VIDEO: Mazda MX-5 20th Anniversary Meeting at Le Mans

During the second weekend of June, more than 200 Mazda MX-5 / Miata roadsters of all sorts of colors and types took part at the model's 20th anniversary birthday party, which was organized in cooperation with MX-5 clubs around Europe, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France. Our French friends from Supervroum2 participated in the event following the huge convoy of Miata roadsters to the Le Mans circuit. Watch the video after the jump.

Top Gear's Christmas Special Cars go on Display at the World of Top Gear Exhibition in the UK

This year’s Top Gear Christmas Special saw Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May embark on their most dangerous challenge yet: following the path of the three wise men, which took them on a 1,200 mile (1,932 km) journey, from Iraq to Bethlehem. In classic Top Gear fashion, the TV show hosts completed the trip in a trio of specially modified cars. These vehicles are now on display in the World of Top Gear exhibition at Beaulieu, UK.

Jeremy Clarkson bet his money on a Mazda MX5 that featured a unique “car of many colors” paintjob, an “axle of evil” and body full of holes, as a testimony to a “bulletproofing” plan gone wrong. An oversized bullbar and hookah pipe were also installed, but the latter fell off at some point in the journey.

James May went for an Afrika Korps and Luftwaffe themed BMW Z3, complete with a shovel and pickaxe mounted on the bonnet, plus a gas canister on the left fender.

Richard Hammond used a Fiat Barchetta, which, surprisingly, proved to be quite reliable. Special touches applied included actual “bits” of desert glued to the front of the car and parts of a Bedouin tent strapped to the rear.

World of Top Gear features a collection of cars used over the years in different challenges by the cast of the TV show and it also includes the “Enormodrome”, a recreation of the actual studio where the show is filmed.

“We like to keep the exhibition as up to date as we possibly can and what could be better than for fans to see the show on TV and then the cars just a few days later”, said Stephen Munn, Commercial Director at the National Motor Museum.

For more information visit www.beaulieu.co.uk.

Mazda Says it Will Add Gasoline-Electric Hybrid Drivetrains to Lineup

As the saying goes, if you can't beat them, you might as well join them. Following Mazda CEO Takashi Yamanouchi's 180 degree turn on the embracement of hybrid technologies that came at the New York Auto Show in April, the company's Executive Vice President Philip Spender announced new details on Mazda's future hybrid plans during the Japanese launch event of the 2010 Axela (Mazda3).

"We've started to talk a lot more about it lately, in part because everybody else is," Spender said. "Mazda is responding partly to new government incentives and emissions rules," he added.

Spender revealed that Mazda will not develop a standalone hybrid model but instead the firm will offer gasoline-electric drivetrains as an option on existing models in its portfolio with the first cars expected in the "20-teens".

The Mazda executive did not disclose details on which models would get a hybrid drivetrain option, but we gather that the Mazda3 and Mazda6 as well as the firm's SUV/Crossover models will be among the first in line. And how about Mazda's sportscars like the MX-5 / Miata roadster? Your guess is as good as ours, but feel free to state your thoughts in the comment section below.