Although the condition of this 1972 911 S/T today could certainly be described as perfect, its orangey‑red paintwork didn’t quite survive its rich racing history unscathed. Between 1973 and 1978, the car competed in the Camel GT Challenge on some of the most legendary circuits in North America: Sebring, Daytona, Indianapolis and many more. The details of a total of 27 race entries can be found in the archives for this Phoenix Red 911 S/T.

Colourful racing history

The 911 RSR, which was supplied from the factory prepared for racing, was difficult to get hold of in the early 1970s. That’s why Canadian team Equipe de Course Marc Dancose opted for a standard 911 S/T, which was then further optimised for racing by the renowned Brumos Racing team. Some of these modifications were particularly noticeable, with several solutions that were as distinctive as they were functional; for example, while the model’s standard wheels were retained on the front, Brumos fitted wider wheels – with a totally different design – at the rear. Brumos finished the bodywork in eye-catching Phoenix Red paint. As dazzling as the car’s colour and racing history may be, the Dancose 911’s competitive career came to an abrupt end in 1978 following a racing incident. Its final outing was cut short after a third-lap crash at the Trois‑Rivières circuit in the province of Québec.

Despite its misfortune, the Phoenix Red 911 S/T lived up to the name of its paint colour. Many years later, in its new home in a Swiss car collection, this special car was resurrected – like a phoenix rising from the ashes. But that’s not all. For its current owner, this special car also became the inspiration for a new one-off 911 S/T commissioned through the Porsche Sonderwunsch programme. The aim was not to simply produce a copy of the classic 911 S/T but to create an artistic reinterpretation.

An eye for the extraordinary

Through the course of this project, the experts in the Porsche Sonderwunsch department once again demonstrated their keen eye for detail. Just as with the 911 S/T built in 1972, the original Signal Yellow paintwork on the 2025 S/T is now visible only on selected parts of the car – most notably on the front bumper. The majority of the bodywork is finished in gleaming Phoenix Red. The period‑correct sponsor decals from the Camel GT Challenge weren’t carried over to this contemporary 911 S/T. Instead, designer Grant Larson – who was responsible, among other projects, for the Carrera GT and the first‑generation Boxster – played with the base tones of Phoenix Red and Signal Yellow to create a flowing colour pattern that was painstakingly applied by hand.

A look back

Of course, the motorsport history of the original car from the 1970s found its way into the Sonderwunsch one‑off. The Camel GT Challenge was a series for sports cars and prototypes organised by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), held from 1971 on circuits across the US and Canada. The races ranged from short sprint events to endurance races lasting up to 24 hours. From the second season in 1972 onwards, the tobacco company Camel became the title sponsor.

As ubiquitous as tobacco advertising was in the 1970s, the topic is a little taboo when it comes to a Sonderwunsch model made in 2025. Nevertheless, the iconic camel – along with outlines of the racetracks of Sebring, Daytona, Indianapolis and Lime Rock Park – found its way into the 911 S/T in several delicately crafted details: on the bespoke embroidered headrests, the interior trim pieces and the door sills, as well as in the embossed motif on the lid of the storage compartment in the centre console. The logo projector in the doors also illuminates the ground with an image of the iconic camel at the wheel of a racing car. The camel has, however, kicked the smoking habit.

Intentional asymmetry

The Sonderwunsch team has also incorporated the visual asymmetry of the wheels into the design of the new reinterpretation. On the rear wheels of the new one‑off, the Manthey Racing aerodiscs developed for the GT3 RS are used – only when stationary, however, as these parts are not officially homologated for the 911 S/T. The Aero Discs can simply be removed for driving on the public road.

As with all Sonderwunsch creations, every modification meets the high-quality standards that all Porsche cars are required to fulfil. This unique 911 S/T is perfectly suitable for everyday road use as well as for the racetrack. The numerous fine detailed features – some of which aren’t immediately noticeable at first glance, including the intricate paintwork – have all been applied with exceptional craftsmanship. Together, they make the S/T not only a striking one‑off but also a perfect example to showcase the possibilities of the Porsche Sonderwunsch programme – even the revival of historic colours like Phoenix Red.

Women In Blockchain Asia (WIBA) was launched heralding a new chapter in the development and participation of women in digital technology specifically in the area of blockchain development, curation of Web 3.0 solutions and expansion of the understanding of distributed ledger technology.

Under the banner of “Let’s build an inclusive future with the power of Blockchain”, WIBA was set up as a mission-driven non-for-profit organisation established to help foster growth of the blockchain industry by increasing the representation and profile of women in blockchain in Asia.

Its overarching aim is to enable and empower women through knowledge, experience and resources needed to thrive as builders and leaders in the blockchain space. Through partnerships with industry players, educational institutions, Governments and multilateral organisations WIBA will provide educational programs as well as the roll out of exciting blockchain projects and community support networks to help women in Asia get on the digital “ladder”.

WIBA is led by a group of multi-talented individuals who have experience in blockchain, fintech, design, banking, market development, and more. Founding team members are Ida Mok, President; Poesy Liang, Vice President; Jasmine Ng, Surina Shukri, Farah Jaafar, Ivy Fung, Chezka Gonzales, Belinda Lim and George Wong.

PARTNERSHIP WITH ALGORAND FOUNDATION

WIBA has also recently partnered with REACH, backed by the Algorand Foundation to bring blockchain learning resources to educational institutions, initially in Malaysia with a vision of expanding the offering to other Asian countries.

At the launch, it was announced that University Malaya, University Sains Malaysia, University Tun Abdul Razak and Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation have signed a tripartite agreement with WIBA and the Foundation aimed at offering The Algorand x WIBA Blockchain Certification at these institutions of higher learning.

The syllabus and certification will be executed by WIBA under the auspicious of Algorand Foundation and will be offered over a 12-week period for all those enrolled in these institutions. An inter university hackathon is planned at the end of 2022, with an intra university challenged planned in 2023.

It is expected as more regional linkages are in place, an Asian wide challenge would be planned, allowing for more cross-national collaboration between women in blockchain.

Ida Mok, President of WIBA gives a peek into what a blockchain-enabled future may look like. “I believe access to finance, health, and education should never be curtailed by credit, colour, or creed. Blockchain will provide the technology to execute and deliver this inclusivity.”

Mok went on to add, that WIBA encourages other women based digital groups to come together with WIBA in order to provide a cohesive voice in the space, facilitating a unified approach in championing the role of women in advancement of blockchain technology.

Whether you are an aspiring chef or a seasoned home cook, whether you are simply looking to share your recipes or sell your immaculately prepared dishes – CookX Asia, the new social cooking app, that allows users to not only discover new recipes but also able to buy pre-pack ingredients kit from the recipes.

The brand new app is looking to grow its base of cooks and chefs in preparation for its official launch in May. Towards this end, CookX Asia has unveiled a slew of features, functions and benefits all targeted at benefiting what they term on the platform as the Creator-Partners.

Through the app these Creator-Partners will be able to share recipes, upload instructional videos, grow their popularity and even earn income.

Commenting on the app’s functionality, the founder of CookX Asia, Wong Yew Mun said, “Malaysia is home to so many incredible kitchen maestros – from stay at home mums to budding professional chefs and everything in between. With CookX Asia, we want to provide all of them a platform that can empower their entire culinary journey – first by creating a space where they can highlight their mouth-watering creations and then by engineering an ecosystem that can help them monetise their talents.”

With an intuitive and user-friendly interface, even the most novice home cook will be able to produce and upload best in class recipes that are vibrant with images, filled with detailed step-by-step instructions and structured in an easy to digest (pun very much intended) manner. The Creator-partners can easily use mobile to record videos with their own creativity and upload videos in App flexibility to complement their recipes that not only make the recipes easier to follow but also allow the cooks to showcase their own style and personality.

This plays a big role in the next phase – once the recipes are published and go live on the CookX Asia ecosystem. CookX Asia is cultivating a social platform that is set to be the go-to destination for all food lovers -attracting millions of users, especially the new generations who value the convenience factor, ease of cooking at home and environmental sustainability via food wastage reduction. Through the social platform, Creator-Partners will be able to easily manage all aspects of the app including the availability of recipe ingredients or the end products. They will also have an opportunity to build their own fans and garner followers, increasing awareness and their clout on their journey to culinary stardom.

Mobile App – Creator Profile Page

Once Creator-Partners have built a library of tantalising recipes and grown a loyal base of followers, CookX Asia helps them take it to the next level. With its integrated e-commerce, logistics and delivery functionalities, CookX Asia empowers budding cooks to monetise and earn from their passions and talents.

Creator-Partners can either sell their dishes as pre-order ready-made meals or focus on just the ingredients that are featured in their recipes through ‘Eco Packs’. Eco-Packs are packs that feature all the ingredients of recipes pre-measured to suit the user’s needs. The Eco-Packs are designed to encourage users to explore cooking themselves whilst keeping the task simple, and convenient – allowing anyone to cook like an expert at home anytime.

Creators-Partners have two options when selling Eco-Packs, they can either create, pack and sell their own Eco-Packs or alternatively Creator-Partners can create their recipe whilst the CookX Asia team helps to stock, fill and fulfil eco-pack orders according to the respective recipes.

“We wanted to give our talented cooks and chefs the ability to learn and earn flexibly. So whether they want to go all-in and take charge of every aspect of Eco-Packs or even if they just want to enjoy the creativity of devising new recipes, they are still being rewarded monetarily for their efforts,” Yew Mun added.

In line with this ambition, CookX Asia imposes a fair 15% commission rate per transaction through the App with a cap fee of RM10. This means that Creator-Partners can earn at least 85% of the income from every sale. The app also makes joining a breeze with zero set-up fees and quick registrations that allow Creator-Partners to get up and running within 3-5 days.

Sharing in the excitement of what’s to come, Yew Mun added, “We are excited to be getting closer to our official launch date when we will be able to offer millions of Malaysians, a brand new and unique experience to interact with the thing they love most – food. To do that we are now working hard to build a base of cooks and chefs that will excite users on a daily with new and interesting recipes that everyone will want to try at home.”

Established in 2021, CookX Asia is a social cooking app that allows the community to engage with each other creating, inspiring and supporting each other whilst building a healthy revenue stream for themselves. CookX Asia already features delectable recipes from the lead chefs at recognisable establishments such as Dewan 1958, Cafe Chef Wan, Kanteen and Beacon Chicken in their community.

To learn more about CookX Asia and find out how to become a Creator-Partner, visit https://cookx.asia/ to start now!

Also released along with the platform are two all-in-one AI sign language translators, providing one-stop solutions with a streamlined set-up process and plug-and-use features. By enabling public service deployment in scale, the translators have been designed for a wide range of use scenarios such as hospitals, banks, airports, bus stations and other public areas.

Baidu XiLing All-in-one AI Sign Language Translators

With the technology enablement brought by AI, the production and operational costs of digital avatars have been reduced to a significant degree, making it possible for AI sign language to go scale and serve more deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, said Tian Wu, Baidu Corporate Vice President.

Today, China is home to 27.8 million deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) individuals but is faced with a massive shortage of qualified professionals to serve their needs, with no more than 10,000 sign language translators, a gap especially felt in medical and legal settings.

The XiLing AI sign language platform and the all-in-one sign language translators are designed to fill this significant gap and address the communication difficulties facing the DHH community in both online and offline settings. For DHH individuals who want to study or socialize online without barriers, the platform can be quickly integrated into commonly used mobile applications, websites, and mini-programs within a few hours, performing functions like sign language video synthesis and livestream synthesis, text-to-sign language translation, and audio-to-sign language translations.

The all-in-one translators are tailored for offline scenarios to improve the accessibility of public services. Baidu’s translators come with two models, a full offline version V3, and a cloud-connected version P3. Both are embedded with core functions of the AI sign-language platform, able to realize ASR speech recognition, speech translation, and portrait rendering. This full range of functions offers incredible potential for empowering the DHH. For instance, DHH individuals will be able to visit the hospital and manage the complicated process of registration, consultation, payment, and medicine collection without further assistance. Additional applications hold the potential to allow the DHH community to travel, dine, and even work independently.

Technical Deep Dive

Compared to translations between spoken languages, the sign language translation is more complicated mainly because it is not translated word by word from verbal speech. Instead, the language refinement and word order must be adjusted in order to show the actual meaning of the sentence. As a relatively rarely-used language, a very limited amount of data on sign language is available for machine learning. It also requires lip language and facial expressions to assist understanding. In real-world settings, solutions are often faced with complex environmental factors making them difficult to deploy. All these practical barriers have posed numerous challenges to the development of AI sign language.

To make AI sign language comprehendible, Baidu scientists had to resolve three key challenges: the clarity of speech recognition, the accuracy of sign language translation, and the fluency of sign language movements.

To address speech recognition clarity, the XiLing AI sign language platform uses Baidu’s home-grown SMLTA speech recognition model to achieve end-to-end modelling speech recognition through integrating acoustics and language. Based on Baidu’s self-developed deep learning algorithm, targeted training can enable word accuracy in a wide range of fields such as tourism, medical care, and legal proceedings.

In terms of the accuracy and refinement of sign language translation, Baidu has built the first neural network-based sign language translation model with a controllable degree of refinement, which can automatically learn sign language translation knowledge from real data such as word order adjustment, word mapping and length control to generate natural sign language that conforms to the habits of hard-of-hearing people.

To ensure the accuracy of the sign language translation, Baidu has invited over 500 scholars and students with hearing loss in China to help enlarge and vet the sign language corpus, with many joining the project as volunteers. Tiantian Yuan, associate dean of Technical College for the Deaf, Tianjin University of Technology, said she and her students feel incredibly honoured to have contributed their parts in collaborating with Baidu to fill in this gap for the community.

To ensure the fluency of sign language actions, the AI sign language platform has sorted nearly 11,000 actions based on the National Universal Sign Language Dictionary with its “action fusion algorithm”, so that all digital sign language gestures have the degree of coherency and expression as human sign language. In addition, with the help of 4D scanning technology, the accuracy of mouth shape generation has been optimized up to 98.5%.

Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, Southeast Asian On-demand Food Delivery Market, finds that the industry presents promising growth opportunities for market participants. Increasing internet penetration and mobile applications and surging internet subscribers accelerate market expansion. The gross merchandise value (GMV) of the market in the region is likely to reach $49.72 billion by 2030, up from $15.15 billion in 2021, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) at 14.1%.

Southeast Asia’s on-demand food delivery market is highly concentrated. GrabFood (by Grab), Foodpanda (by Delivery Hero), and GoFood (by Gojek) contributed 84.8% of the total market share in 2021, followed by smaller operators such as Deliveroo in Singapore, Line Man in Thailand and ShopeeFood in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. By market share in 2021, GrabFood is the leading on-demand food delivery service in Southeast Asia with 47.8% of the market, followed by Foodpanda at 23.2%, GoFood at 13.8% and others at 15.2%.

“The rise of shared mobility solutions in Southeast Asia has accelerated the expansion of on-demand food delivery services. Backed by large customer bases and user dependence, operators’ super apps are enabling value chain integration,” said Ming Lih Chan, Industry Analyst, Mobility at Frost & Sullivan. “Additionally, major on-demand service operators are expected to broaden their product portfolios in the next one to three years, including on-demand deliveries of food and beverage, fresh foods and kitchen supplies, groceries, pharmaceutical products, and so on.”

Chan added: “The developments of on-demand food delivery services will lead to the optimization of merchants, including supply chain management and time management, which vary according to the food delivery types such as instant, scheduled, and deferred. In addition, with the rapid advancement of technology and the popularization of mobile internet, adoption of digital payment solutions as opposed to cash on delivery will also increase.”

To tap into the growth prospects, on-demand food delivery operators should:

• Evaluate the potential integration of different industries, especially those related to mobility, including strategic partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions.
• Improve the instant food delivery market and strengthen their competitiveness by broadening their product portfolios and application of new technologies.
• Explore partnerships with merchants, especially food and beverage restaurants and catering services, to enrich product choices for users.

Southeast Asian On-demand Food Delivery Market, 2021-2030 is the latest addition to Frost & Sullivan’s Mobility research and analyses available through the Frost & Sullivan Leadership Council, which helps organizations identify a continuous flow of growth opportunities to succeed in an unpredictable future.