Ah, December. Month of mists and mellow fruitfulness. No, that's not right - month of an inconvenient blanket of whiteness, bringing most of the UK to a grinding, shuddering halt.
For us, that can mean travelling further afield to find cars to drive. To Los Angeles, where we were given the chance to drive Audi's new Quattro Concept. Audi says it's still 'if' rather than 'when' this car gets the green light for production. We suspect it will, although the fewer examples Audi makes, the more expensive it'll be. If Audi builds 1000, maybe it'll be £100,000. If the run is 500, more likely £150,000.
See the December 2010 pics here
Then to Italy, to drive another (for the moment) one-off: the reborn Lancia Stratos. It, too, must prove its commercial viability but the prospect of 25 or so of these striking, Ferrari-430-Scuderia-based supercars making it on to the road is a tantalising one. Even at the half million euros we'd expect them each to cost.
Twice during the past 18 months we've had exclusive access to Lamborghini's new, carbonfibre-tubbed hypercar, which will replace the Murciélago next year. Only now, though, have we been able to talk about it. On first impression it's smoother and more dynamically adept yet still utterly enthralling like no other supercar. And, crucially, much, much lighter.
Also this month, we've previewed the new Audi A6 and scooped a look at Merc's next SLK roadster. We've also uncovered BMW's take on downsizing: three-cylinder engines destined for the next 1-series, which will include front-wheel-drive variants.
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