T87’s Singles Collection, Spring 2026 Edition – Part 5: Even More Foreign Cars (Swedish, French & Italian)

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– Posted on July 10, 2026

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At long last, we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel of this marathon edition of the T87 Singles Collection. To cool us down some, let’s start this post with some Swedish beauties, before heading south to France and Italy. It’s been a banner spring for Saabs, so it’s only fair to put one as the title pic.

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Somehow, most of the Saab 900s I’ve encountered thus far have been of the 4/5-door variety. This 3-door, complete with Starsky & Hutch side streak, was a breath of fresh air.

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It has the famous Aero body kit, if I’m not mistaken.

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The more usual 900 fare was also on display…

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…both turbocharged and still sporting their original license plate. One devoted owner, 35-odd years of Saab bliss.

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Another classic of classics is the Volvo 240. I see so many in wagon form that I don’t even stop to take a photo any longer. Saloons are much less common, so I will make an exception for those.

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Before we move on to more European stuff, a brief Korean interlude in the bulbous shape of this Hyundai RV. Korean cars are extremely rare here, and the few that do exist are usually EVs, so finding this was unexpected.

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Someone likes his classic GTIs around here. That 205 was the only Pug worth the trouble these past three months. It seems older RWD Peugeots are not as popular in Japan as they are in many parts of the globe.

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We have seen this SM in the previous edition of the Singles Collection, albeit on the move. Finding it standing still, I decided to continue photographing it, for everyone’s viewing pleasure.

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The stylized “SM” C-pillar script makes this a 1970-71 car. Later ones had a less artistic plaque, but also a more powerful and less thirsty EFI setup.

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We’ve got a Japanese market 1981 CX GTI here, looking about as original as it can.

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Holy corduroy cornucopia, Batman! It’s like being in a beige padded cell.

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I found and documented this magnificent Murena on the street a while back, but hadn’t seen it since. So it wasn’t a hallucination!

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This Alpine A110 is getting us close to the main event of this French chapter: Renault. Not my favourite of the Big Trois by any means, but they do appear to have their fans in this country…

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Specifically, the Renault 5 was the Reine de la Route this spring.

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By which I mean the Renault 5 Turbo, of course. The regular FWD “Le Cars” kind are barely worth mentioning.

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You just wouldn’t expect to find a Turbo 1 just sitting in a random corner of northern Tokyo. And yet…

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“Ran when parked”… The exterior is near flawless, but clearly this little monster is in the midst of a major internal revision. If anybody can do it, it’s a Japanese otaku.

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One more for the road? That’s the one I wrote up a while back.

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The 5’s follow-up, the Super 5, was made to look similar to its illustrious predecessor, but was really quite different underneath.

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The came the Twingo revolution. That was the smallest Renault of the ‘90s, but not the biggest seller.

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Renault’s bread-and-butter at the time was the Clio. Most were peaceable grocery-getters, but a few like this 16V (1991-95) were of the true hot hatch variety.

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This could only result in the reinvention of the R5 Turbo solution with the Clio V6. Renault Sport chucked away the back seat and put a V6 in its place. Seen this one before, of course…

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I hope you kept some room for Italian sweeties. A little Fiat 500 D as an amuse-bouche…

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A little Panda next – hardly more substantial…

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Here’s where things start getting a little spicier. That may seem like a perfectly digestible second-gen (1999-2006) Punto, but it has a sting in its tail.

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Plus it’s not one, but two. These HGT Abarths, which featured a 1.8 litre DOHC engine, were Japanese market specials, by the way.

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Classic Fiat three-box metal is the best, though. We’ve seen one of these 128s up close already pretty recently, but another one cropped up.

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Where do they find these pristine Fiats, among other ‘70s quasi-miraculous survivors?

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No idea why, but a horde of 1st generation Dinos descended upon the gingko-lined avenue, one fine Sunday morning. An amazing sight.

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This one Dino, which was not part of the aforementioned swarm, was caught in a different part of the city, where I scored a major haul of air-cooled VWs.

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Dwarfed by the G-Wagens and Land Cruisers, it looks like it came from a different planet. IMG20260614113707 edited IMG20260614113644 edited
Might as well look at the “true” Ferraris, while we’re here. Front-engined models are always better balanced, even more modern ones like this 575M Maranello.

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On the other hand, though I’m not necessarily a huge fan of the F355, I must say that it’s quite tempting in dark blue.

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I don’t get the hate about the Mondial’s looks. It’s all relative. On that street that day, it was head and shoulders above everything else, beauty-wise.

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We’ve seen this gorgeous 330 GT before – it lives near my digs, so I do see it on occasion. But I rarely manage to catch it in time.

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A convoy of Lambos… one or two were just out of the shot, but well within earshot. The decibel level on the street went up to 11 for a few seconds there.

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I’m always a little weary of these, because they just don’t seem real. And plenty aren’t real, like the one I wrote up a while back.

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Back at the Bingo Sports auctioneers, we have a unique Miura, the SVR Jota. The original Jota was destroyed in 1972, after which a few Miuras were done up to be Jotas. This one was originally a 1968 model (it was the Turin Motor Show car), sent back to the factory in 1974 to be turned into a race-spec Jota. It’s been in Japan since 1976.

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The same place also had this Pagani Huayra BC. These run on Mercedes V12 power; in this spicier BC spec, said 6-litre engine churns out 754hp. These have been in (very limited) production since 2011.

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Paganis just look too extreme to be real. In the street, the most hypercar that anyone can handle are Lamborghinis, McLarens and the odd Maserati MC20.

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Onwards to the Lancias. This must be the fifth Thesis I’ve caught in this city. Not bad for a car that was never imported here officially.

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The perennial Delta Integrales – this one painstakingly recreating the actual rally car look.

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Perfectly preserved cars like this one are a bit more usual, but it’s that interior that really takes the cake. It’s as if the past 30 years did not happen.

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I wrote up a doppelgänger of this car fairly recently – the same in every way except the colour.

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Yes, I could have made another post with this one. It’s an absolute stunner. But life’s too short.

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For instance, I still haven’t paid my proper homage to the Fulvia Coupé. And that’s long overdue.

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It’s not going to be this one, pretty though it is. But it will happen at some juncture.

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Interesting base to use for a racer… Mind you, it’s lightweight, aerodynamic and it has excellent road manners. But a RHD Fulvia Zagato is also a rare thing.

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Let’s end things on a high note, with a hint of opera and drama to it – Alfa Romeos. Probably my favourite Giulietta body is the Bertone coupé.

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Well, maybe the Bertone SS would top it… Hard to say.

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There are always a lot of Giulia GTs around. This time was no different.

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The very same Junior 1300 GT, a month later and in a different part of town.

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The more powerful 2000 variant was also there, impressive as always.

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I found this 155 2.0 Twin Spark out in the proverbial boonies, across the Sumida River. Its wedgy shape and bright red hue made it literally stick out of the landscape like a sore Italian thumb.

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Not much in the way of wear and tear in a quarter century of service.

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The Alfa of the season was clearly this Alfasud Ti, which I suspect is a 1983-84 Quadrafoglio Verde with the 105hp engine. First Alfasud I’ve seen in this country – and in a very, very long time.

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We’ll polish off this edition with an interesting-looking Ducati, about which (as per usual) I know absolutely nothing. Ciao tutti and here’s hoping the summer heat won’t fry my smartphone.

 

 

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