Exclusive first drive in new Stratos supercar

A brilliant montage of the original Lancia Stratos in the heat of competition battle is playing on a big screen, backed by some great period rock tunes. One of the most successful rally cars of the 1970s, the Stratos is one of those cars that exerts a magical hold over the people who lived through its imperial period, and for many beyond that too. Just 492 were made, and it was conceived purely as a pretty terrifying competition weapon. It is, to use an over-used word, a legend.

Now it's back. To the strains of Rolling Stones classic 'You Can't Always Get What You Want', it's obvious that for German businessman and Stratos enthusiast Michael Stoschek, sometimes you can get exactly what you want. Read the whole article here ---> Top Gear

Top Gear: Saab 9-X Air Concept

Saab may have stagnated into GM-branded middle-of-the-roadness in recent years, but when the engineers from Trollhatten are left to their own devices, they can still come up with some pretty nifty technology.

Like this, the 9-X Air Concept. Forget the standard Saab concept face and eminently sensible 1.4-litre turbocharged engine (E85 powered, naturally) and take a look at that roof instead.

The Air Concept is, essentially, Saab's guess at what the next-gen 9-3 convertible will look like when it goes on sale around 2013, and it features a very cool folding soft-top roof.

There's a two-piece fabric cover with a solid glass rear screen, which descends when the roof is folded back and then raises back up to cut out turbulence in the cabin.

Shunning a fashionable folding hard top is good news for weight, while a glass screen eliminates the need for one of those huge cumbersome deflector-thingies that fit over the rear seat. Neat, eh?

Saab reckons the added lightness should allow the Air Concept to hit 60mph in just over eight seconds while returning a healthy 107g/km of CO2.

We'll get to fiddle with the Air Concept's clever roof at the Paris show early next month, if the Saab engineers let us near it...

European hunting season cancelled: Cadillac CTS-V not crossing Atlantic

Cadillac's wicked new CTS-V may have the likes of the BMW M5 in its sights, but it appears that it won't be hunting down the best that Munich, Stuttgart and Ingolstadt have to offer on their Autobahn home turf. According to Top Gear, Caddy's U.S. minders don't think the V's blown V8 is good for Europe, so the car apparently won't be making the boat trip across the Atlantic. Unfortunate, as it would have been interesting to see how America's ultimate muscle sedan would have fared when euro journos pitted it against all the hometown favorites. Sure, we'll see comparos done Stateside, but it would have been fun to see Cadillac put on the "away" jersey to try and add some luster to that long-tarnished "Standard of the World" mantle against Europe's top performance machines -- including the ones we don't see here, like the new Audi RS6 .

Source: Top Gear

Project Kahn Bentley Continental GTS ‘Black Edition’

Project Kahn is proud to announce the launch of the new Bentley Continental GTS ‘Black Edition’.

The ‘Black Edition’ has an eight-piece body consisting of a three piece rear valance, two side skirts, a two piece front valance and a rear boot spoiler. This kit has been developed by our Project Kahn design team and has undergone many hours of testing not only to ensure safety but also to ensure that a perfect fit is achieved for each car.

The ‘Black Edition’ package contains a full interior styling program which includes a bespoke Project Kahn Luxury Leather upgrade and high gloss piano black interior fascia panels with the optional extras of either a high gloss piano black steering or a carbon fibre finish steering wheel. Each car comes with privacy tinted glass perfectly matched to compliment the cars exterior. To complete the ‘low to the road’ aggressive stance the ‘black edition’ is fitted with a Project Kahn electronic lowering module. As standard the suspension is lowered by 20mm but this can be adjusted according to the customers’ requirements.
Each ‘Black Edition’ is fitted with the Project Kahn GTS sports exhaust system which provides a slight increase in performance whilst accelerating but more importantly emits a unique sound emanating from the car as a deep rumble.

However the most unique feature of the ‘Black Edition’ is the addition of the new ‘Silver Mist’ alloy wheel.

Source: Tuning News

Bumper Stickers Cause Road Rage

Bumper stickers are hilarious. "If the screams from my trunk bother you, turn up your radio"? Side-splitting. 'I'm not stupid, I'm hard of thinking'? Classic.

But psychologists in Colorado have discovered a high correlation between bumper stickers and road rage. Really. More bumper stickers equal more rage.

And, even more intriguingly, it doesn't matter what's on the stickers: angry slogans, hilarious one-liners, messages of world peace. Sticky bumper, angry brain.

The study tells us that the bumper sticker is used as something that marks territory, personalising the car in the same way as vanity plates and decals and making the driver more likely to defend their territory.

"We have a lot of instincts that animals have," says William Szlemko, co-author of the study. "Many people respond as if the violation took place in their home and not on a public road."
So unless you want people thinking you're a cleaver-wielding nutjob, you'd better peel off that "My Other Car is a Bus" as quick as you can.

That said, we've always found the shotgun/back window correlation a rather clearer indication of likely road manners.

Source: Top Gear

Announcing Top Gear's - Team America

California, free refills and Megan Fox are no longer the only good things about America.

Because now, America has its own Top Gear television show.

And even though you will have no idea who any of them are, they've just announced their presenters...

First up there's Adam Carolla, who has a whole host of superlatives associated with his name, like 'comedian', 'radio personality', 'television presenter' and 'actor'.

He's best known over there for his radio program "The Adam Carolla Show", yet over here you might have seen him in Crank Yankers, the TV show he produced and starred in that features real crank calls by celebrity guests which are then re-enacted on screen by puppets.

Most importantly however, he owns two classic Lambos, Maseratis, Ferraris and an Audi S4.

Which is a better qualification than anything.

Then there's Tanner Foust - how good is that name?? - who's a high demand stunt guy, having driven in The Bourne Ultimatum, that Fast And The Furious set in Japan and, er, The Dukes Of Hazzard.

He's also won a load of different things for rallying, drifting, ice racing and time attack. But all you really need to know is this, and that he drives a 'tricked-out' M3.

Bringing up the rear is Eric Stromer, who's an American DIY legend - think Handy Andy with blonde hair and a guitar - who's also a regular on Carolla's radio show, advising listeners on their construction concerns.

And he drives a Toyota Camry hybrid... ahem.

It seems no one's told Clarkson that though, 'cos he's quite happy about it all.

Source: Top Gear