Notoriously wasteful, ridiculously unfocused and truly entertaining, the BBC's Top Gear TV show has been caught filming an episode in what may be its most dramatic setting yet: the slopes of an eruptic Icelandic Volcano. So what, exactly, are Clarkson, Hammond and May up to now?

They appear to be doing what they do best: creating disproportionate drama for a no doubt outlandishly silly segment. But there is some gearhead interest in the filming of the scene itself. To traverse the hot and rugged slopes, the Top Gear team had to fit a special water-cooling rig to their "arctic truck." To protect the vehicle (and presumably the crew) from the falling ash, they also had to devise an impromptu shelter.

Overall, it's not easy eking out information from the machine-translated Icelandic we're working with, but the very idea of those three plugging away in visual distance of mortal peril is no doubt appealing to fans and foes alike.

It's not the first time the truculent trio have headed to exotic venues--or even Iceland--for their asinine antics, but it's sure to be a good watch when it hits the pixels on BBC America later this season.

[MBL.is via Autoblog]