T87’s Singles Collection (Summer 2025 Edition) – Part 3: French, Italian, American, Swedish & Other Cars

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– Posted on October 2, 2025

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Welcome to part three, ladles and jellyspoons. For once, this recurring “Singles Collection” will have a fairly well-populated French section. We might as well kick things off with a few Citroëns, as the Méhari is the summer car par excellence…

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There were more than just these two puttering about, but one isn’t always able to go CC hunting when on holiday…

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I’ve seen a couple of these around Tokyo, but this is the first one I’ve managed to document. I doubt there is any AX in France that looks as perfect as this.

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There are more Xantias around, for sure. This one was particularly well-preserved, including the Eunos (i.e. Mazda) sticker on the back, as these were sold via that dealership network.

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There were a LOT of Renault 4 encounters this summer. This one was pretty unique, with a couple of stanzas from a famous Victor Hugo poem on the rear fender, what looks like leather upholstery and some kind of fabric on the dash.

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This is an ‘80s model that’s had a lot of ‘60s and ‘70s bits stuck to it.

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This one is also quite interesting. The Namibia sticker is a puzzler. The French license plates are quite strange too: the front and back are completely different.

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And yes, I did find an R4 in its country of origin. Just one, though. I bet most of them have migrated to Japan by now.

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Not much left of this 1981-85 Renault 5 Alpine. Rust in peaces.

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There are still quite a few Super 5s (1985-96) prowling the French road network. I limited my intake to this one well-worn but clean specimen.

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Older big Renaults like the 21 (a.k.a Medallion) are becoming rare. Well, they’re over 30 years old now, after all.

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Aha! Now we’re getting into rarefied R25 territory, designed by Robert Opron. There is an argument that this was the last big French car that sold well (over 780k units made between 1983 and 1992). Be that as it may, there are precious few still around.

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I wrote up one of these odd Kangoo Be-bops fairly recently and never figured I’d see another one so soon.

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Well if it ain’t a 1985-91 Alpine GTA. What is not known is whether this is the 160hp 2.9 litre carburated version (i.e. the “standard” model) or the turbo with the 185hp 2.5 litre V6.

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A few Peugeots to close the French chapter, starting with a time-warp 405 S saloon from 1989.

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I think this very fine-looking 405 wagon is a 1990 model. These are getting quite scarce in their home country now, especially in this condition.

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Even back in the day, the 306 Cabriolet was not an everyday occurrence. This one is a very late model, known as the “Phase III,” made in 2000-02.

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Back to Japan with a 406 Coupé, one of the thousand or so that was sold here 25 years ago. I guess most owners live in the Kanto area, as I do see these on a fairly regular basis. First one I’ve caught wearing this “Lugano green” hue. Quite fetching.

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Here’s one that might be new to some of you. Feast your eyes on the Microcar M.Go Highland X. Yes, it’s one of those cars you can drive without a license, with a 5.5hp 500cc Diesel twin taking you to a maximum of 45kph. The Microcar marque, born in 1980 and taken over by Ligier a decade ago, is defunct as of this year. At least, they got to invent and market the 2-cyl. crossover.

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How about a little Piaggio to get the Italian party going? Never seen these four-wheeler trucks in Japan, which makes sense, as this is essentially a heavily facelifted Daihatsu S80 Hijet with a 1.2-1.4 litre Lombardini Diesel. These were made (in Italy) between 1992 and 2021.

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Back in ol’ Nippon, the Fiat 500 of the season was this scrumptious little grey number with suicide doors.

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There were a whole lot of Alfas out and about, this summer. Caught this Bertone 105 in Switzerland, but the main event was back in Japan.

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The majority of classic Alfas were of the Giulia family. Including a boxy berlina or two…

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This one was even nicer. Great colour, and the simpler dual headlights really help.

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The Alfa of the summer, though, had to be this cream-coloured early model Spider.

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Talk about a stunner! I do have a question for the Alfistas in the room, though: is that engine supposed to be covered by that huge manifold like that?

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There are several Zagato GT Junior coupés frequenting the Meiji Jingu avenue Sunday meets. Most are red, but this white one is the more interesting specimen, in my eyes.

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The earlier Giulietta 101 generation is also pretty well-represented, though we usually only get to see PF drop-tops. Bertone-made Sprint coupés like this one are the exception rather than the rule.

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And here is the rule. Very rare to see one of these PF convertibles with wire wheels. Doesn’t look half bad…

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I’m only speculating here, because I’m no GTV expert, but might this be a GTV6 Grand Prix with the odd mod (especially the bumpers, or lack thereof)?

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Zagato built just over 1000 of these peculiar cars in coupé form, and just 280 convertibles. Yet this is the first coupé I think I’ve caught here. Go figure.

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One of my best finds in Europe, without a doubt. What we have here is a circa 1968 Fulvia Rally 1.3, one of the best small Italian cars of the ‘60s.

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I have secured a similar car (found in Japan) for a putative CC post at some point. This one has a great colour, but I was in a hurry so I didn’t bother capturing too many pics. Ah well…

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I’ve caught a few Thesis (Theses?) by now, but I only recently learned that they were never officially imported in Japan.

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Great before & after pic, isn’t it? The 1998-2002 boomerang taillights means that Maserati has a 365hp 3.2 litre V8; the more common (read: boring) taillights means a 2002-07 Coupé with the 385hp 4.2 litre engine. A whole litre of added displacement and only 20 extra hp to show for it?

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Not a bad-looking car, the 2000-04 Ferrari 360 Spider. Especially in this ice-cool blue. Add the genuine gated shifter and the see-through engine cover, and we’ve got a decent little number here.

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Non-red Testarossas are slightly weird. In a good way, but still weird.

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I’ve seen this 412 whizz past me a couple of times over the summer. If there is one ‘80s Ferrari that would be worth catching for CC, that would be it.

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Just one Lambo to report, but that’s usually about as many as I can handle anyway.

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The 1995-98 Diablo SV features a 503hp 5.7 litre V12. All very impressive. But did it have to be this ugly?

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Moving swiftly on to the American metal. In the last edition of this Singles Collection, I featured a dead Grumman Kurbside truck. Well, there are live ones about the place, too. Usually working for a living.

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Not sure if this is a Grumman-Olsen product too. Looks a lot smaller. Like a…

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…Chevy Step Van, maybe?

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I quite like these HHRs. Especially when shod like this.

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Ooof. That Camaro’s been out of commission for a while.

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And this ’69 Chevelle is also gathering dust. Still, at least it has a license plate.

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Drive-by Nova wagon! Or is that a Chevy II? Or either? Or both?

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Hey, that’s the one! That was the first CC I wrote up when I moved to Tokyo in January 2020. Nice to see you again, Regal-san.

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He he he… On the outside, that Caddy looks like a Minecraft block stuck in the real world. On the inside, it looks like your grandparents’ mid-‘70s lounge made it to 2025. Such a disconnect between the two.

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No idea what this is or was originally – let’s just call it a Ford. Kind of photobombed by the black van that preceded it, to be honest.

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OK, this is more like the proverbial Little Deuce Coupe.

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Quite the sweet ’65. Is that an 8-track tape deck? Hope it’s something appropriate, like Wilson Pickett…

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I guess many of you will find this Mustang Mach-E positively yawn-inducing, but these are not imported in Japan (just like all Fords), so this French sighting was my first Mach-E experience. And now, I’d like to un-experience it.

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That’s more my kind of SUV. Not very eco-conscious? Sure, but then why not convert one to an EV? I’m sure someone’s already done it.

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I’d say these could be electrified as well, but they’re just too impractical as a vehicle, never mind the drivetrain.

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Never knew Harley-Davidson made small single-cylinder bikes, but then motorcycles are almost like a foreign language to me. This seems to be a late ‘60s evolution of the Sprint, which was actually an Italian design (Aermacchi) bought by H-D, but I’m sure someone can ID it with more precision. Onwards to the Swedish stuff, dear friends…

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It’s been over ten years since Saab joined the great garage in the sky, and every time I see a late one like this 9-3 cabriolet, it still feels like GM’s worst overseas mistake.

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Found this older 900 cabrio in Brittany back in August. Great-looking cars, it must be said.

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Brittany turned out to be fertile ground for Swedish finds, as I also happened upon this mid-‘80s Volvo 700-Series there.

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Also found in France: a Chinese EV that I had never heard of, the strangely-dubbed Lynk & Co 01, made by Geely. This is actually based on the same platform that underpins the Volvo XC40.

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Speaking of Chinese EVs, it looks like BYD are really pressing on with their attempt at capturing a slice of the Japanese market. They are now offering four models.

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You might have known it as the Pontiac Le Mans, the Asüna GT, the Vauxhall Astra or the Opel Kadett. This last one was how it was known in France until MY 1991. After that MY, these were the same Korean-built slop everyone else got, sold as the Daewoo Nexia. Which is what we have here.

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If I’m not mistaken, we are in the presence of a six-wheeled Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer. A few of these can be seen in France, once in a blue moon. I doubt one exists in Japan, but I’ve been proven wrong time and again.

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Last entry for this edition: a very interesting French carousel vehicle, I’m sure you’ll agree. Strong hints of ’58 Edsel with this one, plus what looks like (but actually are not) Simca 1000 taillights.

 

Bet you never saw that last one coming, did you? Next Singles round-up in January 2026. Now back to our regularly scheduled CCs…

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