Iceland’s Eyjafallajökull volcano has grounded thousands of flights around the world as it throws plumes of ash into the sky – and only one car has dared to enter the hot-zone.

The Arctic Trucks Hilux has proven it is more than just a one-hit-wonder Top Gear gimmick, transporting a team of scientists to the heart of the volcano to set up vital monitoring equipment before the long-dormant mountain blew its top last week.

This also explains earlier rumours that Top Gear was filming a new episode at the volcano, with the Icelandic scientists and their equipment mistaken for Clarkson, Hammond, May and the Top Gear film crew.

Boasting a raft of mechanical enhancements and giant low pressure 38-inch tyres, the Arctic Trucks Hilux has now conquered the coldest and hottest environments on the planet. Plus, in case you missed the news, you can now follow the Top Gear team’s footsteps to the North Pole in the very same Arctic Trucks Hilux.

Renaultsport has been chosen as Top Gear magazine’s Manufacturer of the Year.

A vintage year for the performance subsidiary of Renault, 2009 has seen the introduction of the new pocket rocket Twingo Renaultsport 133 Cup, the new Clio Renaultsport 200 and the imminent arrival on UK shores of the stunning Mégane Renaultsport 250.

Conor McNicholas, Editor of Top Gear, said, “Renaultsport has been impressing us for years but 2009 was the year where the whole project hit a new sweet spot – Twingo, Clio and Mégane all out in hot form and all of them at their best ever. For services to hot hatches, we salute you.”

Now in its 10th year, the Top Gear awards are a global recognition by the TV, magazine and online teams of the best from the last 12 months of the motoring world.

Remi Deconinck, Managing Director of Renault Sport Technologies, said, “The whole team at Renaultsport are honoured to receive this award. We like to think that Renaultsport and Top Gear share some fundamental values: accessible, enthusiastic and professional and with a well-developed sense of fun. Above all, we share a passion for cars and driving.”

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According to Top Gear’s website, The Stig has been arrested in Dublin, Ireland. Top Gear’s ‘tame’ racing driver was seen stopped by the local Garda on October 14th. The article started off with…”Big news straight out of Dublin: The Stig has been SENSATIONALLY ARRESTED by a FRIENDLY POLICEMAN following an ALLEGED INCIDENT of some kind.”

Apparently, there was also a witness who said… “I didn’t see what happened exactly, but it was probably really bad. Maybe he punched a swan or tried to push one of the Hairy Bikers into the river. Again.”

Well I am sure you get the drift of it. Its definitely a publicity stint, since the report concluded with statement, “By freakish coincidence, the 2009 Top Gear Live World Tour will be stopping off in Dublin in December.”

Clarkson, Hammond and May are set to return to the stage, having officially launched this year’s Top Gear Live World Tour from London’s Royal Geographical Society in true style; suspended below a hot air balloon.

In preparation for their latest tour, which will play to over 340 000 Top Gear fans worldwide, the crew have been hard at work to create a completely new live experience.

Fans can expect flaming rally cars, extreme underground street racers and cars which change colour in the blink of an eye. Other sequences will feature the infamous Stig who will be leading a troop of international stunt drivers via a mix of hand gestures, sonic pulses and Morse code, showing audiences the ultimate in precision driving.

Rowland French, Executive Producer, Top Gear Live said: “I for one am hugely excited about this coming Top Gear Live tour. We had a fantastic response last year, but to ensure we keep the audience on the edge of their seats once again, I’ve developed some truly groundbreaking machinery for the 09/10 tour.”

The task of putting on a show for 340 000 fans across four continents requires 135 trucks, 3 ships, 1 freight plane and 94 cars with 150 sets of tyres – a subtle hint at the tyre-frying antics we should expect.

The Top Gear Live 2009/2010 World Tour will premiere in the UK as part of the MPH show in London before finally reaching the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg from 4th to 7th February 2010.

Each leg will consist of ten shows presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May or, outside Britain, a combination of Jeremy and Richard or Jeremy and James, who will team up with local presenter, in our case, Sasha Martinengo.

Tickets are available through CompuTicket.