T87’s Singles Collection, Autumn 2025 Edition – Part 2: Foreign Cars (British, French & German)

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– Posted on January 6, 2026

A yellow 1960s Lotus Elan parked by the curbside.

Welcome to the imported entrants of this latest T87 Singles Collection compendium. No point on burying the lede: British cars in the final quarter of 2025 were divided into two distinct categories, those that did not wear a Lotus badge and those, like this lovely Elan, that most definitely did.

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Prior to living in Tokyo, I had seen maybe a couple of Europas in 40 years. I now see several every month. Not always different ones, but this particular late model in the iconic John Player Special colours was a first, I think.

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In October, I happened upon this seemingly informal gathering of (mostly classic) Lotuses as part of a little matsuri (street festival) not far from Ueno. Lots of unfamiliar cars here, most of them with a few mods…

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Interesting growths on this one’s nose, for instance. Probably the work of the good people at “Technical Shop Happy”…

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Not entirely convinced of the necessity of that massive rear spoiler.

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It wasn’t all Europas, thankfully. This ’66 Elan was my personal pick of the bunch.

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But the most eye-catching was certainly this Esprit S2. Never seen one look so clean.

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In fact, it looked better than new. I bet it never came out of the factory with panel gaps that straight.

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British Leyland lost the plot with MG long before they slapped those God-awful bumpers on the ’75 cars. Revising the grille for MY 1970 was not necessarily a bad idea, but leaving the bonnet pressing unchanged was plain silly. Penny-pinching at its worst. And the dash was not improved, either.

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Very curious (but not unpleasant) to see an MGA roadster in a green that is neither racing, nor British.

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The one time and place where a bright yellow Morgan Plus 4 would totally blend in would be at the Meiji Jingu Gaien gingko avenue when the leaves are turning in November.

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Some folks are obviously not shy about entering their classic British roadster in racing events. While I’m no fan of the look, I do admire the mentality and enthusiasm.

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Same deal with this Morris-branded Mini. Actually, I quite like the belt fasteners on the bonnet and the trunk.

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The most recent MacLarens are seen on a fairly regular basis in the streets of Tokyo. The 12C (2011-14), marking the maker’s return to street car production after the 1992-98 F1, is a lot less common. Seeing two together was quite a highlight.

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A quick hello from a passing XJ40 was all we were going to get from the Jaguar side of the force. But then, I spied something that was spying on everyone…

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They came from planet Waymo in an electric Jag SUV to map out the whole Kanto area. Good luck to ‘em – with the way streets are here (95% of them lack names), getting a robot to figure out where to go will require all the A.I. in the world.

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I keep finding Aston Martin Rapides, so I keep photographing them. Nobody minds, right?

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I’m a lot less interested in modern Rolls-Royces. But this one’s awful colour scheme really merited a couple of quick snaps. Money can’t buy taste.

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Really not a fan of the styling on this one either of course, but the colour was at least novel and therefore interesting.

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Catching that R-R 20HP phaeton out in the wild (and out of the blue) was astonishing. Centenarians are rare in the car world as they are in the human realm, but as time wears on, there will be more and more of both of them.

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We’re done with the cars, but there were still a few British bikes to take a look at, starting with an unrestored Triumph Bonneville T140, made in the ‘70s by the Norton-Villiers-Triumph “co-ooperative” – the two-wheelers’ answer to British Leyland and BAe.

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There are just too many BSA bikes for me to ID this specific model, but I’m confident someone will know and tell us in the comments section. Love the emblem.

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Same issue here, I guess. It’s also a BSA and also a single-cylinder, but there are plenty of differences otherwise.

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Strictly speaking, Royal Enfield is an Indian motorcycle maker. But it has English roots, if you look hard enough. This is a current production Continental GT 650 “Mr Clean” – stylish machine, for a 2025 bike. Onwards to the short French section of the tour, then.

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Remember the Ohta pickup truck featured in yesterday’s post? Well, right next to it, amongst an indescribable bric-a-brac of 20th Century mementos and hiding under a mass of fake flowers was a late model Traction Avant. That was the first one of those I’ve seen in this country outside of a museum.

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The C6, which is the faraway descendant of the Traction, is still seen prowling the streets on occasion.

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I can’t go by a blue Peugeot 406 Coupé and not take a picture. Sorry, it’s just one of those things that’s beyond my control.

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The most notable French find of the fall was, without a doubt, this mid-‘60s Alpine A110 GT4 – the rare LWB “family-oriented” variant.

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This is the second one of these I’ve caught on this street. Unsacrebleuvable.

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Across the Rhine, we find ourselves in VW territory. Yet another Mark II Golf, I know, but I’ve ignored them for quite a while. They’re still here, and in very decent numbers.

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Jettas are less common, but just as hard to kill.

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Only one Beetle, a ‘70s baby blue example, made the cut this time. But there will be plenty of other air-cooled cars to gawk at, don’t worry.

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An absolute stunner, that ’68 Karmann-Ghia. The metallic beige was an inspired choice. Is that a factory colour?

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I’d have made a post about it, but I already have a couple nice ones in store that are not likely to get written up anytime soon…

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We now enter the Porsche section, which will be the meat (and even some of the potatoes) of the German contingent for this edition. Of course, there were 356 sightings. I mean the model, not the number of cars seen. That would be closer to 911…

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Am I exaggerating? Only a little.

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I’m almost sure we’ve had a look at this one in the past, but just to be on the safe side, here are four photos of it. That interior alone is worth the price of admission.

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Slightly later cars like this one lost the cream bakelite fittings in favour of more serious-looking black items. Not bad per se, but I like the older style better.

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We’ll ease into the trove of 911s by way of this exquisite US-market 912. But not for long, the flat-6 is calling us…

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Might as well start with what looks like the oldest of the bunch – 1936, try beating that! What misunderstanding? It says so right on the license plate… Ok, fine, maybe it’s a 1964-65 model. Spoilsports.

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This one looks like it came with A/C from the factory, for once.

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I rarely pay attention to the accordion-bumper generation. But that interior tartan was so ‘70s that it simply had to be included here.

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Oh, and there is a mini WTF section here in the shape (and distinctive hue) of this …er… machine. I have a lot of questions, but am afraid of the answers.

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Another query, while we’re on the subject: what is the deal with the number 73 on Japanese 911s?

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Clearly, 911 owners here have a thing for it. Are those all MY 1973 cars, perhaps? Seems unlikely…

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Are they all owned by the same guy who has a fetish about this number? Could be. I’ve seen it before…

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But somehow, I doubt it. I caught this Carrera RS the same day…

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…I snapped this green 911S, so it would have taken so doing to go home, change cars and go in a different neighbourhood. So why are all these 911s given a “73” number plate? Ideas, theories and wild stabs in the dark welcome. And yes, I’m going to cool it on the 911s from now on.

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Let’s hope that 2002 Turbo’s time in the shop will be a brief one – I want to see it out on the streets in 2026!

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Sure looks the part, don’t it? But I’ve learned to be a bit more careful with BMW owners – even in Japan, they seem to like to slap “M” and “Alpina” badging on everything.

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OK, now that’s the genuine article, no ifs ands or buts. Third (M)one I’ve seen in Tokyo.

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Let’s close this post on a few Benzes, shall we? Lots of W124s as always, so I do try to limit my intake to the best and/or rarest of the breed. I think this coupé qualifies.

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The cabriolet definitely makes the cut as well, no question.

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OK, under normal circumstances, the wagon would be left off the guest list. But this one is chock-full of Oettinger bits, including the 3.6 litre six apparently, so I let it slip in.

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Gold M-B emblems and a boomerang TV aerial? Methinks this W126 is trying a bit too hard to keep the ‘80s alive.

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According to the license plate, this late ‘60s 250S has always lived in Japan. Easily my pick of the Benz crowd here.

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This one has had its day on CC before, but it’s still as gorgeous as ever and the backdrop kinda forced me to take a couple photos, just for old times’ sake.

 

See you tomorrow for the final part, with American and Italian cars!

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