CC Outtakes: T87’s Singles Collection (November-December 2023) – Part 2: Italian, French and American Cars

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– Posted on January 3, 2024

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Welcome to part 2, where we will delve into Italian, French and US-made cars. Call it a foretaste, a premonition or a harbinger, by this sweet yellow Dino was to be followed by a whole bunch of others a few weeks after this photo was taken.

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They were everywhere. It was kind of unreal. The good kind, not the teeth-falling-out-fever-dream kind.

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The funniest part was that the first Dino I caught a couple weeks before was not party to this little get-together.

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And on the other side of the street: more Dinos, of the GT4 kind. Only three of those ended up coming, so it was a little less photogenic. Seems these were mainly sold here in 2-litre guise.

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More Dinos? Yes, but it was the amount of classic Ferraris that was more astounding in that particular instance, with a 328 as the lead car.

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Not that this was the sole 328 seen during this busy year’s end.

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The 328’s successor, the 348 (1989-95) was also here, complete with self-referential air intakes.

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The reference being, of course, the Testarossa. Or its lightly facelifted successor, the 512 TR (1991-94).

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Santa’s got a brand new sled – an F355. And it’s not just the nose that’s red.

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Well, hello there! I believe we’ve met before. Nice to see you’re still looking marvellous.

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The 330’s successor was also sighted, amazingly. The 1967-68 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2, ladies and gentlemen. And this is one of the 50-odd RHD cars, too.

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And guess what, there was the successor car of the 365 GT/GTC as well – the 365 GT4 (1972-76), sporting a 340hp 4.4 litre V12.

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I prefer the earlier V12 GTs, but this is still one of the cleanest designs of the ‘70s.

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Diablos are just too outlandish for words, so I’ll keep quiet.

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I was going to use a Fiat 500 as a palate-cleanser, but this one’s a little off.

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Much better – and with suicide doors, too.

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One of the strangest finds of the year, as far as I’m concerned. Was this 600 Multipla sold here originally? Was it just abandoned to the elements, like a common kei van? Can it be salvaged, or will it be a parts car?

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Two citrusy Fiat Barchettas – one lemon-flavoured, the other orange. Aren’t they a pip?

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Multiplas are weird at the best of time. But a baby blue Multipla? That’s one for CC.

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Remember the thing about the Dino, how I caught one on a Sunday and they all showed up a few weeks later? Funny thing about that: Giulietta Spiders did the very same trick, only better. This one was a fine little number…

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…But this one was pretty exceptional.

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No idea if he ever got to the Mille Miglia on time.

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And then it happened: they ganged up together. I was seeing red that day, I can tell you.

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Not all reds are equal under the sun, though. Some look a bit more on the orange side. Is there more than one Alfa Rosso?

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The most astounding Alfa was this circa 1960 Giulietta Sprint Zagato held in captivity at a fancy classic car dealer.

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The same high-end dealer also had a few scorpion-badged beauties, including an ultra-rare Abarth-Simca 1300 – being much more Abarth than Simca, it really belongs in the Italian section of this post.

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Speaking of Abarths, a lovely little early ‘80s Autobianchi A112 with extra scorpion trim proudly displayed its “70hp” badge on its hood.

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And said A112 was parked just ahead of the obligatory Lancia Delta Integrale. Some traditions are impossible to break.

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Found another Thesis! That means there are at least four about town.

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Who can resist a Fulvia coupé? I know I can’t. Simply adorable!

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But the Lancia of the year award might well have to go to this jaw-dropping Gamma coupé.

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I don’t generally stop and photograph Vespas. Just not that interested. Two recent exceptions to this rule shown above.

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Just a fine black & white duo of QP5s for the Maserati side of things, save for the 3200S below. Normally, that would be the end of the Italian chapter, but there was a December surprise to be added to the list.

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Now that’s not your everyday supercar. One of the 150-odd Bugatti EB110s made by Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli’s incarnation of the defunct marque from 1991 to 1995. It has a 560hp quad-turbocharged 3.5 litre V12, AWD, 6-speed manual with a carbon fibre chassis – pretty serious stuff.

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Speaking of, I found a Bugatti dealership (the only Bugatti dealership?) in Tokyo. It was appropriately tiny and located in the fancy Roppongi area. Which brings us to the French chapter, now that (German-owned) Bugattis are manufactured in France again.

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It was a veritable Citroën fest. I hope you brought your hydraulics. The occasional C6 can be seen – still looking good after 15-odd years.

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No XM was caught, unfortunately, but the amount of CXs more than made up for that.

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This LWB 1978-84 Prestige was an absolute stunner in the setting autumn sun.

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One of the classic car rally staff cars was this other LWB saloon. The vinyl roof was done away with when the car was repainted, probably. A number of CX Prestige owners prefer this look.

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A rather lazy 2.5 litre 4-cyl., rendered even lazier thanks to a 3-speed slushbox – a firecracker it is not. But as a long-distance cruiser for five adults, world class.

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This could have been yours truly’s latest DS post, but alas, the old gal never made it to the right curb.

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It’s a circa 1970 DS 20 with the hydro-assisted 4-speed gearbox. And in a very attractive colour, too. From what I could gather, there was no consensus as to what the issue was. The car was eventually towed back to its mechanic.

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Saving face, a somewhat older (1963-67) DS in motion. They do run well… from time to time…

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No Peugeots, to my great chagrin. And just a couple of Renaults to go, starting with the fantabulous Matra-built Avantime (2001-03).

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The world’s first (and thus far only? Genuinely asking) hardtop coupé MPV. Matra’s final automotive gambit vanished after 8000-plus units were made. This was also the dawn of the really weird Le Quément-designed Renaults, the Avantime being one of the better ones.

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Alpines used to be small sports cars. They have now become lilliputian. Good idea to use that Smurf blue, then.

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Let’s ease into the American iron now. I never know how to classify these AC Cobras. Definitely not British, but still sort of. Not wholly American, but as near as makes no difference…

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Same issue with the DeLorean, with its Italian designer, British engineering and manufacturing, American leadership / financing (to be nice and vague) and French-Swedish engine.

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There’s a non-zero chance that this one was made in the US, being apparently very old and LHD (Mitsubishi Jeeps were all RHD). I will defer to the experts of course, being quite clueless about older Jeeps myself.

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Well, I do know a little about Grand Wagoneers. And they are surprisingly plentiful, in this place of narrow streets, expensive fuel and massive road tax.

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An AMC aficionado lives here. His other 4-wheeler is an Eagle, which will have its day on CC sometime.

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I don’t know what this is. I am assuming it’s a deformed Jeep, but that’s nothing more than a hunch. Whatever it is, it looks like a parody Millennial villain’s car.

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Never seen an H2 on stilts yet. It didn’t disappoint.

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I don’t know why, but I kinda like this black-on-more black Jimmy S10 Typhoon.

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Circa 1990 Vendura in fine fettle. Incredible how popular these are here.

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That wasn’t the first GMC van I’ve seen, but Chevy-branded ones are more usual.

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Still not sold on these. Not the coupé-pickup concept, just these later El Caminos. Better options must be and were around, as we shall see presently.

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Older El Caminos are very cool. The 1966 vintage especially – though the ‘67s are very attractive too.

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Yeah, now that’s more of a Chevy pickup. Just add proper wheels, and presto.

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First Corvair sighting in Tokyo, and it’s a 2nd gen coupé! Alas, being tended to a therefore not ready for CC prime-time as yet (plus awful sun glare). Looking forward to hearing that flat-6 on the streets in 2024! Catch you later, Corvair-san.

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Another Knight Rider TransAm in Central Tokyo. Scaping the barrel, here.

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The sole Caddy this time will be a Japanese-market 1990-92 Brougham d’Elégance.

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Hey, remember this one? I caught it in-motion a couple years back. Well, a second bite at the apple presented itself.

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I was particularly keen to document the interior, which was out of bounds last time. The engine is the correct Nailhead V8, according to the owner.

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Yes, it’s a Focus. Not exactly the Ford you’d expect to see on CC? Well, look at it this way: it’s the first one I’ve seen in four years.

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It’s also the first 1972 Ranchero I’ve seen here, but that’s easier to believe. The Mercedes coupé behind was very hard to capture, unfortunately.

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Then imagine, you leave your digs one fine afternoon, and there’s a whole Taurus wagon plopped virtually on your front step. The nerve.

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When’s the last time you saw one this clean though? Liking the cheapo black wheels, too.

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The only classic Ford one really sees often is the Mustang. That ’66 was near perfect, but I happened upon something a lot better.

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One-owner-from-new ’65 Mustangs are getting scarce, these days. Japanese one-owner-from-new ’65 Mustangs? Hen’s teeth-level rare.

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Just one Mopar representative this time, in the shape of a 1965 Dart. Cool enough to close out the post, isn’t it?

See you tomorrow for part three – British, Swedish and German cars.

 

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