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Test-Driving ECD's Jaguar E-Type GTO No. 1—'The Bridgewater Commission'
ECD Auto Design's radical new Jaguar E-Type restomod blends historical elements with modern creature ... More comforts.
ECD Auto DesignOne of the most desirable cars in the world lives at the Petersen Automotive Museum, which allows the general public to catch a glimpse of, but certainly not drive, Steve McQueen's 1956 Jaguar XKSS. Nicknamed "The Green Rat," McQueen's Jag reached legendary status in Hollywood lore, but is also the car I grew up hearing my dad reminisce about from his own childhood in Laurel Canyon. More recently, I came perhaps the closest I might ever come to driving an XKSS, on a dreamy day in a spectacular E-Type restomod build by Florida-based ECD Auto Design.
This car emerged from the company formerly known as East Coast Defenders as a one-off customer commission inspired by the XKSS, the historical D-Type racecars it was based on and even the Ferrari 250 GTO. The build features totally custom bodywork with a removable hardtop, a hot-rod V12 engine and a five-speed manual transmission—all in green over tan, of course.
The GTO's wood-rimmed steering wheel, dash switchgear and upright shifter all hark back to Jaguars ... More of olde.
Michael Teo Van RunkleECD brought the car, in this case known as GTO # 1 or The Bridgewater Commission, out for test drives in Malibu alongside a more traditional E-Type 2+2 featuring an American V8 and automatic gearbox. For a bit of context, I drove the coupe first. And boy, does ECD turn out a spectacular creation, which perfectly nails modern ease and classic comfort. The Chevrolet LT1 V8 puts down effortless torque that matches buttery gearshifts, a smooth suspension setup, immaculate steering precision and excellent visibility over that longer-than-long hood.
After a few minutes, I slipped into The Bridgewater Commission, which introduced a new level of build complexity for ECD. As I acquainted myself to the car, founder Tom Humble described the job as the kind of undertaking reserved only for repeat customers.
"When it's someone that's a repeat customer, we do let them lead a little bit," he told me. "We'll kind of keep it in the realms of possibility, but if they want something one-off and hand-built, I mean, that's what we do."
"Luckily, the architecture is already there in the car. It's just a little bit of refinement and modernizing where you can, and it actually comes out really nice. You don't need to reinvent the wheel with the E-Types, you need to just refine them a little bit."
Fully custom bodywork finished in metallic British Racing Green drapes over wire wheels and Fosseway ... More Performance brakes.
Michael Teo Van Runkle Building a Newly Stylized Jaguar RestomodThe GTO theoretically started life as a Series 2 E-Type, but now features the fully custom body, details from a Series 1 including the taillight and headlight covers, plus the V12 engine from a Series 3 that Team CJ of Austin, Texas, bored out to 6.8 liters with fully upgraded internals and gorgeous velocity stacks. The mill now routes around 450 horsepower through a Tremec five-speed on the way to a Series 3 rear end rebuilt with a limited-slip differential.
That rear end presented further challenges given the wider body, so ECD needed to source entirely new axles and cradles—all custom jobs—plus a set of sparkling wire wheels. And even before pulling away, first impressions of the GTO versus the 2+2 revealed an entirely new ballgame. On a sunny day, we ditched the hardtop, but I still needed to adjust to the smaller Momo steering wheel with a mahogany rim, as well as the surprisingly notchy shift knob. Then, I slotted the key into the center console above the shifter and thumbed the ignition to fire up that V12, which barked to life raucously before settling into a lumpy idle.
Lifting the clamshell hood reveals a stroked V12 that looks just as good as it sounds.
Michael Teo Van RunkleHumble acknowledges the appeal of the Jaguar V12, which Team CJ spent six months building (a pittance compared to the 14 months the hand-formed body required) but honestly recommends the LT1 small block to most customers in the name of reliability and simplicity. But even after a few seconds, everyone will fall in love with this V12. And even if a few oil hiccups might crop up over the years, at least it's not carbureted, so fuel injection should help with cold starts on early Sunday mornings.
The neighbors won't appreciate the grumbling exhaust, though the engine doesn't rev particularly high for a V12, given the 6,000-rpm redline. But it's a spicy torque monster, as I quickly discovered while acclimating to the clutch pedal, which engages rather high off the floor. We slowly pulled away, the wind rush starting to ruffle hairs, but the lack of calm versus the 2+2 only highlighted everything wonderful about the drive.
Lucente Hercules leather contrasts perfectly with the BRG paintjob.
Michael Teo Van Runkle Undeniable Performance Gains, But Further Refinement Still RequiredBy comparison, the GTO's suspension more squarely rides the wider tires, all of which imbues a newfound level of perceived performance even without pushing particularly hard. The steering weights up mightily entering corners, as the engine blatters away—I found a quick shift helped to prevent the revs from dropping too rapidly between gears. We've come a long way from the boatlike nature of an unmodified E-Type, but the slight revisions make do quite nicely.
I enjoyed not just the sensory overload of physical effort, lateral g forces and aural stimulation, but also spent plenty of time sussing out the varying character that the total combination of ECD's decisions create. Each car brings a different unique nature to the table, and even if the GTO still needs a bit of ironing out to reach the level of build quality the 2+2 clearly revealed, the rugged tactility of more directly harnessing a V12 engine in a lighter body with wider track all create a compelling case for the more hardcore build.
Perfection in the details required 14 months of labor, by hand, to complete the GTO's immaculate ... More bodywork.
Michael Teo Van RunkleBrief impressions aside, as we wrapped up the day, I also wondered whether I'll ever get any closer to living out my lifelong XKSS dream. For that reason alone, GTO # 1 aka The Bridgewater Commission sure seems worth the extra investment—which I can admit is no joke, jumping up from $399,000 to start for the 2+2 all the way to $599,000 for the GTO. But that indelible attraction is what ECD hopes to bank on, as the firm continues refining this first effort and ever improving the classic Jaguar E-Type.
Correction 6/29/25: This article was updated to reflect the nickname of ECD's GTO # 1 as "The Bridgewater Commission."
Cure For Type 1 Diabetes 'edges Closer' With World First 3D Printing Breakthrough
A major breakthrough in 3D printing could transform the way we treat type 1 diabetes - bringing us closer than ever to a cure.
In a world-first, scientists have successfully 3D printed functioning human islets - the tiny clusters of cells in the pancreas that produce insulin - using a special 'bioink' made from real human pancreatic tissue. And unlike current transplants, these 3D-printed cells can be implanted just beneath the skin in a simple, low-risk procedure.
The pioneering work was revealed today at the prestigious International Transplant Congress (ESOT Congress) 2025 in London, where experts described it as "a game-changer for diabetes care."
Crucially, the bioprinted islets responded just like real ones - releasing insulin when blood sugar rose, and stopping when it dropped, mimicking the body's natural rhythms.
Leading scientist Dr. Quentin Perrier called the result "incredibly exciting" and said the technology could one day eliminate the need for daily insulin injections.
"We're getting closer to an off-the-shelf therapy that could restore natural insulin production," he told the Sunday Express. "This could completely change how we treat diabetes."
Overcoming key hurdles
Current islet transplants are expensive and often short-lived. They require donor tissue to be infused into the liver, a process that involves hospitalisation and can lead to cell loss and rejection.
But this new technique offers a safer and more effective route. The bioprinted islets are designed to be placed just under the skin using a local anaesthetic and a tiny incision - making them easier to monitor, replace and potentially scale up.
And for the first time in 3D bioprinting, over 90% of the cells survived the process. Even three weeks after printing, the structures held their shape and continued working normally.
Dr Perrier and his team used a soft, supportive bioink made from alginate and decellularised pancreatic tissue, mimicking the natural environment of the pancreas. This helped the printed islets get enough oxygen and nutrients, boosting their survival and performance.
"We slowed down the printing process and reduced pressure so the cells wouldn't be damaged," Dr Perrier explained. "It was like handling glass - it had to be done gently, precisely and with the right materials."
In lab tests, the bioprinted islets behaved just like their natural counterparts. They detected rising blood glucose and released insulin in response. By day 21, their ability to regulate blood sugar had improved even further.
Perhaps most importantly, they showed greater insulin release than standard transplant preparations - raising hopes that smaller, simpler implants could achieve better outcomes than existing treatments.
And thanks to their porous, sponge-like design, the printed islets allow nutrients and oxygen to flow freely - reducing the risk of breakdown or failure, which has plagued earlier 3D printing attempts.
Hope for millions
More than 400,000 people in the UK live with type 1 diabetes, a lifelong autoimmune condition where the body attacks its own insulin-producing cells. Most rely on insulin pumps or injections multiple times a day, along with constant blood sugar monitoring.
But islet transplantation, while effective, is currently limited by donor availability, high costs and complex surgical risks.
This breakthrough could change all that.
Dr Perrier's team is now testing the 3D-printed implants in animals and hopes to start early human trials within the next few years. They're also exploring cryopreservation, meaning the islets could be produced in advance and stored - making future treatments faster and more widely available.
The team is also working to expand the technology to include lab-grown or pig-derived insulin cells, which could solve the donor shortage once and for all.
"This is about making cell therapy accessible," said Dr Perrier. "With scalable printing and simple implants, we could finally take this out of the lab and into real-world clinics."
Experts at the ESOT Congress, Europe's largest transplant science event, hailed the innovation as a major step toward personalised, regenerative treatments for diabetes.
While more testing is needed, there's growing confidence that 3D printing could soon offer a reliable, low-risk and cost-effective therapy that works in harmony with the human body.
For now, the message from the researchers is clear: this is no longer science fiction.
"We've shown that it's possible to print real, working human islets," said Dr Perrier. "If future trials go well, we could be on the verge of a new era in diabetes care
Former Portland Trail Blazer Hosts Basketball Camp For Kids With Type 1 Diabetes
CORBETT Ore. (KPTV) - Camp Howard in Corbett is the new place to be for year 30 of the Chris Dudley Basketball Camp.
Kids are offered the space to connect, build confidence and learn how to thrive at a one-of-a-kind week-long overnight camp with a former Trail Blazer who spent six professional seasons in two stints with Portland as the first player with type 1 diabetes in the NBA.
"I made a commitment years ago that we're going to keep camp going as long until there is a cure and then we're going to have a big celebration," Chris Dudley said.
Basketball is global and so too is T1D.
"We get boys and girls ages 10 to 17 from all over the country and all over the world," Dudley said.
It's a trail-blazing time together in the shade of the pines and the shadow of Mt. Hood.
"Diabetes can be a lonely disease because people don't know what you're going through and for all of these kids, especially a teenager, they can feel all alone at their school. They might not know anybody at their school who has diabetes as well and here they all connect," Dudley said. "They all like basketball, all have diabetes and it's a fun group."
The now-60-year-old Ivy Leaguer from Yale was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease as a high school sophomore in San Diego.
"I wanted to never miss a game because of diabetes, and I was able to play 16 years and I never did miss a game because of diabetes, but I would tell them, it wasn't easy," Dudley said.
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As part of FOX 12's Well-Being Revolution, Nora Hart went out on the trail to explore the benefits of hiking therapy."We say you can do whatever it is you want to do in life provided that, and it's a big provision, you take care of yourself," Dudley said. "You can't ignore it. You've got to take care of it, you've got to embrace it, and if you do so, don't let it stop you from doing whatever it is. Whether it's playing in the NBA or be a doctor or whatever. Don't let it stop you."
Chris Dudley, his wife Chris Love Dudley, and their three grown kids have been happy campers from Vernonia to Corbett since 1996.
"Almost all of our entire staff has been a previous camper or some in some capacity," Love Dudley said.
Camp capacity is 75 kids and it's always fully booked.
"When they come here, this is their normal, right?" Love Dudley said. "They all have something in common and we come here, and we don't understand but they have each other."
They are the lucky few. Mr. And Mrs. Dudley are too.
"It recharges me to see these kids and just the connections that are out here and I think anybody who is dealing with any issue, it's helpful to be able to talk about it with somebody else," Dudley said.
Love Dudley said, "We have a family motto that if something is not working, you have no right to complain about it unless you are willing to step up and do something about it."
While the core values of the camp remain the same, current diabetes management technology has been a game changer for the campers and Chris. The Omnipod 5, a tubeless Automated Insulin Delivery System, replaces multiple daily injections of insulin.
"It's made life so much easier," Dudley said. "Hopefully, some day we won't have to do any of it, but we're so thankful for the technological breakthroughs that we've had in helping us deal with it."
What a way to spend a week in the woods for teamwork, bonding and building relationships with other kids just like themselves across the country and even the world.
Visit the Chris Dudley Foundation website to learn more and donateCopyright 2025 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.
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