Currently reading: Autocar magazine 8 August preview
Cover stars include Alfa Romeo's new BMW 3-series rival and we have a passenger ride in this year's most exciting new supercar

This week's Autocar magazine is headlined by our full story of Alfa Romeo's BMW 3-series rival. Set to spearhead Alfa's relaunch, the new saloon will be made available with four-wheel drive as an option and will feature a range of new turbocharged petrol engines.

Our other cover story is an exclusive passenger ride in one of this year's standout new supercars; due to embargos, however, you'll have to wait until tomorrow for the full eight-page feature.

In our first drive section, you'll find our review of the new Mini Paceman. The model is described as a more stylish, sharper-handling XL Mini, but we're not so sure that it's got the edge over the standard hatchback. Find out why, tomorrow.

We've also driven the beautiful Ferrari 458 Spider on UK roads for the first time. Our verdict? It offers thrilling performance and noise, and retains all of the 458 coupé's character. Other tests include the Cadillac ATS (which proves a compelling alternative to the European luxury leaders) and we drive the Audi S8 and Mercedes SL350.

In our features section, Colin Goodwin takes a 290bhp rear-drive Nissan Micra to the autograss track and Steve Sutcliffe explores how to improve a five-star car, initiating 'Project GT86'.

Meanwhile, we've given the Mercedes-Benz SL500 our full road test treatment and we say hello to our new long-term test car, the Subaru XV. Further fleet updates include reports on our Audi Q3, BMW 728i and Mazda CX-5.

As ever, the magazine is available from all good newsagents or can be downloaded from Zinio or the Apple iTunes store.

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sirwiggum 8 August 2012

3 series? Really?

How come bmw always seems to get a mention, even when it isn't even their car on the cover?!

Could you not have said something like "169 Replacement" or "Alfa saloon is back"?

s4awx10 7 August 2012

mystery car

its going to be the new porsche 918 or the new vanquish

Peter Cavellini 7 August 2012

Yeah!!!! Baby..ahmmm.

Sorry to get so excited, but, i really really hope this car is as good as it looks.