialized plaques on the dash, sill plates, and floor mats drive the exclusivity home.

Even with the blower, bigger brakes, and aerodynamic aids, curb weight is just 4,004 pounds—only 116 pounds heavier than the standard Dark Horse. In other words, the added mass won’t be what’s keeping you from hitting that apex at triple-digit speeds.

All this venom comes at a cost. The 2026 Shelby Super Snake-R starts at $225,995, donor Mustang Dark Horse included. Pricey? Sure. But when Ford’s own Mustang GTD starts at $325,000, Shelby’s latest serpent suddenly starts looking like a value proposition—at least in the rarified world of 850-hp track weapons.

The Dark Horse was already a wild ride. The Super Snake-R? That’s Shelby American proving there’s always room for more fangs.

Source: Shelby American