The feeling that the car moves as it often does is an irresistible attraction

When we approached Mr. Miwa, the owner of a Fiat 500L, who was attending “Italian Job 2024,” a gathering of Italian cars, he told us that he had driven a variety of cars, including European cars. When we asked him about his current car, he told us that he first heard of this car through the movie “Lupin III: Cagliostro’s Castle. We asked him about the details of his Cinquecento life.

I look forward to Italian jobs where I can feel the warmth of the people

“I look forward to this atmosphere every year, where I can spend a whole day relaxing and talking about my car, surrounded by natural mountains and looking at all kinds of cars.”

They were joined by Mr. and Mrs. Miwa, who were driving a second-generation Fiat 500L (Cinquecento) that they have owned for six years, and by Niwa, the representative of Fiat specialist Basic Bene Niwa, who is their 500’s doctor, He recommended them to participate in such an event, and they took part in it for the first time right after they got their car.　Since their first participation right after they got their first Fiat, they have been repeating the event every year because they enjoy it so much.

“This is my seventh Italian Job, and the personality of the organizer, Mr. Sasaki, is wonderful, when I arrive, the smiles of the staff who greet me and the handmade pamphlets are warm and welcoming. That alone always makes me glad I came again this year.”

It moves just like the car in “Lupin the Third”!

Miwa’s car life began with a Honda “Grand Civic. After that, he enjoyed unique imported cars such as the Volvo “940 Estate,” the Fiat “New Panda” (2nd generation), the Fiat “Panda 4×4” (3rd generation) (6MT), and the BMW “320 Touring Sport. Mr. Miwa’s first encounter with the 500 was in 2018. As usual, he was browsing various websites when his eyes suddenly caught sight of a 500 with a navy exterior and tan interior combination on the website of World Vintage Cars in Hiroshima.

“It was love at first sight with an interior and exterior that fit the image perfectly. I was driving a Panda at the time, and when I learned through our correspondence that the person in charge, Mr. Sasaki (Fiat Gifu), and Mr. Hashimoto of World Vintage Cars were old acquaintances, I thought this might be a fateful encounter. The car was in transit from Italy to Japan, so I could not see the actual car, but I decided to buy it.”

After actually starting to drive the car, Mr. Miwa says that the directness of all driving controls and the fact that the car moves exactly as he wants it to is irresistible.

“I like the feeling that I am driving the car!　I like that feeling that modern cars don’t have. I first became aware of the Cinquecento when I saw the movie “Lupin III: Cagliostro’s Castle,” and it’s just like the movement of the car in the movie.”

he laughs. Takeyama-san from Abarth TC, who was parked next to me that day, and his navigator, Nakano-san, are also 500 friends I have met since I started driving this car.

“This Itajob was the reason I made friends, and I am also happy about the nice participation prize. Of course, I will come back next year.”

translated by DeepL