VIDEO: Top Gear Shooting in Israel with BMW Z3, Mazda MX-5 and Fiat Barchetta

Thanks to one of Carscoop's commentators, we can now show you a video of Top Gear's trio of power obsessed presenters -that would be Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond- filming an episode in the Holy Land. As noted in our previous article with the scoop pictures, the cars of choice for Top Gear's latest escapade, are a trio of older generation roadster models - the BMW Z3, Mazda MX-5 and Fiat Barchetta.

There's also a guy with a white racing helmet driving what looks like an old Suzuki Alto, but we're not sure if he's part of the Top Gear crew or if some fans of the show decided to make fun of The Stig. As always, any help with the translation, would be welcome. Watch the video after the jump.

Hat tip to 'Mako'!

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Top Gear Caught Filming Battered Up BMW Z3, Fiat Barchetta and MX-5 at Israel-Jordan Borders

The crew from Top Gear [the original, not the US clone that some are persistently trying to shove down our throat - we get it, it's coming...], was snagged chilling at the border between Israel and Jordan.

According to one of our tipsters, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond drove their specially modified BMW Z3, Fiat Barchetta and Mazda MX-5 roadsters from Jordan to Israel and their next stop will be at the Golan Heights and at Nazareth. Maybe we'll get some new photos from the shoot, but for now, enjoy some high-res pics after the jump.

Hat tip to Ran!

Source: Hwzone

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Mazda Continues MX-5 Festivities with Black & Matte Special Edition

Paris: In honor of the MX-5's 20th French birthday, Mazda rolled out the MX-5 Black & Matte Edition at the Salon du Cabriolet, Coupé & SUV, an event that I have never heard of before in my entire life.

From the French press release, it sounds like Mazda teamed up with a local designer to throw itself a party; fine by me, but the invitations must have been lost in the mail, because I ain't there.

Starting with a 2.0 liter Roadster Coupe, Paris design house LK (run by Laure Kczekotowska) seems to have taken the black, matte Miata and covered it "with rhinestones, gems, [and] crystals". I don't see no rhinestones, Kenny.

Anyway, the point is this: PARIS. SPECIAL EDITION. MX-5. HAUTE COUTURE. SOMETHING SOMETHING. PARTY. You get the idea.

- By Phil Alex

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Mazda Raffles Off Mazda2, Mazda3 and MX-5 in Doodle Design

Let me guess; some of you are wondering what the heck is "doodle design"? Well, simply put, it's the sort of unfocused and usually random sketches you've all drawn at some point in your life on schoolbooks and quite possibly in your later years, on notepads during work meetings maybe even throughout some horrifically boring speech at an automotive press event... But what has doodle-design got to do with these one-off Mazda models?

Well, as part of its sponsorship of the "O2 World Tour" event held in Hamburg, Germany, the Japanese firm raffled off a Mazda2, Mazda3 and an MX-5 / Miata Roadster, all of which featured the same drawings from doodle-design artist, Carl Heinz Daxl.

We can't but wonder how long will it take for the three owners of the cars to remove the 'doodly' finish...

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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.

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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.

Via: Autonews (Sub. Req.)

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