Upper Middle Petrol Head:

I could - maybe even should - be kinder to cars hailing from Britain during the 1960s.  It's not that they don't have their own charm; there is a certain style - an aura, even - that I rather like.  But an bottle up your bum driving position, a bit of woodgrain trim and the aroma of pipe tobacco doesn't quite compensate for what were more often than not anaemic engines, the smell of hot oil and blancmange handling. It's not inconceivable that this Humber Vogue - photographed in Hobart, Tasmania's, more established suburbs - encapsulates all my prejudices in one slightly stuffy package.  It is no Alfa, Fiat or Lancia of the era!   However, I have been seduced.  It's a stylish car.  The bold four-light front end, glassy cabin, restrained tail fins and vertically-stacked rear light clusters are rather delightful.  It appeals to me in a similar manner as does the Triumph 2500 ( https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2021/08/random-302-triumph-2500...

Today's piece was meant to be about Club Motori Italia's 2021 Lufra hillclimb.  That was the intention, anyway.  But two things derailed these flimsy intentions:  the event's course car - Mike's remarkable 1923 Ansaldo 4CS - took my eye, then my mates, Tony and Angus, whose family shack is just up the road from the starting line, thoughtfully put on a barbeque. Huddle behind a telegraph pole, trying to capture the perfect action shot or sit in a comfy chair, replete and with a beer in hand, enjoying the spectacle?  Forgive me for I am weak!     Ansaldo owner Mike C. Mike's car is marked in honour of Nuvolari, bearing both the Italian and Duchy of Mantua flags. The flag of the Duchy of Mantua bears the coat of arms of the House of Gonzaga. According to Mike, the marque was manufactured in Turin, Italy,  as well as in an ex-World War 1 aircraft factory near Genoa,  between 1920 and 1935.  Although almost unheard of today, Ansaldo was ...