Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Mrs UMPH isn't a bad sort, really, especially when she spots and photographs classic Italian cars for me!  I've seen the car she snapped - the lovely Lancia Fulvia shown above -  in and around Hobart but I've never been able to capture it myself.   There's a second blue Fulvia that's occasionally seen in the city that I believe is an ex-South African vehicle, as well as one that was under restoration by Steven Swade of Swadeology fame.  However, I have no idea what's become of his car now that he's left Tasmania.   Two  Fulvia  Zagatos  - one red, the other blue - also live in the southern part of the state and both have previously featured on this 'blog, as have a number of other Lancias.  The marque is, however, one of the rarer and lesser known Italian car manufacturers, which I reckon is a great excuse to showcase a few examples here.       If the cars above ...

CACT has come through with the goods again, this time by capturing these images of a gorgeous Lotus Elise.  I think what makes this car particularly appealing is its red, white and gold-accented livery, which puts me in mind of a classic Elan paint scheme.  There's nothing wrong with any of Lotus' more recent   colour palette, of course - their bright green and orange offerings being absolutely stunning - but sometimes a nod to the past works a treat, too.  An Elan in classic 1960's livery U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) All iPhone images.

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 ...