Upper Middle Petrol Head:

  No action shots from 2024’s Lufra hillclimb, I’m afraid.   There are these two competitors’ cars, though: this fabulous Mk1 Escort, resplendent in wild lime green, and the Imp that follows. The Escort looked amazing with black side striping reminiscent of those featured on the Mexico special edition, as well as RS-style bubble arches front and rear.  It was also running the split front bumper fitted to competition Escorts of the era, chrome bullet style racing mirrors and a set of 15” Superlights shod in 50/215 rubber.   It’s interior was similarly sport-specced and also looked fantastic! What’s not to love about this rear-engined, Scottish-built* Imp?  It’s an absolute screamer and looks fabulous, too!  Definitely one of the cars to watch on the day. 10 points for anyone who recognises the inspiration for the engine bay vents. Did you enjoy this article?  If so, why not browse the rest of the uppermiddlepetrolhead site?  There are loads and loads of classic, sports and performance v

  This awesome BMW 3.0 CS (aka E9) - photographed by South East Queensland correspondent PeteR, in response to a 3.0 CSL featured in our recent Noosa Concours d’ Elegance post  -  has really got my motor running!  But it’s also got me wondering about the hierarchy of the CS line-up … . The Noosa CSL  ( https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2024/07/noosa-concours-d-elegance-2024-part-2.html ) . Here, in précis, is what a bit of googling has revealed:   First, but not lowest in the E9 hierarchy, is 1968’s 2800 CS which, unsurprisingly, features a close enough to 2.8 litre version of BMW’s legendary M30 straight six (2,788 cc, to be exact).   Next in line is today’s feature car, the 3.0 CS of 1971, with a twin Zenith carburettored version of the M30 and a capacity of 2,986 cc.  Released simultaneously was the 3.0 CSi, which, as you’ve probably guessed, has the same donk but runs fuel injection and is therefore maybe a bee’s penis more desirable. A year later saw the introduction of t

  For non-Aussies readers, this is a 48-215 Holden, aka an "FX," which was General Motors' first ever car to wear the Holden badge.  According to Wikipedia, the FX name was never officially used by GM but was actually an internal code to distinguish later 48-215s fitted with telescopic front shock absorbers from the earlier versions equipped with lever-arm dampers.  However, the term caught on and eventually became the model's unofficial model name for both early- and late-built examples ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_48-215 , accessed 08 AUG 24). So, how did GM come up with the 48-215 designation?  According to the same source, it's actually very simple:  '48 was the car's first year of manufacture and 215 an expression of the engine's 2.15 litre cubic capacity (ibid).  That said, I do question why a US-owned and based company operating in Australia would be using litres, given that both countries were very much non-metric back then.  Moreover

Usually, I’m not so much into German cars.  But this 1972 BMW 3.0 CSL (E9) was - for me, at least - Deutsches auto des tag at the 2024 Noosa Concours d’ Elegance, beating out a host of admittedly very nice Porsches and a couple of tasty Mercs.   There’s something so, so special about the Karmann-built CS, or Coupe Sport line. Their slender roof pillars and light-filled cabins elevate them above the E3, the still beautiful but more everyday sedan with which they share significant styling cues.  This example, being a lightweight homologation special (the  L  in  CSL   standing for  leicht, which means  light in German),  is the range-topper if you discount  the Alpina and AC Schnitzer competition editions, and  BMW’s own “Batmobile” racing car. I know that you know these lovely Porsches are 356s.  And, thanks to some very obvious badges, it abundantly clear that they’re Speedsters rather than just cabriolets, not that I’d otherwise have much of a clue as to the difference.  Something to