The Melbourne-based racer, who won’t continue in the class next season, recently purchased the two-litre machine and had it converted back to its winning livery.

D’Alberto took the title by just nine points over Melbourne Performance Centre Audi driver Will Brown in a thrilling Bathurst finale.

The Civic was debuted by D’Alberto in the third round of the inaugural season of TCR Australia back in 2019 and campaigned by him until a new car arrived for the penultimate round of ’23.

D’Alberto’s title-winning car spent the last two rounds of 2023 in the hands of Will Harris before sitting at Wall Racing as a spare this year.

“It was a sentimental purchase. I’m not sure if the car is worth a huge amount of money to anyone other than me!” D’Alberto told Speedcafe.

“The Harris boys bought the new cars and were looking to get rid of one of the older cars and they were going to send it back overseas, so I said ‘no, I want that car’.

“It’s back in my championship-winning colours, same engine, same running gear, all that sort of stuff, and now she’s mine!”

Honda and D’Alberto to exit TCR Australia

D’Alberto recently took possession of the car and says it may make static public appearances next year as part of his ongoing relationship with Honda.

“I’ve got a little mancave separate to home, so there’s a little factory that it sits in,” said D’Alberto, who works as the general manager in his family’s composites business, Centaur Products.

“I don’t have any plans to put it out on track at the moment, but it could, it’s all ready to go.

“Honda will grab it and put it on display at dealers and bits and pieces, and we’ll use it for promotion for our business, things like that.”

The Honda is the only car D’Alberto currently owns from his career.

His family team campaigned a succession of Walkinshaw-built Commodores during D’Alberto’s time in Super2 and the main game, but each had to be moved on.

“We’ve sold everything along the way, especially in the early days of DVS (Super2), we just kept selling to try and get the next car.

“We never kept anything. But I’m getting older and a bit more sentimental.”

Full circle for D’Alberto in DJR decade

That included D’Alberto’s 2007 title-winning Super2 car, which is now back in its ’06 Supercars Championship-winning Rick Kelly colours and owned by Eggleston Motorsport.

While D’Alberto won’t be forking out to buy that machine back anytime soon, he does hope to be in the market for a Supercar this October.

“If I win the Bathurst 1000, I’m buying the car!” he said ahead of his 10th enduro campaign with Dick Johnson Racing in 2025.

“I reckon after 10 years Ryan (Story, team principal) should at least give me a discount on it!”