Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Can't quite work out what this vehicle is?  Find its styling familiar yet oddly not?  That's because it's probably Land Rover's least well-known model, the forward control, or FC . FC  Landies share their basic mechanical underpinnings with their instantly recognisable cousins, the Series I, II, IIA, IIB and III, as well as the later 110 Inch and Defender models.  However, they were only ever released in IIA and IIB guise (early-60s to mid-70s) and were never commercially available with disc brakes, coil suspension or any of the 110 Inch onwards refinements.      This one - spotted in Cygnet, in the Huon Valley, south of Hobart - has been converted to a camper van, as was the only other one I've ever seen in Australia, Iain Watson's khaki coloured behemoth.  This one has had a caravan body neatly grafted onto its rear, whereas Iain's featured a custom built camper unit, with a pop-top, that continued the horizontal lines from the fron...

The following article comes from the newly appointed U M P H correspondent for the Australian Capital Territory.  He's an MG owner and long-time sports and classic car fan, so we can look forward to seeing a few more interesting vehicles from Canberra and surrounding areas from him.   The current model's heritage has been honoured, as reference to this classic edition shows (internet image). The Mazda MX5 enjoys a deservedly large and loyal following.  However, for the true motor enthusiast, loyalty may not be in their best interests.  Although a sibling sharing many parts, the Abarth 124 Spider is no mere badge engineering effort.  This example, apparently as purchased from the showroom, had an exhaust note unlike any stock MX5 and arguably superior styling taking clear hints from its classic namesake. Internet image Internet image Lt G For U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.c...

  Has this spaceship cum oceanliner cum embodiment of 1950s American excess been given lead position in this month's Classics by The Beach edition of U M P H as some sort of cynical attempt attract readers?  You betcha it has!  If you're going to use 'clickbait,' as I believe this sort of thing's called, you'd be hard pressed to find better.    You might wonder why there's not just one, but two, Series I Audi TT Quattros  featured today.  First, I reckon they're amongst the German marque's most iconic designs and that, as attractive as the subsequent TT models may be, the first series stands as a defining point in Audi's transition to the uber-stylish brand that it has become.  There's also the fact that the Series I TT has become an endangered species, having fallen victim to the dodgy Takata airbags saga that's affected other similar era models from the German manufacturer and many, ma...