A brand new issue of Classic & Sports Car goes on sale in the UK today (2 October). There's a TR6 vs TR5 showdown, a five-litre V8 Capri and a stunning 16-cylinder pre-war Maserati – but that isn't all you've got to look forward to. Alfa's Junior Z takes on Lancia Zagato's Fulvia Sport, Mazda's bonkers RX500 is fresh from restoration, plus Buckley tests three of Opel's most luxurious saloons.
The headline act is a no-holds-barred contest between the Triumph TR5 and its younger brother, the bargain TR6. Both share the same genetic makeup, but the later TR6 was sprinkled with Karmann magic that brought it bang up to date. Are the differences just skin-deep? Ross Alkureishi takes both models for a blast to find out.
Next up is a bruiser of a Capri – fitted with a five-litre V8 engine by Ford guru Jeff Uren. One of just five conversions carried out, the car has quite a story – from custom paint jobs to touring Greece – but the true purpose of this car only becomes apparent when you plant your foot to the floor, as James Page discovers.
Less powerful but just as eye-catching are two coachbuilt Italian sports coupés – the Lancia Fulvia Sport and Alfa Romeo Junior Zagato. Their love-it or hate-it looks polarise at first glance, but begin to show their true colours only when you dig a little deeper.
Our pre-war star is a beautiful 16-cylinder Maserati that has the bite to back up its bark – some 305bhp – enough to make it the one-time fastest pre-war road car. The marvellous feat of engineering has spent the summer touring the world's concours lawns, but now you can see what lies beneath that magnificent coachwork. Mick Walsh teams up with Massimo Delbo to uncover the car's fascinating past.
Much more modern but equally striking is Mazda's RX500 prototype – a bonkers rotary-powered safety car that made it's post-restoration debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier this year. The car is rarely seen outside Japan, making this a rare opportunity to see even more of the car than visitors to the 1970 Tokyo Motor Show. Mick Walsh is your guide.
A return to the mainstream is made by our Opel group test, where Martin Buckley pits some of the German firm's most luxurious offerings against one another. The Kapitän, Admiral and Diplomat may ape American styling, but their home-market quality made them a worthy rival to Mercedes.
If the Revival car park got you in the mood for a new classic, you could do worse than a Bristol 401-403, which is the topic of this month's in-depth buyer's guide. Read everything you need to know before investing in this handsome – and surprisingly practical – British saloon.
