It’s nearly forty years since the last proper Ford Capri rolled off the production line in Cologne, so we’ve done the right thing by putting one on the cover of our fortieth issue. Not just any old Capri either, but the very last 280, which is housed in Ford’s top-secret heritage collection, just off the A425 in Daventry.

For our editor, a serial Capri owner and self-confessed fanboy, it was a trip down memory lane and an opportunity to reflect on his decision to sell a 280 just before prices went stratospheric. Better to have loved and lost, etc. Although just one of his old Capris would now be worth more than the contents of his barn, which is laid bare in the latest Autobarn.

Elsewhere in this issue, Tim Pitt drives a Rolls-Royce Corniche with a hint of the Lynx Eventer, Dimitri Urbain explores four Alpine models from across the world, and Andy Peckham shines a light on a car that screams 1930s opulence but was built in the 1980s. Oh, and our editor also attempts to drive in a straight line in a modern classic.

If that’s not enough, Antony Ingram sends a postcard from the Fuji Motorsports Museum in Japan, Steve Swanson does the same from Palm Springs, Alex Wakefield buys a Renault Laguna, and Rich Duisberg shares his love of C. That’s C as in Volkswagen’s old trim level.

Regulars include Picture Past, Obscuriosity and Ignition, while new features for issue 40 include News at Then with Trevor MacPherson, Meanwhile and And Finally. We also celebrate the return of Kicking Tyres, which features the scribbled auction notes from our man on the ground.

All of this and much, much more in the magazine you always promised yourself.

Enjoy the new issue.