Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Here it is:  September, 2024's, Classics by the Beach, summed up in a single image!  Cold.  Wet.  Miserable.  And not very well attended, either.  Not that you could blame anybody for not turning up to Southern Tasmania's (usually) premier cars 'n' coffee event at Sandy Bay, 15 minutes' drive from Hobart's CBD, in such appalling conditions!   It's unclear if this very cool first gen Pajero was at the event as a participant or it just happened to be there.  Either way, it was a ripper, being in great all-round nick and nicely specced, too.  The neatly fitted winch and nudge bar combo were really cool, as were its fat alloys and flared wheel arches. And just in case the first photo didn't speak to the pox-horrific crappiness of the weather, this one might tell you something about the effect it had on the event's attendance.  At least parking wasn't a problem. So, just to balance the books the tiniest little bit, here's a link to the final piece

I've subtitled this third instalment of my Noosa Concours series  Australian and Other Marques.   However, that really means mainly British cars and a few Bugattis, as for whatever reason some of the examples shown here - ie: predominantly the Aussie ones - seem to be not so common at events like this.  These less-represented vehicles all struck me as being sufficiently concours, as I understand the term, so perhaps they're not considered to be as elegant as their more fancied counterparts?     Which is probably why I've led the piece with Dick Johnson's ballsy XE Falcon racing car.  It's in excellent nick - thus being "concours" - but its elegance could be debated.  Or you could argue that being elegant is overrated, anyway; that it's a bit wanky and elitist, and just get on and enjoy a magnificent example of Aussie motorsports history!  What really struck me about the Dick Mobile was just how much actual XE Falcon there is.  It's an ostensibly st

  No action shots from 2024’s Lufra hillclimb, I’m afraid.   There are these two competitors’ cars, though: this fabulous Mk1 Escort, resplendent in wild lime green, and the Imp that follows. The Escort looked amazing with black side striping reminiscent of those featured on the Mexico special edition, as well as RS-style bubble arches front and rear.  It was also running the split front bumper fitted to competition Escorts of the era, chrome bullet style racing mirrors and a set of 15” Superlights shod in 50/215 rubber.   It’s interior was similarly sport-specced and also looked fantastic! What’s not to love about this rear-engined, Scottish-built* Imp?  It’s an absolute screamer and looks fabulous, too!  Definitely one of the cars to watch on the day. 10 points for anyone who recognises the inspiration for the engine bay vents. Did you enjoy this article?  If so, why not browse the rest of the uppermiddlepetrolhead site?  There are loads and loads of classic, sports and performance v