Upper Middle Petrol Head:

This is the second installment of UMPH's coverage of Auto Italia, 2021, following on from an X1/9-only edition published a couple of days ago (please go to:  https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2021/04/auto-italia-2021-part-1-x-factor.html ) .  It will be followed by posts focusing on Lancias, then Alfas and, finally, a couple of Ferraris, a magnificent Lamborghini Miura and a stately Maserati, the only examples of their respective marques that their owners left on display after the gongs were handed out. As a long-standing Fiat fan, and having come from a family whose attraction to the brand also afflicts my father, brother and nephew, it was a great thrill to see such a perfect Series 2 850 Sports Coupe.  Dad had an identical version in this very colour -  Giallo Positano  -   purchased new from the Davies Brothers' dealership in Launceston, Tasmania, circa 1970.  It wasn't his last Fiat, by any means, but it was clearly the ve...

Three strikes and you're in!  Attempt to attend Australia's biggest and best Italian car day # 1 :  2019, my car's not ready.  # 2 :  2020, the world is held ransom by the C-word (the other C-word!), with interstate borders locked down and the whole event abandoned.  # 3 :  2021, travel restrictions lifted, the show's back on and - even though my car's still not quite up to the journey (I chose to fly in) - the opportunity to hang with the UMPH Canberra Bureau is too tempting to resist! The 2021 installment of Auto Italia wasn't able to fully escape the Covid fallout, though.  With the usual Canberra venue doing duty as a drive-through C-19 testing station, organisers moved the whole shebang to a scenic park within the town of Queanbeyan, NSW, which is only a short drive from the ACT.       The sheer numbers of Italian cars on display was almost overwhelming, so the UMPH team made sure that they concentrated their energies on the ca...