Upper Middle Petrol Head:

  Today's photos come via the Italiene Correspondente, who recently found himself on the streets of Rome during the filming of a movie.  He was chuffed to see this lovely Alfetta - most likely fitted with the 1800cc twin cam engine, and probably built in the early '70s - being loaded onto a car transporter after its no doubt starring role.   It is also possible that the car is one of the later 1600-powered Alfettas, the smaller displacement variant having started life with with one round headlight per side and not receiving its bigger brother's quad light front end until 1977.  That's what wikipedia reckons, anyway ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_Alfetta#:~:text=The%20Alfetta%20name%2C%20which%20means,suspension%20%E2%80%94%20like%20its%20modern%20namesake ).  Might the IC also be making an appearance in this yet-to-be-named cinematic masterpiece?  We won't give too much away but look out for the bloke wearing a VB T-shirt, Stubbies sho...

Wild thing*, you make my heart sing!  Why?  Because this wild Mk I Cortina has been restomodded and, of all the current forms of automotive obsession, the restomod scene is arguably one of the most interesting and vibrant.  * https://www.google.com/search?q=the+goodies+wild+thing&rlz=1C5CHFA_enAU816AU816&oq=the+goodies+wild+thing&aqs=chrome.0.0i355i512j46i512j0i22i30l3j69i64.5333j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:da892022,vid:tr4HpC2luKs 🤣!  Restomodders take classic cars and give them contemporary upgrades, generally retaining their period looks, whilst endowing them with up to the minute performance, handling and safety.  Who wouldn't kill to own an MST Escort, an Alfaholics GTA or a Porsche 911 reimagined by Singer? Of course, not everyone has the sort of money required to have their vehicles comprehensively re-engineered by the likes of MST, Alfaholics, Singer or any of the other firms - I can hardly not mention ...

The UMPH editorial team nearly got a loose theme going at December, 2022's, Classics by the Beach, with a few links and parallels between some of the cars on display.  That almost-theme could've been stronger, mind you; it would've been more obvious had the chief photographer not nattered away several opportunities and let a couple of the exhibits get away before he could snap them!  The writer-in-chief could've and should've chased a few leads up, too. Almost Theme #1:  This stunning Ford Customline is nicely complemented by the equally beautiful example of GM's Chevrolet Bel Air shown a few pics further down the page.  As both cars hail from the USA during the same era, it's not unlike lining up a couple of contemporary Ford Australia and GMH products from any given decade - an XA Falcon and an HQ Holden, for example - and seeing where they're similar but  how they differ . It's probably reasonable to say that the styling of each of these American ...

Where do I begin?  Of all the rotary Mazdas, the RX2 is - in my humble opinion, at least - the very pinnacle.  The coupe version, as shown here, is the creme de la creme! That's a biggish call, I know, so please indulge me.  The RX2's predecessor in the Aussie domestic market*, the R100 coupe of 1968 to 1973 - what Mazda might've called the RX1 but strangely didn't - was a real screamer that isn't without charm.  However, its looks might kindly be described as "cute" rather than beautiful. The model that followed and for a time ran in parallel with the RX2, the RX3, probably enjoys the greatest following of any of the 1970s' Mazdas.  Like the RX2 and RX4 that debuted in 1972, the RX3 was offered in Australia in two- and four-door form. The RX3 is a more "muscular" design than the RX2, with pronounced rear haunches, smaller rear side windows and more aggressive front-end styling.  It's also slightly smaller, apparently being only a bee...