Upper Middle Petrol Head:

  Of the eleven variants of the beyond-iconic Fiat 500, this quirkily named Jolly would have to be the very, very rarest and coolest of them all!  Sure, it doesn’t have quite the pint-sized pugnaciousness of its also ultra exclusive Abarth 695 Esse Esse sibling - which, until today’s encounter, was my favourite Cinquecento  - but it does have charm in absolute bucket loads! From what I can glean, the Jolly was intended to be an automotive tender that the mega-rich and famous - Aristotle Onassis being touted as an example - could store aboard their super yachts, ready for land-based sorties in whatever Mediterranean resort city they found themselves gracing.  This is apt, given that Mrs UMPH and I stumbled upon today’s example in Cap Martin, France, about 15 minutes’ drive east of Monaco. It’s also reported that many were also deployed to high-end resorts, much like the ubiquitous Mini Mokes that once undertook tourism-related duties on Australia’s Gold and Sunshine C...

This gnarly Mk 1 Cortina was the first car to catch my eye at July, 2023’s, Classics by The Beach, mainly because I liked its bumper-less front end treatment, stance and classy Rota alloys.   It turns out that there’s a bit more to it than looks, though; it also runs an 4A-GE twin cam from an early ‘90s Corolla, sporting later model 20V ITBs, 288 degree cams, as well as a very, very sexy set of serpentine extractors, and a nice aluminium radiator.  I’m guessing that it’s a bit of a goer! The next car to get me all hot and bothered was this hand-built Milano Roadster.  Unfortunately , I wasn’t able to glean much about the car but I can tell you that it features a fibreglass body over a steel tube frame, it runs four wheel disc brakes and that it’s utterly gorgeous.  That’s it, I’m afraid.  There ain’t no more!   Two for one parking! It seems that there might be a tiny bit more to this lovely Kombi  - or what might be more accurately called a Microbus -...

I don't need the planets to align to make me happy.  But line up four immaculate MGAs - a twin cam, a 1500 and two 1600s - well, that's another matter entirely!     That's exactly what greeted me when I rolled up to June, 2023's, instalment of Classics by the Beach, Hobart's biggest and best free car show, held on the first Sunday of each month at Sandy Bay, 15 minutes' drive from the CBD.  It wasn't a coincidence, of course; the cars' owners clearly know a thing or two about presentation! The blue twin cam has featured previously on this site (please see:  https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2018/04/classics-by-beach-sunday-1st-of-april.html ), while the remaining three have also made appearances in other UMPH coverage of Classics.  And whilst each one is a truly lovely example of the model, the effect of all four being together exponentially boosts their glorious appeal!  This circa 1955 Series 1 long wheel base Land Rover ...