Rare Rides: The 1991 Nissan Figaro, Completing a Cutesy Collection

Corey Lewis
by Corey Lewis

Today’s Rare Ride is the last entrant in a set of four cars introduced to the series back in November 2018. Tiny, retro, and a convertible, Nissan’s Figaro is by far the most popular of the four Pike cars. It’s also the one you can always find for sale in the United States.

Let’s take a look.

All four Pike cars were produced at the Aichi Machine Industry factory, which Nissan later called its Pike Factory. All four were based on Nissan’s Micra and intended to appeal to a youthful, fun-oriented customer. The first Pike car introduced was the Be-1, a funky sort-of hatchback with design references from the Sixties and Seventies. Notably, the Be-1 was the only Pike built on the first generation Micra platform, which dated to 1983. All three of its successors were on the second-generation Micra platform.

Following the Be-1 was the Pao (the second most popular Pike car in the US), which looked older and more utilitarian, but had a more traditional clamshell hatchback in contrast to the small trunk of the Be-1. After the Pao came the S-Cargo, a tiny utility van designed to look as much as possible like a snail. Nissan succeeded there. And finally, the Figaro brought up the rear of the Pike car run, with a singular model year in 1991.

Figaro was the most luxurious Pike car and the least utilitarian by design. With its smooth and funky retro styling, it was decidedly cutesy. With seating for four (barely), Figaro was a fixed-profile convertible, where a canvas roof folded into the rear behind the second row of seats and took with it the rear window. All pillars remained in place. Well-equipped for a Kei car in 1991, all examples featured leather seating with contrasting piping, retro interior knobs, a CD player, and air conditioning. Paint colors were four and corresponded with the seasons.

All examples were front-drive, automatic, and used a 987-cc turbocharged inline-four shared with the Micra. The engine was good for 76 horses and 78 lb-ft of torque.

Figaro proved very popular upon its debut. The initial planned run was 8,000 cars, but an additional 12,000 were produced to meet unending consumer demand. All were sold via a lottery: Excited customers won their chance to buy a Figaro. Once they were all sold, the Pike program was finished.

The Figaro’s standout design, small size, simplicity, price, and age make it a popular JDM import option in the United States. There are over 100 for sale on AutoTrader right now at various price points, starting at under $9,000. The Figaro is one of the cheapest ways to get a classic JDM car in the US. Today’s gray example is for sale at a well-known JDM car outlet in Virginia. With 64,000 miles, it asks $12,900.

[Images: Nissan]

Corey Lewis
Corey Lewis

Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.

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  • Eng_alvarado90 Eng_alvarado90 on Mar 30, 2021

    Who can say no to such a cute tiny little car? Nothing makes sense, yet I want it. Such a refreshing sight among the sea of CUVs I see every single day

    • See 1 previous
    • Eng_alvarado90 Eng_alvarado90 on Mar 31, 2021

      @FreedMike as an owner of a small car (5 spd Fiesta) I agree.

  • Johnster Johnster on Mar 31, 2021

    Sci-Fi fans of a certain bent will recognize the Nissan Figaro as one of the cars owned by the character of former Doctor Who companion, Sarah Jane Smith, in the "Dr. Who" spin-off TV show, "The Sarah Jane Chronicles" which was conceived of as a Dr. Who-like show for younger pre-teen viewers. Sarah Jane Smith was brilliantly portrayed by actress Elisabeth Sladen starting in a 1973 episode of Dr. Who and Sladen reprised the role many times before being given her own spin-off show. Sadly the show was cancelled following the unexpected cancer death of Sladen in 2011, but whenever I see a Nissan Figaro I always imagine Elisabeth Sladen behind the wheel on her way to save the world from the Bane or the Slitheen or to help the doctor.

  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
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