New Modern Classics Mag Stages V8 Fight Club

Want the lowdown on classic cars, but with a more modern spin? Then Modern Classics, the newest motoring magazine to hit shelves, will be right up your street.

It’s a six-times-a-year publication priced at £3.99 which:

• Is devoted to the best post-1979 vehicles, or “young-timers” as they are sometimes known, featuring machines that often don’t get featured in traditional classic car mags
• Offers in-depth features about the cars we love
• Provides top-class buying tips

So what’s in its latest edition?

Edition number two is now out and begs the question, “who is the greatest?”

With the cover headline announcing the start of a “V8 Fight Club”, it seeks to crown the greatest V8 engine-powered machine of them all.

This is a royal rumble that not even WWE would need to dramatise.

The 5 contenders

Modern Classics pits the original, undisputed champ, the E39-generation BMW M5 - described by the mag as “brilliant” as always - against the following four younger hopefuls:

• The Jaguar XJR: Supercharged, but not always super-priced. Autocar calls it the “hottest” large Jag on the market. Its makers boast a maximum speed of 174mph, capable of 0-60mph in just 4.4 seconds with acceleration to die for: 50-75mph in under two-and-a-half seconds. Yet it is within the reach of drivers with a sub-£5,000 budget
• Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG: This drives faster than you can say “the ultimate in luxury”. Autocar timed this beast doing at 0-60mph in only 4.6 seconds and 0-100mph in 10.4. Pneumatically bolstered dynamic seats merely add to the aesthetic joy of the ride.
• The Audi S8: Safe, swift and sweet-sounding and again accessible for under £5,000. Top Gear describes this German gem as arguably the world’s greatest getaway car with all the oomph you‘d expect from a twin-turbo 500-plus bhp.
• The Maserati Quattroporte: Unlike the other four, this Italian beauty doesn’t try to disguise itself as being anything other than a cut above the every-day commuter. Sleek cannot even start to describe the four-door luxury sports saloon

Modern Classics journalists put this quintet through their paces at a former Second World War RAF base in Oxfordshire. So who will prevail? All Modern Classics say is that it has found a successor to trump the Beemer.

Other modern classics featured in the latest edition

• Renault Clio V6
• Subaru Impreza
• Porsche 996
• BMW 325ti

Issue number two also stages a weird oddball turbo shoot-out between the Saab 900 and the Citroen CX and explores nine game-changing Japanese classics.

Want to get your hands on the latest issue? Then head to the Modern Classics online store and order your copy today!