T87 Singles Collection, Summer 2026 Edition – Part 3: French, Italian & Other Cars

Naturally, given that I travelled around southern and western Europe in August, the Italian and French contingent was always going to be a bit better represented than usual, especially the latter. So we kick things off with something a little unusual in the boxy shape of a 1981-91 Peugeot J9 van, a mildly facelifted version of the J7 (1965-80).

I skipped the 205s – too many still about, especially in the south – and tried to find something a little more typique. I think this 309 “Graffic” limited edition fits the bill: it’s really the base model 1.1 litre with a few extras thrown in and some decals; only sold between spring 1991 and the end of MY 1992.

There are still a few late model 104s to be found in the drier parts of the French countryside. Pushing 45 years of age with grace and aplomb. Would that we could all say the same.

On the Citroën front, France brought forth the obligatory 2CVs. This one wore a very fetching burgundy paint job with light gray headlights, bumpers and wheels. The lack of chevrons on the back nameplate should make this a very late model (1988-90), but that speedo is from a mid-‘70s car.

Case in point, this 1971-73 model has that same instrument cluster. This 2CV4 has the smaller 425cc engine – a painfully slow machine only marginally better than something horse-drawn….

Series 1 BXs are now few and far between – even in France, where this one was photographed. Pretty exceptional in other ways, too: it is a 1985-86 “Leader” model in the rare metallic bleu romantique hue. To top it off, it has Belgian plates and was found in the Basque country, so it travelled a good 1100km to get there.

This later model was spotted in Tokyo last month on one of the rare days when it didn’t rain.

Seems I caught this XM already a few years back. It’s been re-upholstered in the interim and those seats look so inviting…

This is one of the 325 or so Alpine GTA Le Mans made in 1990-91. These had a special factory body kit and a turbocharged V6 in the tail. I found one on the street a while back, it’ll have fifteen minutes of CC fame sometime.

Uncovered a very well-preserved late ’70s base model Renault 4 in Italy. It’s not all Lancias and Alfa Romeos over there.

The most unexpected French car encounter was probably this early ‘90s Renault 21 that appeared out of nowhere, one night in Bangkok (and the world’s your oyster).

Pure mid-‘70s vision here with the classic Mobylette. This moped that became so ubiquitous that its name became a noun, usually shortened to “mob,” in the vernacular.

Found this…er… thing in Italy. No idea about the manufacturer or anything. What startled me most was that it doesn’t even have a license plate.

This, on the other hand, is a well-known entity. The immortal Piaggio, Italy’s number one purveyor of three-wheeled haulers. This is an Ape Furgone 50 version from the late ‘90s / early 2000s – quite a common sight.

Strangely enough, all the classic four-wheeled Italian cars found this summer were caught outside of Italy. Case in point with this Giulia saloon. Love both the colour and the dual headlight front end on this one.

That original cuttlefish bone shape just can’t be beat, in my view. But one should be magnanimous and also feature other Spiders…

I tend to let these heavily made-up ‘80s Aerodinamica ones go. Definitely my least favourite iteration of this car. But this one was in such pristine condition that it caught my eye anyway.

I don’t know if I had noticed that dash before. That instrument binnacle clearly doesn’t fit the rest of the dash in any way. What a dreadful design.

First one of these Giulietta Spiders I’ve seen in this colour, and it’s absolutely gorgeous, particularly when paired with that upholstery.

One of the few cars caught in September, literally between two typhoons. Not a good month for convertibles.

I seem to be destined to find these horrid Ghiblis everywhere I turn. At least this one was in a nice colour.

The only Fiat of the post is a doozy! The 1959-63 Fiat 1200/1500 Cabriolet was made by Pininfarina; the 1.2 litre version was rather slow, but the 1500 had an OSCA twin-cam engine that was quite potent. This is the former, if the smaller hood scoop is any indication.

Captured this LWB Lada Niva in France. I had never seen this variant there before, nor did I know Ladas that recent were still exported to western Europe.

For many of us on this website, Chinese EVs are not a familiar sight. They’re virtually unknown in North America, very rare in Japan, a little less so in Europe – but in Thailand, they’re now everywhere. The latest model that caught my eye was the Chery V23, marketed in that country since 2025 and also available in Malaysia, Indonesia, South Africa and soon India. Quirky design with Range Rover vibes, though it’s not necessarily AWD (most are RWD only).

In Japan, we hardly see any Korean cars, either. Whenever I see a gen 1 Ssangyong Rodius, even the facelifted 2008-12 variant, I must say I’m grateful.

I think this might be the first Berna truck featured on CC. I found it in Switzerland, its country of birth. It looks ex-Army, but is now being used on a farm. Berna, founded in 1902, manufactured cars, trucks, trolley-buses and tractors. They came under the control of Saurer in the ‘30s but kept making trucks for a long time – the last military models left the Olten factory in 1987. This particular one is a 2VM, an AWD model powered by an 8.1 litre 6cyl. Saurer Diesel motor. These were sold between 1965 and 1976; 1600 units were built.

To bring this little Euro-Asian tour to a close in style, here’s a steam loco glimpse from a moving train getting into Milano Centrale. It appears this is a Class 640 machine, one of 173 built between 1907 and 1911 in Italy and Germany. We all bow in respect to the centenarian, I’m sure. T87 over, but not out.