The Lancia Stratos is a rally legend and one of the most iconic sports cars of all time with legions of fans. One of those fans, German businessman Michael Stoschek, even went as far as commissioning Pininfarina to build a one-off modern-day iteration of the Stratos based on the hardware of a Ferrari 430 Scuderia.

But not many people know that the first spark that ignited this firestorm was a Bertone concept. Enter the 1970s Stratos Zero prototype. It all started when Bertone had the idea to mount the Fulvia's 1.6-liter V4 engine on a new base. This is how the Stratos Zero concept car was born, a 3.58 meter (141 inches) long and just 84 cm (33 inches) tall prototype envisioned by Marcello Gandini, the same man responsible for the designs of the Lamborghini Countach and Miura.

Yes, we know: this video is almost three months old, which for the Point-and-Click Generation is practically ancient history. We're like your Grandpa, buying you a NWA CD and being all like, "Your Mom says these guys are 'hip'!"

Now to the video. Back around August, a man in the U.S. took a Bugatti Veyron for a test drive and as he was backing out, he bumped into what appears to be a Toyota Corolla (correct us if we are wrong).

Top Gear UK can be considered an aristocrat among motoring shows. And, being the true blue-blooded Brits that they are, the cast spends time doing things that befit this privileged status. Real nobles have interesting hobbies like breeding horses. Top Gear UK takes this to a whole new level: it actually breeds its staff... Watch the videos after the break to see how Jeremy Clarkson and the new Stig came to be.

Yesterday we showed you a video with Chris Harris' first impressions on the BMW 1-Series M Coupe. Now it's time for Evo's Phil Bennett to take the wheel of the Caparo T1 at the N�rburgring race track. The Caparo currently comes in two flavors: the basic T1 with 575bhp, and a more track-oriented version, the 620 bhp Race Extreme.

Where are my friends with their Ferrari 430 Scuderias and Monza track days? The best I can hope for is a ride around the McDonald's parking lot in a rust-coloured Datsun 280ZX with a faulty clutch. No wonder I'm so cynical.

So the story goes that YouTube member "Marchettino" flew shotgun in his mate's Ferrari 430 Scuderia at some sort of invitation only track day for Ferraristas. Speaking of which, there's a nice selection of Maranello muscle there. I think I saw (and correct me if I'm wrong) two 430s (white and red), a red 360, a black 458 Italia, a red 599 and a silver 575 M. Man, my Jealous-O-Meter is at like 11 right now.

Yesterday, Evo magazine released a video in which Chris Harris goes to Munich to find out if the BMW 1-Series M Coupe is a proper M car. His conclusions will bring joy to BMW fans, as Mr. Harris thinks that everything from the engine character to steering and damping "feels like a really good package".

"This is going to be the car that everyone wants" he says, although that largely depends on the price point. Let's just hope the Germans won't get greedy. In any case, Harris' input is a very valuable one and it seems that BMW's engineers are on a good path with the upcoming 1-Series M Coupe.

Here are the first real life photos of some of the Mopar-tuned Chrysler Group products that were introduced at the SEMA aftermarket show in Las Vegas. If you follow the break, you can find photos of the customized Fiat 500, Dodge Redline Charger, Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee, plus a video with Mark Allen, head of Jeep Product Design, showing off three new Jeep studies.

Some people are just meant to go places. In the case of 16-year old Azeem Hill and the rest of Simon Hauger's West Philadelphia-based high-school hybrid team, that place is somewhere into the vastly expanding world of alternative fuel technology.

The West Philly Hybrid X Team, builders of the EVX GT and EVX Focus, is the result of an after-school program at the Academy of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering meant to educate youth about the future of hybrid tech and transportation. What's more impressive is that this young underdog team was in the running for this year's Automotive X Prize.

Last night, the Chrysler Group's Mopar division held a special media event at its SEMA Show booth in Las Vegas to show off its new goodies, which include the 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 Inaugural Edition, Charger Redline, Durango and the Rich Evans Mopar-powered Challenger. This video from the presentation provides us our first glimpse of the 2011 Challenger SRT8's interior, which doesn't look any different from the current model sans the newly designed and badged three-spoke sports steering wheel. Follow the jump to watch the video clip.

Under the "Revive the Passion" motto, Porsche Classic began a 12 month restoration project of a 1973 911 T Coupe (US model) on behalf of the Porsche Club of America (PCA) in August 2010. The fully restored classic will be raffled off among PCA members and presented to the winner at the U.S. Porsche Parade in August 2011. The video after the break explains what Porsche Classic is all about and how the cars are being brought back to life.

At the 26th Annual Brazilian Motor Show in Sao Paulo, the local motoring press were abuzz over Rossin-Bertin's Vorax. Carscoop reported on the carbon fibre bodied, BMW M5 engined supercar in an article last week.

We have videos aplenty, including a first taste of the Vorax's sonorous V10 soundtrack and a look behind the design process that features an interview with designer Fharys Rossin himself (albeit in Portuguese).

Here's some recent global infrastructure news from Thuringia, Germany: a 30-meter wide, 25-meter deep sinkhole recently opened up in an unsuspecting neighborhood to swallow up some property. In this case, the only losses were a car, some road, and a driveway and garage door.

The sinkhole, which is one of the largest ones to form in Thuringia, is suspected to be the result of "a salt column, calcium sulphate or limestone [dissolving]". According to reports, the region averages twenty smaller sinkholes a year.

Remember Murray Fowler and his BMW 2800 CS? Then you probably wondered who the next impromptu actor in BMW's "Unscripted" series would be. Well, your wait is over: it's none other than female racer and television personality Sabine Schmitz, also known as the "Queen of the N�rburgring" or the "fastest taxi driver in the world".

She earned these nicknames for lapping the German race track more than 20,000 times (according to her own estimates), mostly behind the wheel of the famous BMW M5 Ring Taxi. Other highlights of her carrier include two wins (in 1996 and 1997) and a third place finish (2008) at the 24 Hours N�rburgring.

Having few things to do this weekend, I decided to crash a Toyota event. It was the 2010 Toyota Experience, which will eventually cover 17 Romanian cities and is meant to promote the Japanese manufacturer's European line-up, from the cute-and-cuddly iQ to the rough-and-tough Hilux truck and the more stylish Land Cruiser. Video after break.

To say that Demitrios Bisbelis from Melbourne, Australia, is lucky, is an enormous understatement. The 31-year old man escaped almost certain death - or serious injuries at best, when he decided to get out of bed briefly at 2 am to check his computer in another room. A few minutes later, a Hyundai Excel [also know as the Pony] ploughed into his house and onto the bed he was lying on moments ago!

The Red Bull X1 will be the fastest car in Sony's forthcoming Gran Turismo 5 - that is, if the game ever comes out� To prove this, Sebastian Vettel was asked to do a lap of the N�rburgring race track. As you'd expect, it was done in record time and you can witness it by watching the video after the break.

This is all fine and dandy, but the X1 doesn't exist in real life. However, the science behind it is very real, so, if it were to be built, it would be the fastest vehicle on Earth. Let's check out some [virtual] facts and numbers.

On paper, the X1 measures 0.98 m (38.58 inches) tall, 2.18 m (85.82 inches) wide and 4.75m (187 inches) long - or about the same length as an average family sedan.

A while back, Dr. Ulrich Bez, CEO of Aston Martin, said that "the One-77 is approaching a production reality and� the next steps are all about details and refinement to complete the composition."

Well, it seems that engineers and test drivers are indeed refining this 750-horsepower beast these days, as a prototype model has been caught on video while frantically lapping the N�rburgring race track.

The first ever theme park dedicated to Ferrari and the largest of its kind, opened its doors to the international press on Wednesday. Ferrari World Abu Dhabi's much-anticipated public opening was also scheduled for the same day, however it was postponed due to the death of 92-year-old Sheik Saqr bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi, the ruler of emirate Ras Al Khaimah.

Ferrari World's officials are said to have been expecting up to 10,000 people on the first day of its opening. Today, it was announced that the 40-acre theme park on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, will open to the public on November 4.

In what could be one of the most subtle proposals to come out of the DAMD tuning shop yet, the Japanese aftermarket company presented a rather tasty styling kit for the new Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, which as you probably already know, is called ASX in Europe and RVR in Japan.

E30s seem to be popping up everywhere lately. After the impressive electric 3-Series from VST Conversions, we now have word that one Bill Caswell and his late 1980's E30 will be at SEMA thanks to Miller Electric Mfg. Co.

The "rally racer and ultimate DIY enthusiast" made news in March when he took on $100,000+ competition in an old 318i during Rally Mexico. While at SEMA, Bill will be converting a 1989 BMW 3-Series coupe [E30] into an off-road Baja blaster in order to compete in the SCORE Baja 1000's Sportsman class (starting November 17th). Now that's hardcore.

Here's a breakdown of Bill's SEMA welding schedule prior to tackling the rally: roll cage on day 1, front cage/suspension on day 2, rear cage/suspension on day 3, and "accessories" on day 4. Day 4's work will include finishing the main cage and crafting other Baja racing necessities such as a front brush guard, fuel cell, light bar, and more.