Features

Oozing an unapologetically aggressive and all-American aesthetic reminiscent of a bygone era, the modern Chrysler 300 first arrived in 2004 sporting an ostentatiously dramatic design and Mercedes E-Class-derived platform inherited from the DaimlerChrysler corporate era. Big, blocky and upright with a massive grille, level lines, high waistline, small glasshouse and liberal used of chrome, the 300’s unmistakably “gangster” styling sensibility was however slightly toned down and made tauter for its second generation, which arrived in 2011 and was subtly revised in 2015.

Elegantly aggressive

A product of a the combustion car’s last hurrah as the predominant vehicle format, the second generation 300 continued with a little altered unibody platform and similar big, brawny engines as its predecessor. Now nearing the end of the line, with production slated to cease at the end of the current year, the 300 — and its Dodge Charger sister model — will almost certainly be ultimately replaced by some crossover body and electric drive-train vehicle, but for now remains among the few true blue non-electrified and authentically combustion engine powered modern automotive icons.

Adopting a somewhat softer edged, and more swept back style fascia with a smaller, slightly less conspicuous grille in its second generation, the Chrysler 300 nevertheless emanates a similar level of aggression, albeit with a more urgent demeanour. Elegantly assertive outside and inside, the 300’s cabin features bold details, quality materials and textures, user-friendly layouts, clear instrumentation, and comfortable, well adjustable seating. Also included is plenty of comfort, convenience and safety features, and more advanced driver-assistance systems and enhanced tech, as of 2015.

Confident charisma

Winding down its production run with both entry-level 3.6-litre V6 engine — delivering up to 300BHP — and a more powerful but limited production 485BHP iteration of the 6.4-litre V8 SRT high performance variant still available, the defining Chrysler 300 however remains the mid-range 5.7-litre V8 HEMI powered model. A muscularly languid and low-revving naturally-aspirated V8 engine with a compact 16-valve pushrod OHV design and low 5,800rpm redline, the rumbling and robust 5.7-HEMI is unmistakably American and traditional in character.

Progressive in delivery and benefitting from an ample reservoir of torque available throughout the rev range, the 5.7 HEMI makes for responsive starts from standstill and provide abundant mid-range versatility for overtaking and on inclines. Producing 363BHP at 5,200rpm and 394lb/ft at 4,200rpm, the 5.7 HEMI may lack the ultimate urgency, verve and peaky punching power of the SRT variant, but nevertheless confidently and quickly carries the Chrysler 300’s hefty 2-tonne mass through the 0-100km/h acceleration benchmark in an estimated 5.8-second time.

Ample output

With ample mid-range pull and linear power accumulation the 300 effectively unleashes output for brisk performance, but without being overly aggressive or too ready to un-stick its driven rear wheels and unintentionally incur stability control interventions. Smooth and slick shifting, the 300’s 8-speed automatic gearbox features a wide ratio range including responsive lower gears and relaxed high gears for refined and quiet cruising. With its gearbox well utilising output for performance, versatility and efficiency, it can meanwhile run on minimum mid-grade 91RON fuel.

If big and heavy, the Chrysler 300 is nevertheless well-balanced with near ideal 53:47 front-to rear weighting. Confident through corners, its good throttle response and progressive delivery meanwhile allows one to smoothly dial in power when accelerating out of curves. Available with either standard comfort-oriented or tauter sport-tuned front double wishbone and rear multi-link suspension, the 300 well controls cornering body lean for its weight and size, and feels sufficiently settled over imperfections and when entering corners.

Classy cruiser

A smooth straight line cruiser, the 300 is, meanwhile, tidy and accurate turning into corners, if not outright sharp, darty and nimble. Its 2.8-turns lock-to-lock electric-assisted steering is meanwhile quick, accurate and light, but not as fast as its Dodge Charger cousin. Though balanced and reassuring, the 300 understeers slightly if pushed too hard into tight corners, but is easily adjustable with its long wheelbase and progressive weight shifts. More agile than expected, ride quality is nevertheless comfortably compliant in character, rather than firmly focused.

Planted and stable at speed, the Chrysler 300 is in its element on motorway cruising duties, and through long and fast sweeping bends, where it is composed and confident. Forgiving over road imperfections despite its firm low profile 245/45R20 tyres, the 300’s cabin experience is refined, quiet, comfortable and well-insulated. 

Spacious inside, the 300 has a hunkered down cabin feel, with big comfortable seats, decent front visibility and generous rear seat width and legroom, with perfectly adequate, if not overly generous rear headroom.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Engine: 5.7-litre, cast-iron block / aluminium head, in-line V8-cylinders
• Bore x Stroke: 99.5 x 90.9mm
• Compression ratio: 10.5:1
• Valve-train: 16-valve, Pushrod OHV
• Gearbox: 8-speed automatic, rear-wheel-drive
• Gear ratios: 1st 4.71; 2nd 3.14; 3rd 2.11; 4th 1.67; 5th 1.29; 6th 1.0; 7th 0.84; 8th 0.67; R 3.32
• Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 363 (367) [270] @5,200rpm
• Specific power: 64.2BHP/litre
• Power-to-weight: 182.7BHP/ton
• Torque lb/ft (Nm): 394 (534) @4,200rpm
• Specific torque: 94.4Nm/litre
• Torque-to-weight: 268.7Nm/ton
• Rev limit: 5,800rpm
• 0-100km/h: 5.8-seconds (estimate)
• Fuel consumption, city / highway / combined: 14.7-/9.4/12.4-litres/100km (estimate)
• Fuel capacity: 70-litres
• Fuel requirement, recommended (minimum): 93(91)RON
• Length: 5,044mm
• Width: 1,902mm 
• Height: 1,492mm
• Wheelbase: 3,048mm
• Track, F/R: 1,611 / 1,620mm
• Ground clearance: 127mm
• Kerb weight: 1,987kg
• Weight distribution, F/R: 53% / 47%
• Aerodynamic drag co-efficiency: 0.32
• Headroom, F/R: 981 / 963mm
• Legroom, F/R: 1,061 / 1,019mm
• Shoulder room, F/R: 1,510 / 1,465mm
• Hip room, F/R: 1,428 / 1,425mm
• Boot lift-over height: 769mm
• Cargo volume: 460-litres
• Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion
• Steering ratio: 15.5:1
• Turning circle: 11.4-meters
• Lock-to-lock: 2.8-turns
• Suspension F/R: Unequal double wishbones / five-link, anti-roll bars
• Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs 345 x 28mm / 320 x 22mm
• Brake calipers, F/R: 2- / 1-pistons
• Tyres: 245/45R20

TAIPEI — Tracing a palm-sized jade pig resting on its haunches, an antique trader in Taiwan said the ears on the nearly 400-year-old piece are a marker of its authenticity. 

"The folds in the pig's ears show the handiwork, the ancient handicraft" of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), said the 60-year-old trader, who would only provide his last name as Lee. 

"It takes very careful carving. If it were duplicates, they wouldn't make it that delicate and detailed." 

Lee's shop in Taipei's Da'an district holds ancient treasures worth more than a condominium located in the same neighbourhood. 

The value of his merchandise represents just a fraction of an industry that the island's jade association says brought in nearly $16 million annually in recorded pre-pandemic antique jade sales.

But dealers warn the sector is flagging post-COVID. With the global economy in tatters, buyers are more cautious about taking a chance on expensive items, especially with the market awash with counterfeits. 

Taipei's worsening ties with Beijing have also meant restrictions are still in place for visitors from mainland China, effectively cutting out the industry's biggest buyers. 

Relations have plummeted since Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who refuses to accept Beijing's claim that the self-ruled island belongs to China, was elected in 2016.

"About seven to 12 years ago, it was very good times for people in Taiwan who are in the antiques or jade trade," said Liu San-bian, who runs a store in Metropolitan Jewelry and Antiques Emporium, a treasure trove of ateliers. 

"It declined when cross-strait politics slowly affected travel between both sides," he said, summing up the dilemma in four Chinese characters meaning: "Hard to buy, hard to sell".

"Chinese people stopped coming in and rich people in Taiwan are not buying. There is no supply in the market... and collectors here are not willing to release their items for sale." 

'Ingrained in our DNA' 

Taiwan was the go-to place for hunters of Chinese relics long before it became a powerhouse for hi-tech semiconductors. Collectors said most were carried out of mainland China during the Cultural Revolution, ending up on the island and nearby Hong Kong.

The Chinese government generally considers the trade of antiques from historical eras to be illegal if they were not passed down through inheritance or bought from authorised venues, such as cultural relic stores.

But there is a grey area in Taiwan, where collectors say they have obtained the items through legitimate means, especially if the items were personal belongings. 

"To the Chinese, it is ingrained in our DNA," Chang Juben, chairman of Taiwan's Association of Jade Collectors, told AFP.

"Collectors in Taiwan began collecting when they realised that these were valuable national treasures... Taiwan has a reputation in the Greater Chinese community that you can come here to see, touch and buy good jades here."

The antique jade market took off around 2011, when Beijing-friendly Ma Ying-jeou was president, bringing in "an endless stream of buyers from China and other countries", Chang said. 

Now Taiwan's market is about a quarter of its former annual value — roughly $9.4 million to $15.7 million in the boom years — and it is easy to be steered towards inauthentic "artefacts".

"It relies on word of mouth," Chang said. "You have to walk the right path and find the right person."

Most reputable collectors are also "protective" about their stock, refusing to show their best items to a novice who won't appreciate it or to a buyer simply looking to resell for profit.

'Build a reputation' 

A two-hour flight to Hong Kong — a hub for Chinese antiques sold in both sprawling markets and upscale auction houses — tells a different story.

Pola Antebi, deputy chairman at Christie's auction house in Hong Kong, said she is seeing a trend in which antique collectors are releasing long-cherished collections held for up to five decades.

"We've sold several substantial collections from Taiwan in Hong Kong in recent years, including the notable Chang Wei-Hwa collection of early jades," Antebi told AFP.

That portfolio of jades from the Qin and Han dynasties fetched $9.3 million in November, while three previous auctions of Chang Wei-Hwa's collection brought in $24.7 million from 2019 to 2021. 

Taiwan's jade "players" remain confident the trade "will survive no matter what", said the trader Lee.

His unique shop, which houses aquariums of iridescent corals, gets visitors via word of mouth. One trip can turn into several before any transaction is made — if at all. 

"It takes very long to build a reputation, but it is very easy to ruin it. If one item you sell turns out to be fake... that's all it takes to ruin you," he said.

LOS ANGELES — Hollywood’s striking actors fear that artificial intelligence is coming for their jobs — but for many stunt performers, that dystopian danger is already a reality.

From “Game of Thrones” to the latest Marvel superhero movies, cost-slashing studios have long used computer-generated background figures to reduce the number of actors needed for battle scenes. 

Now, the rise of AI means cheaper and more powerful techniques are being explored to create highly elaborate action sequences such as car chases and shootouts — without those pesky (and expensive) humans.

Stunt work, a time-honoured Hollywood tradition that has spanned from silent epics through to Tom Cruise’s latest “Mission Impossible”, is at risk of rapidly shrinking.

“The technology is exponentially getting faster and better,” said Freddy Bouciegues, stunt coordinator for movies like “Free Guy” and “Terminator: Dark Fate”.

“It’s really a scary time right now.”

Studios are already requiring stunt and background performers to take part in high-tech 3D “body scans” on set, often without explaining how or when the images will be used. 

Advancements in AI mean these likenesses could be used to create detailed, eerily realistic “digital replicas”, which can perform any action or speak any dialogue its creators wish.

Bouciegues fears producers could use these virtual avatars to replace “nondescript” stunt performers — such as those playing pedestrians leaping out of the way of a car chase.

“There could be a world where they said, ‘No, we don’t want to bring these 10 guys in... we’ll just add them in later via effects and AI. Now those guys are out of the job.”

But according to director Neill Blomkamp, whose new film “Gran Turismo” hits theaters August 25, even that scenario only scratches the surface.

The role AI will soon play in generating images from scratch is “hard to compute”, he told AFP.

“Gran Turismo” primarily uses stunt performers driving real cars on actual racetracks, with some computer-generated effects added on top for one particularly complex and dangerous scene.

But Blomkamp predicts that, in as soon as six or 12 months, AI will reach a point where it can generate photo-realistic footage like high-speed crashes based on a director’s instructions alone.

At that point, “you take all of your CG [computer graphics] and VFX [visual effects] computers and throw them out the window, and you get rid of stunts, and you get rid of cameras, and you don’t go to the racetrack”, he told AFP.

“It’s that different.”

The human element 

The lack of guarantees over the future use of AI is one of the major factors at stake in the ongoing strike by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) and Hollywood’s writers, who have been on the picket lines 100 days.

SAG-AFTRA last month warned that studios intend to create realistic digital replicas of performers, to use “for the rest of eternity, in any project they want” — all for the payment of one day’s work.

The studios dispute this, and say they have offered rules including informed consent and compensation.

But as well as the potential implications for thousands of lost jobs, Bouciegues warns that no matter how good the technology has become, “the audience can still tell” when the wool is being pulled over their eyes by computer-generated VFX.

Even if AI can perfectly replicate a battle, explosion or crash, it cannot supplant the human element that is vital to any successful action film, he said, pointing to Cruise’s recent “Top Gun” and “Mission Impossible” sequels.

“He uses real stunt people, and he does real stunts, and you can see it on the screen. For me, I feel like it subconsciously affects the viewer,” said Bouciegues.

Current AI technology still gives “slightly unpredictable results”, agreed Blomkamp, who began his career in VFX, and directed Oscar-nominated “District 9”.

“But it’s coming... It’s going to fundamentally change society, let alone Hollywood. The world is going to be different.”

For stunt workers like Bouciegues, the best outcome now is to blend the use of human performers with VFX and AI to pull off sequences that would be too dangerous with old-fashioned techniques alone.

“I don’t think this job will ever just cease to be,” said Bouciegues, of stunt work. “It just definitely is going to get smaller and more precise”.

But even that is a sobering reality for stunt performers who are currently standing on picket lines outside Hollywood studios.

“Every stunt guy is the alpha male type, and everybody wants to say, ‘Oh, we’re good,’” said Bouciegues.

“But I personally have spoken to a lot of people that are freaked out and nervous.”

LONDON — The sari is being reinvented for the modern age in an Indian “fashion revolution,” with around 60 trailblazing examples due to go on display at a new exhibition in London.

Over the past decade, according to curator PriyaKhanchandani, the sari has seen the most rapid transformation in its 5,000-year history.

From sari styles worn by young women on their way to work in Delhi and Mumbai to the spectacular creation that was the first sari to grace New York’s famous Met Gala, the London showcase spotlights the garment’s 21st century revival.

Khanchandani says she first became aware of a renaissance in 2015 when she met some of the designers in Delhi who were transforming the sari, traditionally a single long piece of unstitched fabric draped over the body.

“I saw the sari being revived as an everyday garment in a way that was very fashionable. They were being worn by younger women than I knew before,” she told AFP ahead of the show, The Offbeat Sari, which opens at the Design Museum on Friday.

“They were often quite intellectual women, writers and artists... wearing them in ways that I didn’t expect,” she said.

Having previously viewed saris as a garment to be worn for special events or weddings, she suddenly noticed them being reinvented as everyday clothing, even teamed with T-shirts and sneakers.

The birth of mass consumerism and social media in India combined with the growth of the country’s urban middle class has accelerated the sari’s revamp, Khanchandani said.

“The influence of digital media which has a really significant reach in India, particularly among young people, allowed trends to spread and I think allowed the way that saris were being worn to become a grassroots movement,” she added.

Pushing boundaries 

Popular hashtags that have seen a vast array of images shared online include #sarilove, #sarifashion, #designsarees and #sareeindia.

Despite the sari’s long history, it was not until last year that a sari was seen at the celebrated annual Met Gala event in New York.

Worn by Indian businesswoman and socialite Natasha Poonawalla, the showstopping ensemble featured a flowing gold sari by Sabyasachi with a gold Schiaparelli bustier.

In addition to extravagant couture saris, designers in India have also pushed boundaries by experimenting in a range of ways.

The Raj Kilt, by the Little Shilpa brand, is described as “half kilt, half sari” and reflects the cross-cultural experiences of Indian designer ShilpaChavan who studied in Britain. 

Some of the most eye-catching and innovative exhibits include a sari adorned with sequins cut from old X-ray images from hospital waste and another in distressed denim.

But while the sari’s potential for extravagance and creativity is on full display in the exhibition’s selections, there are also examples of how it is being pressed into use to express ideas of identity and resistance.

Hundreds of thousands of members of the so-called Gulabi Gang, a group set up to fight domestic violence, including sexual abuse and child marriage in rural India, have adopted bright pink saris along with bamboo sticks as the symbol of their movement.

Also included in the show is a purple silk sari embroidered with sequins and crystals by the brand Papa Don’t Preach.

After the label posted a photograph of the sari being worn by the author and comedian ALOK, who founded the #DeGenderFashion movement, it decided to remove the “womenswear” wording from their messaging.

PARIS — “My mum doesn’t agree with what I do here: At home, we don’t eat like this,” laughs Alan Geaam, the first Lebanese chef to earn a Michelin star in Paris.

The self-taught chef, who fled his country’s civil war in 1999, nonetheless believes that promoting Lebanon’s culinary riches means combining them with some of “the elegance and refinement” of French cuisine. 

At his self-titled restaurant in the well-heeled 16th district of Paris, the tabbouleh comes in three different textures, there are trompe-l’oeil peanuts made from foiegras, and super-light baklava with seasonal fruits. 

“You don’t get a Michelin star with traditional Lebanese cuisine,” said Geaam, who earned his in 2018. 

“Tabbouleh has been made for a thousand years, no one has touched it. Today, this cuisine needs rejuvenating,” he told AFP. 

The traditionally closed and snobbish world of French gourmet food has been slowly prised open to foreign influences in recent decades. 

But cooks like Geaam show how the influences cut both ways in fine-dining establishments, with foreigners putting French twists on their native recipes. 

Enrique Casarrubias’s friends thought he was crazy when he opened a high-end Mexican restaurant, Oxte, in Paris in 2018.

Could a butcher’s son, who started out cooking street food to sell in the market of his village, really crack the world of Parisian haute cuisine? 

‘Taste of childhood’ 

By finding complex new ways to recreate the memories of his youth, he pulled it off. 

He has reworked Mexico’s famous mole sauce of chocolate and chillies with beetroot, carrots and French herbs. 

The street snack of fresh fruit with lemon, salt and spice — which he ate every day on his way home from school — is reimagined as a luxurious dessert with avocado and a kick of mezcal. 

“Mexicans come into the restaurant and say they don’t recognise any of it, but then they taste it and have tears in their eyes because it reminds them of their childhood,” Casarrubias told AFP. 

It was a similar approach for Raphael Rego, who earned a Michelin star for Oka by combining Brazilian and French ideas — such as the moqueca fish stew with elements of the Marseille’s bouillabaisse soup.

“At the beginning,” he admits, “Brazilians did not understand. Today, the star gives me the necessary visibility.”

Others have been introducing homespun influences more gradually. 

Philip Chronopoulos was already a starred culinary artist at the Palais Royale Restaurant when the COVID-19 pandemic forced a pause on the industry, and gave him time to think up ways of bringing touches from his native Greece to his menu. 

There is now feta ice cream, tarama made from foisgras and spanakopita (a herb and feta pie) seasoned with the yellow wine of France’s Jura region.

It earned him a second Michelin star last year. 

“I would like my plates to become even more Greek,” he told AFP, though he admits it can be tricky to find suitable elements from Greece’s “sunny cuisine”, especially during the long Parisian winter.

By Sheela Sheth, 
Food Expert

I recently added the perennial lemon balm plant to my herb garden. Its lemony fragrance is enticing and its mood-lightening effects are an added bonus! Did you know that it’s a member of the mint family? It’s sometimes referred to as common balm or balm mint. It is native to Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Medicinal properties: The leaves are much smaller than those of mint even though it belongs to the same family. Several studies have shown that lemon balm combined with other calming herbs, like chamomile, helps reduce anxiety and promote sleep.

In spring and summer, it forms clusters of small yellow flowers where the leaves meet the stem. The leaves are deeply wrinkled and range from dark green to yellowish green in colour depending on the soil and the climate. When you rub the leaves, they emit a tart, sweet lemony aroma.

Cosmetic uses: Lemon balm also popularly known as Melissa officinalis, is commonly used for skin care which is perfect for brightening skin and fading dark spots helping to bring natural radiance to skin. It contains caffeic and rosmarinic acid which is used in making sunscreens. It often serves as an astringent used in cleansing milk for tightening pores and reducing blackheads and whiteheads.

Culinary benefits: Using lemon balm leaves for infusing tea is my favourite herbal drink. They make a perfect garnish for salads and desserts. Freezing the leaves works better than drying them as they retain their flavour. 

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

Perhaps the most practical and versatile of automobile segments, the double cab 4x4 mid-size pick-up truck is renowned for its rugged durability over demanding terrain, extensive hauling and off-road abilities, and efficient turbo-diesel drive-trains. In its element in the wild, building site, farm, expedition trail and even the battlefield, these trucks have also become viable and comfortable daily drivers with plenty of space, equipment and tech. That said, garden variety versions leave plenty of scope for modification to fully realise their potential for different applications.  

Ford Ranger Raptor

Junior sister to the now iconic Ford F150 Raptor full-size pick-up, the much-awaited second generation high performance Ranger Raptor off-roader pick-up arrived in 2022 with more power, more capability and more tech than ever. A Baja-style desert truck developed by Ford Performance, the Raptor is seemingly ready to leap into action with its sculpted and chunky yet fluently predatory design. It, meanwhile, benefits from generous 271mm ground clearance and off-road angles, and larger 285/70R17 off-road tyres.

Trading its predecessor’s 4-cylinder engine for a twin-turbo 3-litre V6 petrol engine, the new Ranger Raptor is boasts a significant power hike to 405BHP at 5,750rpm and 430lb/ft at 3,250rpm torque, driving its permanent four-wheel-drive through a 10-speed automatic gearbox. A high performance off-road beast that rockets through 0-100km/h in just 6-seconds, the Ranger Raptor, meanwhile, features electronically controlled front and rear differential locks and low gear ratios.

Stiff in construction yet refined in ride, the Ranger Raptor features double wishbone front and trailing arm live-axle and coil spring rear suspension for enhanced handling, comfort and off-road abilities. Riding on Fox-sourced dampers with an internal bypass system to prevent bottoming out when launched in the air, the Raptor’s dampers also provide comfort and control for tarmac and off-road use. It also features seven driving modes for different conditions and four “mild to wild” exhaust modes.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Engine: 3-litre, twin-turbocharged V6-cylinders
• Gearbox: 10-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive
• Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 405 (410) [302] @5,750
• Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 430 (583) @3,250
• 0-100km/h: 6-seconds
• Length: 5,357mm
• Width: 2,027mm
• Height: 1,928mm
• Wheelbase: 3,269mm
• Ground clearance: 271mm (minimum)
• Approach / break-over / departure angles: 33°/24.2°/26.4°
• Weight: 2,415kg
• Payload: 640kg
• Suspension, F/R: Double wishbone / Watts-link
• Tyres: 285/70R17

Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 

Integrated into the official Isuzu D-Max line-up in certain markets, in lieu of a factory-developed modified variant, the AT35 is a comparatively moderate, yet thoroughly effective, attainable and practical expedition style pick-up truck. Based on the third generation D-Max circa 2019, and further developed by Icelandic engineering firm Arctic Trucks, the AT35 modifications lend themselves to a more aggressive interpretation of the base model’s taut and sporty style.

Boasting larger and more capable 315/70R17 tyres accommodated by accentuated flared wheel-arches, the D-Max AT35 offers 266mm ground clearance and excellent off-road angles. Featuring a four-wheel-drive system the can engage when on the mover for practicality and versatility, the AT35 also comes with a locking rear differential and low gear ratios. It meanwhile also receives enhanced Bilstein-sourced dampers and a host of driver assistance features.

Behind its tall snouty grille and slim scowling headlights, the AT35 is powered by Isuzu’s compact but prodigious 1.9-litre twin-turbo Diesel engine, mated to either 6-speed manual or automatic gearboxes. Designed for expedition, hauling and off-road driving in poor conditions, , the AT35’s is a different beast than the racy Ford Ranger Raptor, with its unmodified engine producing 162BHP at 3,600rpm and generous 265lb/ft torque throughout 2,000-2,500rpm, for 12.7-second 0-100km/h acceleration.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Engine: 1.9-litre, turbo-diesel 4-cylinders
• Gearbox: 6-speed manual, four-wheel-drive
• Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 162 (164) [120] @3,600rpm
• Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 265 (360) @2,000-2,500rpm
• 0-100km/h: 12.7-seconds
• Length: 5,265mm
• Width: 2,040mm
• Height: 1,875mm
• Wheelbase: 3,125mm
• Ground clearance: 266mm (minimum)
• Approach / break-over / departure angles: 35°/34°/29°
• Weight: 2,175kg
• Payload: 1,075kg
• Suspension, F/R: Double wishbone / live axle
• Tyres: 315/70R17

Toyota Hilux Arctic Trucks AT44

The mid-size pick-up of choice for many, the Toyota Hilus is renowned for its durability and has been just as infamous as a civilian vehicle often drafted into combat by irregular fighters of various shades and stripes, and even standing armies. In its latest eighth generation — circa 2016 — the Hilux line-up has not been offered with extensive factory modifications, but is again the star attraction among Arctic Trucks modified pick-up and SUV range.

Available in several states of modification, the Hilux AT44 is the most extreme, and in previous generations has even been offered in heavily modified six-wheel-drive form for more demanding polar expeditions. Powered by a standard Toyota 3-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel, the AT44 produces 169BHP and 265lb/ft torque. It features a snorkel intake for deep water fording, and lockable front and rear differentials, and low gear ratios for sure-footed traction over slippery surfaces.

Developed for long and arduous snow expeditions — and similarly capable in the desert — the AT44 rides on a wider track and rides higher than the standard Hilux, owing to it enormous low pressure off-road tyres. Requiring dramatically bigger and more wildly flared arches, the AT44 tyres’ big footprint provides for excellent flotation over snow and sand. A massive 280-litre fuel tank can , meanwhile, be supplemented by 800-litres in deck-top and trailer tanks.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Engine: 3-litre, turbo-diesel V6-cylinders
• Gearbox: 5-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive
• Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 169 (171) [126]
• Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 265 (360)
• Fuel capacity: 280-litres 
• Length: 5,255mm
• Width: 2,160mm
• Height: 2,000mm
• Wheelbase: 3,125mm
• Ground clearance: 300mm (maximum)
• Weight: 2,250kg (estimate)
• Payload: 1,000kg
• Suspension, F/R: Double wishbone / live axle
• Tyres: 44x18.5/15

NEW DELHI — Athletes flex muscled biceps before going hand-to-hand in a newly televised arm-wrestling league seeking to take the sporting spotlight in otherwise cricket-mad India with a glitzy Bollywood-style makeover.

Contestants fight under bright studio lights with a cheering audience as opponents push down the other person’s arm in the Pro Panja League (PPL) at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Stadium.

The Indian Arm Wrestling Federation launched in 1977, but the sport, known as “panja” in India, has been given new lease of life by league owners and Bollywood acting couple Parvin Dabas and Preeti Jhangiani.

“Our athletes are literally sons and daughters of our soil. Somebody is a government servant, a gym trainer, somebody is a mechanic,” Dabas told AFP.

“They come from all walks of life and come from small-town India, and that’s what we love about it, that’s what the audience is getting attracted by.”

Arm wrestler Shaikh Tawheed worked as a stone mason, motorbike mechanic and gym cleaner before finding PPL fame in the 90 kilogram category.

A charming smile on his well-sculpted body adds to the 23-year-old Tawheed’s appeal as he defeats opponents in a quick strike — and then celebrates by blowing kisses to his fans.

“It’s a dream living in fancy hotels, having good food, and some money,” Tawheed told AFP, adding he had earned around 75,000 rupees ($900) during the competition period so far, a 10-fold jump on his previous earnings. 

“I couldn’t have asked for more”.

‘Power in their hands’ 

The six teams have to include men, women and people with disabilities — including athletes who use wheelchairs with impressive upper-body strength — with the winning team getting 2 million rupees ($24,000).

Launched in 2020 with some exhibition matches and tournaments, this is the first league season to be shown live on Sony Sports Network in India and Willow TV in the United States between July 28 and August 13.

The top four teams will play in the semi-finals and the winners will clash in the final on Sunday.

Sylvester Stallone’s 1987 film “Over the Top” made arm wrestling popular around the globe but the ancient sport in India remains rooted in Hindu mythology and is widely popular — making Tawheed a local star.

Tawheed has moved from a one-room rented house in his home city of Aurangabad in Maharashtra state, and bought his own home.

“The fame I got from arm wrestling helped me in my career as a gym trainer which in turn got me the cash,” he said.

“Pro Panja has changed arm wrestling,” he said. “We travel in flights in contrast to moving in unreserved train coaches for tournaments.”

League owners are confident of the growing popularity of arm wrestling after the success of Indian sports leagues including the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), which has made stars out of humble villagers.

Among the athletes is also 38-year-old mother Farheen Dehalvi, who went from participating in local competitions in the state of Madhya Pradesh to taking down her opponents in a bright-coloured team jersey in front of a large TV audience.

Decades of cleaning, cooking and household chores left Dehalvi with powerful arms — and she has put them to good use.

“Girls who stay at home including housewives are more powerful because they work and have power in their hands,” said Dehalvi, a part-time teacher and mother to a 17-year-old son.

Olympic dreams 

Dehalvi, who competes in the 65+ kilogramme women’s category, won her opening match by defeating a 19-year-old, winning on points over several wrestles.

“I went to see an arm-wrestling match in my district and people urged me play the sport as they thought I am powerful,” Dehalvi told AFP.

“In our region daughter-in-laws are not allowed to step out of their homes, but my husband backed me to display my power in the sport. And here I am.”

Her success has inspired others, she said. Two gyms have opened in her village after her league entry and girls have started working out.

“It was tough juggling between household duties and pursuing the sport, but I kept my hopes high,” Dehalvi said.

“People watch me on TV back home and it has inspired them to go to the gyms and I tell them to come to Pro Panja”.

Future PPL seasons could witness a player auction, like the hugely successful Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 cricket tournament, which has spawned the growth of other sports leagues. 

The PPL, like IPL, boasts of foreign coaches for all six teams — mostly from Kazakhstan, where arm wrestling is widely popular.

“There are lot of people in India, there are lot of people in Kazakhstan,” seven-time world champion and PPL coach Yerkin Alimzhanov told AFP. “From both sides we can try to get the game to the Olympics”.

SAN FRANCISCO/PARIS — Brain implants have long been trapped in the realm of science fiction, but a steady trickle of medical trials suggests the tiny devices could play a big part in humanity’s future.

Billions of dollars are flowing into a clutch of specialist companies hunting for treatments for some of the most debilitating ailments.

And pioneering studies have already yielded results.

In May, a Dutchman paralysed in a motorcycle accident regained the ability to walk thanks to implants that restored communication between his brain and spinal cord. 

That experiment was one of several eye-catching trials that have helped spark a huge buzz around the industry.

In the decade to 2020, investors poured more than $30 billion into neurotechnology more widely, according to UNESCO.

And the money has continued to flood in thanks, in part, to rapid improvements in artificial intelligence (AI), used by researchers to interpret the data from the implants.

Tech titan Elon Musk has refocused some energy on his Neuralink firm after it received permission in May to test its implants on humans, helping it to raise $280 million in funding.

And other firms with less prominent bosses are proliferating, offering hope for sufferers of ailments from rare nerve diseases to severe epilepsy.

‘Turning point’

Synchron, a company formed more than a decade ago, raised $75 million this year with backing from the likes of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.

The firm got permission from the US authorities in 2021 to test its implant, and has since rolled it out to nine people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis — the motor neurone disease that physicist Stephen Hawking suffered from.

Its implant allows patients to use messaging apps or browse online using only eye movements and thoughts.

One of the big selling points is that, unlike other implants, it does not require invasive surgery.

The first goals of the Synchron test, said Dr David Putrino, who oversaw the medical trial at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, were to make sure the implant was safe and could monitor the brain over long periods.

On both fronts, he said, the trial had been a success.

Synchron founder Tom Oxley thinks the technology, known as brain-computer interface, is now at a “turning point”.

The industry must aim to make the implants widely accessible, he told AFP.

There are still pretty hefty impediments before that can happen, not least that the most powerful results often come from the most invasive implants.

For example, a patient in the US, Ian Burkhart, who was left paralysed from the neck down after a diving accident, told AFP that getting an implant that allowed him to control his arms and hands again was a “magical moment”.

But he was only ever able to do that in a lab and the implant, known as a Utah array, was far from comfortable.

“The brain doesn’t like having stuff inside it,” said Michael Platt, professor of neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania.

“And so the immune system of the brain will attack these devices,” he said of the Utah arrays.

As the implants get covered by cells, they are less able to transmit signals from the brain and they function less well.

Although far less advanced, some researchers are pinning their hopes on techniques that do not involve implants. 

In May, scientists at the University of Texas at Austin said they had used brain scans and AI modelling to glean “the gist” of what people were thinking.

The technique relied heavily on the GPT models developed by OpenAI, which are capable of analysing massive chunks of data increasingly quickly.

But such research is at the very earliest stage and involves patients spending as much as 16 hours each time in an MRI scanner.

Musk’s telepathy plan

While most players in the field are exclusively concerned with medical uses for neurotechnology, Musk is different.

The maverick tycoon is touting the possibility of telepathy, using the technology to store memories or to enable humans to continue their existence without their bodies.

“In the future you will be able to save and replay memories,” he told a Neuralink event in 2020. 

“You could potentially download them into a new body or into a robot body.”

These claims remain far from reality but this has not stopped Musk from going even further. 

He sees implants as a way of enhancing humans — a vital move, he thinks, if our species is to co-exist with superintelligent machines.

“That might be the most important thing that a device like this achieves,” he said.