Some guys get all the luck. While many of us were chained to the desk, preparing issue 29 for your pleasure, Antony Ingram was in Essex driving what is arguably the prettiest Triumph ever built. Several readers have told us that the Italia 2000 would secure a space in their dream garage, so we’ve done the honourable thing by putting one on the cover. Enjoy Antony’s words, Simon Thompson’s fine photos and Graham Andrew’s delightful car.

To provide some balance and to ensure we don’t get ideas above our station, we’ve devoted several pages to a perennial favourite, the Talbot Tagora. Meanwhile, Rich Duisberg remembers the cars of Bullseye, Richard Dredge tells you how to buy the right Ford Sierra, and Harley Gasson lifts the lid on owning an Alfa Romeo 159. After reading his words, you might not want one, although his 007-inspired special is for sale…

As we’re now deep into show season, our contributors and correspondents have been to events and museums all over Europe. Alex Wakefield drove to EMWalhalla (aka the Dutch Festival of the Unexceptional) in a Perodua Nippa, Richard Dredge was at Motofest Coventry and Shelsley Walsh for the third annual Hagerty Hillclimb, and Gavin has been to Gothenburg to check out the new World of Volvo exhibition centre. He even had dinner with his dream Swede.

If that’s not enough, we’ve got features on retro audio, the Volkswagen K70, three famous Rovers and some of our favourite hatchbacks of the 1980s. Oh, and do check out the Czech on a Trek charity run, which sees Connor Heath and Daniel Beaney driving to Croatia in a Škoda Favorit. Read the full report from the 7500km adventure in issue 30.

Enjoy the mag and let us know what you think about the feel and smell of the latest issue. We’ve made a couple of tiny tweaks to the print quality, so we should be back to our fragrant best.

P.S. Don’t forget to check out our new book, which should provide some escape from football, football, football.