Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Things I know about the Giocattolo:   The company that made them - oddly enough called Giocattolo, which is Italian for toy  - was a mid-80s Australian venture that sadly went broke.  The car started out as a front wheel drive Alfa Veloce Sprint running a 1.5 litre, front mounted boxer motor, mated to a five speed manual gearbox.  A great little car but nothing startling. The Giocattolo engineering team swapped the four-pot, front-mounted donk for a stonking 5.0 litre Holden engine, mounted amidships, and bolted it up to some sort of heavy duty transaxle driving the rear wheels.  The Alfa shell was significantly strengthened and bolstered, presumably with a fair bit of fibreglass (too early for Carbon fibre, I reckon). Oh, and I realy, really want one!  This is fantasy, of course, but a bloke's allowed to dream, isn't he? The one shown here, captured outside Hobart's uber-chic MacQ1 hotel, is every bit as fabulous as it looks in these pho...

For several years now, Upper Middle Petrol Head has been bringing you all the most desirable cars.  I think you'll agree that the photo above is a case in point and a great introduction to 2020! See!  There's not just Daniel's white one, but this truly magnificent red example, too, resplendent with its awesome Cibie lighting array.  Seriously, who doesn't love a Galant hardtop?!   This lovely rust-free and apparently original Serie Speciale Fiat X1/9 is also very cool.  It still has its ladder stripes, features the optional Cromodora alloy wheels and would appear to be about as honest an unrestored example as you might ever find.  Here's hoping that it's soon joined by a certain metallic orange, ex-UK version featured elsewhere on this 'blog!  I'm very taken by this no-nonsense 'step-nose' Alfa 105.  It's a testament to the styling of the 105 that they almo...