The Cars of Festa Italia, Hobart, 2020.

There are a few things that I'm really, really into, classic cars, proper coffee and good food being extremely high on my list of favourites, which is why I look forward to the annual Festa Italia - the premier event of Hobart's very active Italian community - with such gusto! 2020's iteration of the event did not disappoint!

An UMPH X1/9 & Scotalie's Fiat 132

However, food and coffee aficionado that I am, I will confine today's post to Festa Italia's cars (although I will say that double-shot short blacks and cannoli do make for a sublime breakfast!). And even then, I won't bang-on too much about specific cars - especially the magnificent fleet of Ferraris that was present - letting the photos do the talking in most instances.

Mike's Zagato-bodied Lancia Fulvia - one of several cars present at the festival courtesy of Club Motori Italia (CMI) - does feature quite extensively elsewhere on the UMPH site. What I didn't realise until today, however, was that Mike's responsible for transforming it into the period-racer that it's become, having chosen its livery and accessories, and personally undertaken a significant amount of the work - selecting and installing the seats, steering wheel, interior trim and flooring, as well as fabricating and finishing its dashboard and other parts - all to great effect.

This Maserati Ghibli also features a few times in the UMPH Classics by The Beach series. It is, quite simply, one of the most stunning cars of all time, with an elegance rarely matched since its introduction during the 1960s.

Did you enjoy the cars featured in today's post? If so, please don't miss CMI's Italian car show on the lawns of Parliament House, Hobart, from 9:00 am on Saturday the 28th of March, 2020. As good as Festa Italia is - and I'm sure you'll agree that it is good - it's a mere entrata by comparison to CMI's annual celebration of Italian motoring!

U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

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