A Formula One driver of some renown, from 1987 to 2001 Prost held the record for the most Grand Prix victories. With four Formula One Drivers’ Champion titles under his belt, today only Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher boast more illustrious records. It’s safe to say, then, that Prost is the third best Formula One driver in the world – no mean feat for somebody who’s not raced in 20 years.

In his 12 active years, Prost took part in 202 races, of which he won 51. He made it to the podium 106 times, notching a total of 798.5 career points. He scored 33 pole positions and 41 fastest laps. In recognition of his considerable achievements, he was honoured at the 1999 World Sports Awards of the Century, winning in the motor sport category.

Yet perhaps Prost is most famous for the intense rivalry that fuelled his competition. He frequently locked horns with Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet, but it was his sparring with Ayrton Senna that would come to define his career.

They first came to blows at McLaren in 1988, and it may have been the will to conquer Senna that drove Prost to achieve his third Drivers’ Champion at the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix. A veritable rematch took place at the same venue the following year, with Senna this time emerging victorious. Driving for Ferrari, Prost would not win at all during the 1991 season. Incensed, he made some controversial public criticism of Ferrari, who promptly gave him the boot. He was inactive through 1992 but would return for one last season in 1993. Having secured his fourth and final championsip win, Prost went out on a high, retiring from driving at the end of the year.

Alain Prost is undoubtedly a giant of the motor racing world. Nicknamed The Professor, he took a philosophical and measured approach to his game whilst displaying a calm serenity behind the wheel.

On this, his birthday, take some time to relive the glory years with this fan-made tribute video:

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go!  From gorgeous decorations to the light blanked of snow, the entire country is gearing up for the event of the year. But while Santa Clause may have everything finished, most of us are still in a mad rush to get everything sorted before our families come in. In order to put you into the Christmas spirit on your drive to the store, here is our list of the top 5 car themed songs to enjoy this time of year:

5. Beach Boys- Little Saint Nick

We’d like to kick off our list with a classic Beach Boys hit that has come to define Christmas as well as the 1960’s. It tells the story of Saint Nick “hailing through the snow at frightening speeds,” delivering presents to children all around the world in his cool ride “with a four speed stick.” Covered by everyone from Hanson to McFly, it’s a fantastic little tune that will have you tapping away at your wheel as you do your own Christmas shopping.

The Beach Boys – Christmas Songs

4. Elmo and Patsy- Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer

As the name implies, this song is about a grandma getting over by Santa Clause himself! A quirky little tune, the music video shows a grandmother getting a little drunk on eggnog and wandering on off into a snowstorm. But as she rambles onto the street she gets hit by Santa’s reindeer and unfortunately dies. A lot less sober than it sounds, this song will have you laughing long after you’ve left your car.
wheel as you do your own Christmas shopping.

Elmo & Patsy – Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer

3. Da Yoopers- Rusty Chevrolet

While not a traditional Christmas song, this classic by Da Yoopers has been helping drivers get to their destinations for many years. A parody of ‘Jingle Bells,’ this car themed song has perhaps the best chorus of any holiday tune: “Oh, rust and smoke/the heater’s broke/The door just blew away/light a match to see the dash/And then I start to pray/The frame is bent, the muffler went/The radio, it’s okay/Oh what fun it is to drive/This Rusty Chevrolet.” An absolutely hilarious hit, this song will help you escape the hustle and bustle in order to enjoy the most wonderful time of the year.

Rusty Chevrolet” by Da Yoopers

2. The Pogues- Fairytale of New York

Regarded by many as the best modern Christmas songs ever written, we’re willing to bet that the mere mention already has you humming its chorus. It’s a love song set in the beautiful but dreary New York City where “’They’ve got cars big as bars/They’ve got rivers of gold/But the wind goes right through you/It’s no place for the old.” While it may be more reminiscent of Scrooge than Bob Cratchit, it’s still one heck song to drive to.

The Pogues & Kirsty McColl Fairytale Of New York

1. Chris Rea- Driving Home for Christmas

Clearly an obvious choice for best ‘car themed Christmas song,’ it simply can’t get any better than someone “sing[ing] this song/To pass the time away/Driving in my car/Driving home for Christmas.” The inspiration for this tune came when Rea was stuck in traffic driving to his home in Middlesbrough from London during the holiday season. Becoming a “car version of a carol,” it’s a fantastic tune that embodies the Car-istmas spirit.

Chris Rea: Driving Home For Christmas

Land Rover pride themselves on their rich heritage, and their illustrious history as a brand is celebrated in their latest advertising campaign.

With their new Facebook tab, Land Rover are inviting the curious and the enthusiastic alike to explore their various stories and achievements in more detail.

The new Land Rover Facebook page tells their story through a series of images and direct links to YouTube clips from yesterday and today. You can learn all about everything about the Land Rover – from their curious origins to the continued development of their design and engineering excellence; taking in, along the way, the various global achievements that have helped to make them, in their words, “one of the world’s best respected premium car manufacturers”.

The Land Rover Story

Our story begins with a section called Conceived on a Beach. Maurice and Spencer Wilks had a vision for a rugged vehicle with formidable capabilities. They sketched a rudimentary outline in the sand – the beginnings of a dream that would soon be realised in metal.

Chapter two details Land Rover’s long history of global expeditions. Beginning with the 1955 Overland Expedition and concluding with 2012′s Journey of Discovery, what better way to highlight the sheer tenacity of their vehicles than through showcasing such feats as a marathon adventure from Birmingham to Beijing in a successful attempt to raise £1million for the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies?

No Challenge Too Big

Next comes an exploration of those qualities inherent to every Land Rover model ever produced. Not Driven by Vanity or Fashion will satisfy anyone who’s ever wondered about just what makes Land Rover tick.  With a particular focus on the Range Rover Evoque, you’ll get a rare glimpse into the philosophies and tests that go into developing a Land Rover from concept to market.

A Desire to Serve is all about Land Rover’s involvement in disaster relief and in areas where most other vehicles would crash and burn. Finally, Above and Beyond brings things to the present day with a special sneak peek at the all-new Range Rover.

You can visit Land Rover’s Facebook page right here. Have fun!

Mercedes-Benz are looking forward to breaking new ground in advertising and social media this Saturday.

A campaign for their new A-Class car will debut during the commercial breaks in this weekend’s X-Factor (October 6).

Using the hashtag #YOUDRIVE, you’ll be able to drive the action of a three-part story.

Interactive Advertising

Filmed in Portugal, the story concerns a young music star (played by Top Boy‘s Kane Robinson) and his attempts to reach a secret gig with the help of his accomplice (Wendy Glenn).

But this must be some serious underground rock music, as the authorities are seemingly desperate to close down the gig.

Several potential scenarios have been filmed. It’s up to you – the viewer – to steer the action using Twitter. Which route should they take? Should they turn left or right? That sort of thing.

After the event (for this is more than just an advert), you can visit a specially created interactive channel on YouTube. There you can view all available films (and alternative endings) and even be in with a chance of winning a new A-Class of your own. For a year. All you have to do is find the date of the secret gig in the film.

Groundbreaking

This advertising and social media first is the work of director Yann Demange (Top Boy) and director of photography Anthony Dod Mantle (Slumdog Millionaire, 28 Days Later).

Says David George of Mercedes-Benz: “The New A-Class represents a new, younger, more dynamic Mercedes-Benz brand, which is reflected in this campaign.

“It’s a modern Mercedes-Benz, that encourages people to do what we know they enjoy; to get involved. In doing so, we hope to really cut through and create a positive, lasting impression on their view of the brand.”

But what do you think? The start of something amazing or a not-so-cheap gimmick?

Or would you rather wait until you’ve seen it in action before you pass judgement?

Oh, how very mature of you.

Arguably one of the most daring acts ever attempted on four wheels, the feat has been verified by Guinness World Records as the First Double Loop by a Car.

The successful attempt – never before achieved – took place on 16 June 2012. It acted as the grand finale to four hair-raising Top Gear Festival shows staged in front of sell-out 17,000+ live crowds at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa.

Says Top Gear Live creative director Rowland French: “We are delighted to have received the official verification from Guinness World Records confirming yet another milestone for the Top Gear Live Stunt Team.

“We were the first to do a single loop-the-loop indoors and now the first to successfully complete a double loop-the-loop anywhere in the world, making us double record-breakers.

“Far from resting on our laurels, we already have an equally audacious world record in the pipeline for future live shows.”

You can watch a video of the Deadly 720 on Top Gear’s website.

Though seeing as the video already has almost 1.5 million views, odds are you’ve already seen it.

Top Gear Live will next be in action at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, UK from 25-28 October 2012. Ticket prices start from £49.

Keeping it under wraps for quite some time, Seinfeld has officially unveiled a new online comedy series that combines the actors two favorite things: comedy and vintage cars. Called “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” a short trailed was uploaded to YouTube earlier this week revealing an older Seinfeld driving a variety of famous passengers like Michael Richards, Alec Baldwin and even Ricky Gervais in some very rare vehicles.

While details about the show are still under wraps, what is known is that there are at least several episodes expected to appear. In each, Seinfeld is said to have a different conversation, calling upon his personal relationships to make the episodes interesting.

The actor told reporters from the Wall Street Journal that “creative people are always looking for creative freedom. That’s the big thing that the Internet is providing right now…. I thought it was time that somebody could go bigger with it, and so, you know, I just felt like this could become a legitimate new medium. I don’t think they’ve had, in the non-porno realm, I don’t think they’ve had any big names yet, on the Internet.”

Those that know a bit about Seinfeld know about his obsession with cars. Rivaled only by Jay Leno, to start, Seinfeld owns a fleet of Porsche 911 in a private $1.4 million garage in New York. In fact, the owns the very first Porsche 911 ever manufactured as well as the Porsche 950 Spyder that was popularized by James Dean. Based on this car list alone he seems to be the right person for the job.

Set to launch on July 19^th, the show is being promoted around YouTube, exploding in popularity. With only a few more days to go, let’s hope it’s as good as it seems.

Hoping to build on their early season form, eBay drivers Rod Collard, Nick Foster and Tom Onslow-Cole are keen to get their title chances back on track after a break of over a month since the third round at Thruxton. The team currently lie in third place in the Independents Championship.

“I am really looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the eBay Motors BMW after a slightly frustrating weekend last time out” comments Hampshire-based driver Rob Collard.

“There has been some good testing over the past weeks and hopefully the car is in great shape to compete at the front of the grid. Oulton Park is a circuit that we have done well at previously and I hope that continues.”

eBay Motors Track Day – 25th May 2012

The Cheshire based circuit is home to a number of successes for drivers Collard and Onslow-Cole and is one of the most popular rounds in the BTCC calendar.

During the race weekend, eBay Motors fans can visit the exciting experiential zone at the eBay Motors garage where visitors have the opportunity to take on the drivers in the eBay BTCC simulator to win some great prizes.

The popular team are also getting into the Jubilee mood with all three eBay Motors cars sporting Union Jack flags on the roof in honour of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship takes part at Oulton Park on Saturday and Sunday 9th and 10th June. For more information and exclusive content about the eBay Motors team and its drivers visit www.ebaymotorsbtcc.co.uk

Debuting its creation on viral YouTube video, Nissan has pull out all the punches with its latest car, showing the Internet what it’s capable of doing. Reminiscent of ‘Need for Speed Undercover’ type cinematography, the company employed GT academy winner Lucas Ordonez to take their one-off creation down the streets of Dubai against world famous cars like the Ferrari F458 Italia, Mercedes Benz SLS AMG, and Lamborghini Gallardo. Taking them on one by one, the impressive little Juke turned quite a few heads, blasting ahead of its competition.

In case you were wondering how a crossover could take on such supercars, this R model comes packed with twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V6 545bhp engine. Reporters at Autocar have noted that the concept is running gear from a 2010-spec Nissan GT-R, although for production purposes it has been upgraded to the all-while drive 2012 GT-R.

Gareth Dunsmore of the Marketing product Management team for the Juke said that the car was supposed to be a “one-off concept to marry two of Nissan’s most innovative models. But the reaction we had to the car in Dubai was amazing – people were making offers for the original on the street!”

After so much attention Nissan has said that it’s building the cars upon request and that orders can be placed in the next few weeks. While no prince has been confirmed, with the sum estimated around $600,000 (£370,000), the company said that it’s already sold three of these Juke models. Meant for the “high-profile and well-respected member of Dubai society,” it looks like this car might make it to a road near you.

The Nissan Juke-R: Desert Nemesis

A vehicle that looks like it should be driven by Batman, the DeltaWing was revealed to the world last Tuesday in London.  The company stated that the purpose of the vehicle was rooted in the promotion of fuel efficiency, informing CNN reporters that 1.6liter engine uses half the fuel their competitions vehicles.

The vehicles shape is perhaps the most interesting. Reporters at PSFK have noted that the vehicle holds jetfighter proportions, maximizing the aerodynamic efficiency as well as speed in order to win the race.  Indeed, the company has noted that the vehicle has roughly half the weight and drag of a conventional vehicle, utilizing its 300 bhp engine to push it further than any other car.

The team has noted that the competition and rules seem to be tighter every passing year, meaning that the technologies as well as racing become detached from actual road car development. By contrast the company hopes to bring parts of its vehicle back to the fold, making its aim to change the industry an actual reality.

The team however has noted that while it was granted entry into the French race the car itself will only be participating as an experimental vehicle and as such not counted towards the races final classifications.

Nissan has revealed that the first two drivers to grace the cars presence will be British driver Marino Franchitti, his younger borther Dario Franchietti, and the Germany driver Michael Krumm.

Those interested in the car should note that the vehicle will debut its first proper demonstration laps on March 15 at Sebring ahead of the 12-hour Sebring competition. Certainly a sight to see, the car looks like it may well alter the way vehicles are not simply designed. Let us hope that the car preforms as well as it looks, it certainly won’t be a race you’ll want to miss.

True to form, only weeks after the cars from the India Christmas Special went on display, now you can see the boys’ supercharged mobility scooters, if so you wish.

These mutant machines were created in the interests of allowing for the disabled people of great Britain to appreciate the joys of rambling. Quite a noble aim there, and, although I didn’t see the episode in question, I’m sure that at all times the boys were treated the worlds of disability and rambling with the respect they deserve.

Off-road mobility scooters, they reasoned, just aren’t rugged enough. Also, they’re expensive. That’s why the boys decided to design and build off-road mobility machines at an affordable price – and what better way to test their inventions than through racing them against some wounded servicemen driving some off-the-shelf scooters?

Apparently “it didn’t end well”. But was it ever supposed to?

Jeremy Clarkson made a machine out of two normal scooters in a vain attempt to give it four wheel drive. Would this not, in theory, make said machine at least twice as expensive as a regular scooter?

When viewing the machine, you’re to take careful note of the damage to the sides and rear caused by hijinks. This is a warts-and-all exhibition: what you’ll see before you is the truth.

Richard Hammond’s scooter melds the front of a normal mobility trike with the motor and tracks from a powered wheelbarrow, which is apparently a thing. This machine held the unexpected honour of actually working well off-road. It also surprised everyone by making it to the top of a mountain. If only it didn’t reek so badly and make such an atrocious racket.

Finally, there’s James May’s “wheelchair with thoughtful design touches”. An adjustable seat angle, built-in grit dispenser and a mounting for a tablet computer device all serve to create a mobility aid for the connected generation – all of which is rendered irrelevant should the machine get at all muddy. Which it did.

All this and more can now be seen at Beaulieu’s World of Top Gear, where exhibition highlights include the Top Gear ‘Enormodrome’ which recreates the feel of the Top Gear studio, where the TV show is filmed in front of a live audience; along with regular features from the programme, including the Cool Wall and the Celebrity ‘Lap Times’ board which is kept up to date in line with the show. You can also watch behind-the-scenes footage of the Top Gear production zone and clips of some of the “best” Top Gear moments.

World of Top Gear can be viewed as part of a visit to the whole Beaulieu attraction, which includes the National Motor Museum with its collection of over 250 vehicles, the brand new BOND IN MOTION exhibition which showcases 50 original vehicles from the James Bond films, On Screen Cars featuring TV and film favourites, Palace House, home of the Montagu family since 1538 and the 13th century Beaulieu Abbey.

Why not make a mother’s day treat out of it?