Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Usually, I’m not so much into German cars.  But this 1972 BMW 3.0 CSL (E9) was - for me, at least - Deutsches auto des tag at the 2024 Noosa Concours d’ Elegance, beating out a host of admittedly very nice Porsches and a couple of tasty Mercs.   There’s something so, so special about the Karmann-built CS, or Coupe Sport line. Their slender roof pillars and light-filled cabins elevate them above the E3, the still beautiful but more everyday sedan with which they share significant styling cues.  This example, being a lightweight homologation special (the  L  in  CSL   standing for  leicht, which means  light in German),  is the range-topper if you discount  the Alpina and AC Schnitzer competition editions, and  BMW’s own “Batmobile” racing car. I know that you know these lovely Porsches are 356s.  And, thanks to some very obvious badges, it abundantly clear that they’re Speedsters rather than just cabriolets, not that I’d otherwise have much of a clue as to the difference.  Something to

  A canny writer would’ve probably kicked this piece off with the $35,000,000 - that’s thirty five  M I L L I O N  dollar! - Ferrari 250 LM that we’ll get to soon enough.  Or any of the other truly magnificent Ferraris, Maseratis, or Lamborghinis featured at the 2024 Noosa Concours d’ Elegance.  But I won’t.   I’ve chosen to go with this immaculate, and clearly somewhat more affordable, 1950 Fiat 1400 cabriolet.  Why?   Because anyone who’s even slightly interested in Italian cars is likely to have at least seen a picture of the mega-bucks Ferrari but it’s likely that very, very few will even know of the humbler, yet also exquisitely beautiful, Fiat. So, is this Ferrari 250 LM Australia’s most expensive car?   Probably.  However, to focus too heavily on its astronomical price tag is to ignore that it’s an extraordinarily beautiful machine, low, aerodynamic and oh-so 1960s’ Italian! According to everyone’s favourite online search engine, the LM - standing for Le Mans - was unveiled at