From The SEQ Correspondent: An Early '70s Fiat Spider

Our South East Queensland correspondent, PeteR, has ditched Australia for a holiday in equally sunny Lisbon, where he spotted this lovely Fiat Spider.

It looks like it might be a BS, with the B denoting a second series car and the S standing for Spider (the AS preceded today's example while the CS was the follow-up model in the same way that the 124 Sport Coupes were designated AC, BC and CC, but with the C standing for coupe).

This is only a guess, mind you; the car's wearing 1600 badges which, in Australia at least, was the engine capacity most commonly fitted to BS and BC 124s.

It's also fitted with the much nicer - read not fat, ugly US federally-mandated - bumpers that blighted later versions of the Spider.

If you'd like to see a bit more of PeteR's automotive work, here's a link to his 'blog chronicling the transformation of his Alfa 147 into a track day weapon: https://aureliatheitalianproject.blogspot.com.

Should you wish to see a few other interesting cars also not in Australia, here are three recents from me:

https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2023/07/ride-of-lifetime-peters-iso-rivolta.html (an Iso Rivolta that I actually get to go for a ride in!);

https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2023/07/fiat-500-jolly.html (the coolest Fiat 500 you've never heard of); and

https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2023/08/citroen-mehari-camel-of-cote-dazur.html (an oh-so-French take on the Mini Moke).

Fans of revival-style motoring events might enjoy this coverage of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, too:

https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2023/08/a-2009-and-2023-75th-goodwood.html.

U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

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