For those of us who grew up watching Sampei the Fisherboy in the ’80s, it always stuck in our minds that the best fishing happens when it rains… and that’s exactly why, on rainy days, we go out searching for new treasures to bring home… like this Alfa Romeo Dauphine. At first glance, it might leave many indifferent, but I can assure you that a car preserved in this condition is truly rare, especially for a small city car. Everyone knows the story of this little Franco-Italian gem…

It was 1990 when Honda brought this little gem to Europe. In just 3.7 meters, the Japanese company's engineers fitted a very compact, naturally aspirated 1.6cc four-cylinder engine with mind-blowing performance. Its 150 hp, weighing just over 1,000 kg, allowed it to reach a top speed of 215 km/h and go from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.2 seconds. An unthinkable result for what was still a small front-wheel drive sports car. While everyone was anabolically improving car engines with the help of turbochargers, Honda remained "pure," leveraging technology developed in motorcycle racing.

Beautiful, pure, with taut lines, accentuated aerodynamics, a 5.3-liter 12-cylinder engine, and a level of finish that left nothing to chance, with performance and road holding that made even the sportiest cars pale in comparison, this car brought Jaguar back to its former glory! It was 1980.

This example had been sleeping in its garage for thirty years, all original and in its first paint, with an immaculate interior and very low mileage on the odometer... will we be able to get it going again?

We accept the challenge.

Beautiful!!

It seems that time has stopped in 1984... the year it was stopped.

what years... what cars... what memories...

let's start with the restoration