In the 365 Oldtimer Museum, starting from the beginning of September, the Japanese themed period started, within the framework of which visitors can also admire such specialties as, for example, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV or the Honda NSX, but in addition to these, there are many other interesting vehicles in the exhibition, but this be a surprise for those who visit the museum.
For each theme, we select a car in which visitors can sit and take photos of the memorable moment. Our photo car belonging to the Japanese theme is the Nissan Figaro, which is undoubtedly one of the cutest cars in the world, let’s get to know it!
The Nissan Figaro is a two-door convertible produced by Nissan in 1991 for the Japanese market. Despite the latter fact, we can find Figaro cars in many parts of the world, for example in Europe. It was a common, established practice that at that time such cars were imported into Great Britain, a member of the European Union, and from there they were imported to other European countries, so some of them ended up in Hungary.
It has a 2+2 seating arrangement, but due to its small size, it is more suitable for two people. It has a 1.0-liter (987cc) turbocharged engine that produces 76 horsepower. The transmission is a three-speed automatic transmission. Nissan produced only 20,073 Figaros in the single year of production.
The Nissan Figaro was designed by Naoki Sakai and Shoji Takahashi, who worked as members of the Pike Factory, a special projects group within Nissan. Takahashi won a design competition with the Figaro concept. Sakai had previously designed the Be-1, another Pike car, and contributed to the design of the Pao and Rasheen models. The project consisted of a total of 4 cars, of which the Figaro was the last to be launched on the market.
So the Figaro was one of four “Pike cars” produced by Nissan in the late 1980s and early 1990s, along with the Be-1, Pao and S-Cargo. They were only sold in Japan through a lottery system that worked by drawing lucky winners who could buy the car. This was necessary because the production was planned in a limited series, but the demand for it was so great that a system had to be developed, based on which they could decide who would buy these cars. The lovely little cars already had a hefty price tag.
The Figaro has since become a cult classic among car enthusiasts and collectors, and is still admired for its unique style and charm. It’s no coincidence, as not only practicality, but also a cute look was a main consideration during the design. When designing the exterior of the car, they aimed for a retro look, but at the same time, due to its technical solutions, the Figaro is already considered modern. It was presented at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show with the slogan „Back to the Future”, precisely referring to the appearance of the „historicizer”, which it combines with modern technology.
It was available in four colors, each representing a different season: Lapis Gray (winter, seen in our exhibition), Topaz Mist (spring), Emerald Green (summer) and Pale Aqua (autumn).
The Nissan Figaro has appeared in many films and TV series, such as The Fast and the Furious, Tokyo Drift, Confetti, Godzilla and Doctor Who.
If you’ve been tempted to sit in this small car, or if you’re interested in the world of Japanese cars, don’t hesitate, come and discover the charm of the Figaro and many other Japanese wonders within the walls of the 365 Oldtimer Museum, every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.!