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Waymo Recalls 3,800 Robotaxis After Software Glitch Raises Highway Safety Concerns

Autonomous driving’s most visible success story hits another speed bump.

Waymo, the autonomous ride-hailing company owned by Alphabet, has issued a voluntary recall affecting approximately 3,800 robotaxis after identifying a software issue that could allow its vehicles to enter closed highway work zones at normal driving speeds. The recall, announced through a bulletin from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), adds to a growing list of challenges facing the industry’s most advanced self-driving operation.

According to federal regulators, the software defect could cause Waymo vehicles to incorrectly navigate through highway construction areas that have been closed to traffic. While there have been no reports of injuries or confirmed crashes linked to the issue, the potential consequences were serious enough for the company to proactively limit highway operations while engineers develop a fix.

“We identified an area where we can improve vehicle performance near highway work zones,” Waymo said in a statement. The company noted that it voluntarily restricted highway driving, informed regulators, and initiated a software recall while working on corrective updates.

Unlike traditional recalls that often require vehicles to visit service centers, Waymo’s latest action highlights the unique reality of software-defined transportation. The affected Jaguar I-Pace-based robotaxis aren’t being pulled from service. Instead, the recall serves primarily as a formal notification that the company intends to deploy updated software across its fleet.

The issue arrives at an awkward time for Waymo, which has spent years positioning itself as the autonomous driving industry’s benchmark for safety and reliability. Highway operation represents one of the most technically demanding environments for self-driving systems, requiring vehicles to process rapidly changing traffic conditions, construction zones, lane closures, and high-speed decision-making.

Waymo only recently expanded its highway operations. In Phoenix, the company’s robotaxis first gained approval to operate on freeways in 2024, initially carrying employees before eventually transporting paying passengers. Prior to that milestone, highway driving required the presence of a human safety driver behind the wheel.

The recall also marks the company’s second major software-related action in just over a month.

In May, Waymo recalled 3,791 vehicles after one of its autonomous Jaguars entered a flooded roadway in San Antonio. The unoccupied vehicle was swept away by flash-flood waters, though fortunately no injuries were reported. Earlier recalls have addressed even more concerning scenarios, including instances in which some Waymo vehicles failed to properly stop behind school buses displaying active stop signs and flashing warning lights.

Taken together, the incidents illustrate the difficult reality of autonomous vehicle development: even systems capable of handling millions of miles of routine driving can struggle with edge cases that human drivers encounter only occasionally.

Yet despite the recent recalls, Waymo’s broader safety record remains impressive. The company says its autonomous fleet has been involved in 92 percent fewer crashes resulting in serious injuries or worse compared with human drivers operating over similar distances. Waymo also reports a 92 percent reduction in crashes involving pedestrians.

Those figures help explain why regulators have generally allowed the company to continue expanding service despite periodic software corrections. In the world of autonomous driving, recalls increasingly resemble smartphone updates rather than traditional automotive defects—a reminder that the cars of the future may spend as much time receiving code revisions as they do getting mechanical maintenance.

For Waymo, the latest recall is unlikely to derail its expansion plans. But it does reinforce a reality that has followed autonomous vehicles since their inception: even the most sophisticated artificial intelligence still has lessons to learn when the road ahead suddenly changes.

Source: Waymo

NEW CARS

2027 Porsche Taycan Debuts E-Shift System, New Infotainment, and Manthey Track Package

Electric cars have spent the better part of a decade convincing us that instant torque and silent acceleration are enough. Porsche isn’t so sure.

For 2027, the German automaker is giving its Porsche Taycan a surprising new feature: simulated gear changes. Called E-Shift, the system adds eight virtual gears, steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles, artificial shift shocks, engine-braking effects, and a revised soundtrack designed to make Porsche’s electric sports sedan feel a little more like the company’s gasoline-powered icons.

It’s a move that acknowledges a reality many enthusiasts have been reluctant to admit. EVs may be objectively quicker than their internal-combustion predecessors, but they’re not always as engaging. Porsche’s answer isn’t to fight electrification—it’s to inject more theater into it.

A Taycan That Pretends to Shift

The new E-Shift system is available across the Taycan lineup and comes standard on the range-topping Taycan Turbo GT. Drivers can leave the system in an automatic mode or use paddles mounted behind the GT Sport steering wheel to work through eight simulated gears.

Unlike some novelty sound effects we’ve experienced in other EVs, Porsche appears to have gone all-in on the illusion. Each virtual gear carries its own acceleration profile, while noticeable shift jolts and simulated drag torque recreate the sensation of engine braking. A virtual rev limiter, shift lights, and a digital tachometer complete the experience.

The company says the accompanying Porsche Electric Sport Sound has also been reworked to react to vehicle load and virtual engine speed. The result is intended to make the Taycan feel less like a one-speed electric appliance and more like a traditional performance car building speed through the gears.

Whether enthusiasts embrace the concept remains to be seen, but Porsche deserves credit for addressing a criticism often leveled at EVs: they’re astonishingly fast, yet sometimes emotionally distant.

Manthey Turns the Taycan Into a Track Weapon

If simulated gears sound playful, Porsche’s other major Taycan update is anything but.

For the first time, Porsche’s motorsport partner Manthey is offering a factory-backed performance package for an electric model. Previously reserved for hardcore GT products such as the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Manthey kits have become synonymous with Nürburgring-focused performance.

Now the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT joins that club.

The new Manthey Kit includes extensive aerodynamic, chassis, and powertrain revisions aimed at extracting even more performance from what is already one of the fastest production EVs on sale. The package’s credentials were established on Germany’s most demanding circuit, where Porsche development driver Lars Kern recorded a 6:55.533 lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife, setting a new benchmark in the electric executive-car category.

More importantly for buyers, the kit can now be specified directly from the factory instead of being installed solely as an aftermarket upgrade.

Seven Hundred Kilometers on a Charge

Performance isn’t the only focus.

Porsche has also squeezed additional efficiency from the Taycan through new low-rolling-resistance summer tires developed for rear-wheel-drive variants. Combined with the larger Performance Battery Plus pack, the company claims a WLTP driving range of up to 700 kilometers (435 miles).

While WLTP figures tend to paint a more optimistic picture than EPA estimates, the number nevertheless underscores how far the Taycan has evolved since its launch. Early versions impressed with their charging speeds and performance but lagged behind some competitors in outright range. The latest updates continue Porsche’s effort to close that gap without compromising the car’s dynamic character.

A Much Smarter Cabin

The interior sees one of its biggest technology upgrades since the Taycan’s debut.

Porsche’s latest Porsche Digital Interaction interface arrives with a cleaner visual design, significantly faster processing power, and a more smartphone-like user experience. The automaker says the new Porsche Communication Management system delivers up to five times the computing performance of the previous setup.

A customizable home screen built around widgets allows drivers to prioritize navigation, media, phone functions, or vehicle data. A detailed 3D model of the owner’s car—rendered in its actual exterior color—sits at the center of the interface and serves as a shortcut to key vehicle controls.

Voice control has also received a substantial overhaul. The AI-supported Voice Pilot can understand more natural speech patterns, perform Google-backed points-of-interest searches, and handle follow-up questions without requiring drivers to repeat the “Hey Porsche” wake phrase every time.

Wireless smartphone charging jumps to 25 watts, while over-the-air updates can now be downloaded and installed entirely in the background.

The Bigger Picture

The most interesting aspect of the 2027 Taycan isn’t necessarily the Nürburgring record or the added range. It’s Porsche’s willingness to acknowledge that performance is about more than numbers.

Most EV manufacturers have focused on making electric cars faster, quieter, and more efficient. Porsche is taking a different path. By adding virtual gears, synthesized mechanical sensations, and a more dramatic soundtrack, the company is trying to preserve the emotional qualities that have long defined its sports cars.

Whether fake shifts become a must-have feature or remain a curiosity, they represent something notable: one of the world’s most respected performance brands openly experimenting with ways to make electric driving feel less digital.

And in a market where nearly every EV is chasing the same formula, that may be the most Porsche thing of all.

Source: Porsche

NEW CARS

Porsche’s £252K GT3 Touring Is a Love Letter to Britain

Seventy-five years after Porsche first planted its flag on British soil, the company is celebrating in a way that feels perfectly on-brand: by building an outrageously expensive, obsessively detailed special-edition 911 that most people will never see in person.

Meet the Porsche 911 GT3 Touring Earls Court 51 Edition—a 51-car tribute to the first Porsche models imported into the UK in 1951 and displayed at London’s famous Earls Court Motor Show. And while commemorative editions often amount to little more than a unique paint color and a plaque, this one doubles as a rolling showcase for Porsche’s increasingly ambitious Sonderwunsch personalization division.

At first glance, the choice of the wingless GT3 Touring as a starting point makes perfect sense. The absence of the GT3’s towering rear wing lends the car a cleaner, more understated profile, one that subtly echoes the elegance of those early 356s that introduced Britain to the Porsche name.

The centerpiece is a bespoke shade called Earls Court Green Metallic, created specifically through Porsche’s Paint to Sample Plus program. It’s paired with silver mirror caps, silver door handles, and a silver bonnet stripe, giving the car a distinctly vintage-inspired appearance without descending into retro caricature. Special Earls Court graphics are scattered throughout the exterior, while the diamond-cut center-lock wheels feature matching green inserts that tie the entire design together.

The cabin is where Sonderwunsch really gets to flex.

The upper dashboard and door panels are wrapped in rich Paldao Green leather, contrasted by Chalk Beige upholstery. The sports seats receive custom corduroy inserts—a material that’s enjoying a surprising resurgence among high-end performance cars—and feature green leather and wood-finished backs. Even the sun visors get special treatment, embossed with Union Jack motifs that serve as a reminder of the occasion being celebrated.

Underneath all that craftsmanship, however, remains one of the greatest driver’s cars currently on sale.

There’s no increase in power, no chassis revision, and no secret performance upgrade lurking beneath the skin. The Earls Court 51 Edition retains the GT3’s glorious 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six, producing 503 horsepower at a spine-tingling 8500 rpm and 332 lb-ft of torque. Buyers can still choose between Porsche’s razor-sharp seven-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission or the increasingly rare six-speed manual gearbox—the latter arguably being the choice that best suits the car’s nostalgic mission.

The result is a machine that combines old-world craftsmanship with one of the last great naturally aspirated engines available in a modern sports car.

More importantly, the Earls Court 51 Edition highlights just how far Porsche’s Sonderwunsch operation has evolved. Originally established in the 1970s as a special-order department, the division has become a full-scale customization powerhouse since its relaunch in 2021. Today, customers can commission everything from unique color and trim combinations to factory-restored classics and one-off creations built to their exact specifications.

The department’s capabilities have become so extensive that Porsche can even perform complete factory recommissioning projects on older vehicles, stripping them down and rebuilding them to as-new condition.

Of course, exclusivity comes at a price.

The Earls Court 51 Edition starts at £251,951, placing it more than £20,000 above the already eye-wateringly expensive 911 S/T. That figure alone ensures the car’s rarity, even before considering its strict 51-unit production run.

Still, pricing almost feels beside the point. Cars like this aren’t designed to offer value. They’re designed to tell a story.

And in this case, Porsche’s story stretches back to a London motor show in 1951, when a handful of curious British buyers first encountered a little German sports car called the 356. Seventy-five years later, the company is celebrating that moment with a GT3 that’s less about lap times and more about heritage.

Not that anyone will complain about getting 503 horsepower in the process.

Source: Porsche