WELCOME to Alex Eckford's Weird World of Wheels.

Each week, we'll be bringing you the essential strangest motoring news from around the world.

Don't forget to come back every Friday for your weekly helping.

This week:

Roller-car-ster

I'm not so impressed by F1 drivers anymore.

0 to 80mph in 3 seconds? Bunch of herbal tea drinking wusses.

If you want real acceleration, try the Stealth rollercoaster (above) at Thorpe Park.

"The most extreme speed experience in Europe" accelerates to 80mph in a bone-crushing 2.3 seconds.

Fairly important to do all your toilet business beforehand, I would have thought.

You wheelie got me

People not laughing at you enough? Not getting your daily dose of ridicule?

I've found the answer.

Looking like a cross between a Segway Human Transporter (remember them?) and a shrimp, the Embrio (right) is the latest creation from airplane makers Bombardier.

Featuring just one wheel and 'landing gear', the Embrio has been designed to appeal to a younger demographic (five-year-olds?).

If riding this baby doesn't get people laughing, pointing and staring, nothing will.

A Mini adventure

So you make the daily commute in your beloved Mini, but have to leave it in the car park.

How can you spend more of your day being reminded of your pride and joy?

Why, with a desk that's half a Mini, of course!

The Mini Desk (right) from Mini Statements (I'll say...) is second only to driving an actual car into the office.

You could try to see how many of your workmates you could get on your desk.

Jam making in the country There are some things in life you can’t predict. International sporting results, the behaviour of Ken Livingston, the success of Daniel Bedingfield. The residents of a Somerset village couldn’t have predicted SatNav systems would start sending 10,000 vehicles a day through their village.

Drivers heading for Bristol airport are being directed through the formerly sleepy Barrow Gurney to avoid more congested routes. Village resident Geoff Coombs said: "I think there really should be some special dispensation not to route these very high volumes of traffic through small villages close to facilities such as airports."