Picture above was taken during the 28th Tokyo Motor Show (26th Oct – 6th Nov 1989) when the car was first revealed to an excited public! The Figaro has been referred to as a ‘retro fashion car,’ and was born out of the Japanese ’boutique’ movement in car design. Japanese… Read More

As we joyfully commemorate the 34th birthday of our beloved Nissan Figaro today, we are thrilled to share insights from the brilliant mind behind its enchanting design, Yoshiro Kobata. Recently, Yoshiro unveiled some of his early concept sketches which date back to the 24th of March 1988 and the 19th… Read More

Above is the actual ‘selected’ full size model of the Figaro created back in 1988. To get to this stage, ten 1/4 scale clay models were produced by a design team. Then, out of the ten, two were shortlisted. The car below was the winner and went into production. BELOW… Read More

This clay model was the start of the journey for the Figaro Owners of the car may be particularly interested in the early concept design of the Figaro. We have published some wonderful pictures that demonstrate how the early design was spot-on and very little actually changed when… Read More

There were a large team of designers who were involved in the design of the Nissan Figaro. We are aware of three very special designers who were involved in the design of the car. Shoji Takahashi Shoji also designed the Nissan Pao which like the Figaro had a low volume production… Read More

We have managed to locate a YouTube video of the show (thanks to Tyler McMenamin) of the actual show. The 28th Tokyo Motor Show was held in 1989 at Makuhari Messe for the first time and took place from 26th October to 6th November. The show was in the midst… Read More

In 1990, Nissan produced this 14-page A5 brochure showing early sketches and detailing of the car. In addition to familiar images, the publication also covers interesting items such as airflow and additional strengthening and rigidity of the chassis. It is divided into sections including Concept, Exterior, Interior, Mechanism of… Read More

The leaflet above was sent to Nissan dealers and given out to customers to explain how the lottery application process worked along with dates as to when you would be notified. On the 14th of February 1991, ‘NISSAN NEWS’ (the official media channel of Nissan Motor Co Ltd)… Read More

This 98-minute omnibus film was screened in 1991 and captures the Nissan Figaro in Paris, Tokyo and New York. The film follows three love stories, ‘LIBRARY LOVE’ in Paris, ‘MAN FROM THE MOON’ in Tokyo and ‘KEEP IT TO YOURSELF’ in New York. Directors: Alejandro Agresti, Kaizô Hayashi & Claire… Read More

This short video is about the making of the FIGARO STORY. The 98-minute omnibus film was a truly ambitious project, filmed in three different cities – Paris, Tokyo, and New York – for its release. The film was scheduled to be released in seven cities nationwide from the end of… Read More

Watch club founder Kevin Fagan unpack and reveal what’s on this mystery Green Nissan Figaro VHS play tape which was sent by dealer Adam Lees of Figaro Imports. Enjoy the video but there is a WARNING! The tune will get into your brain and you will be humming it for… Read More

You can only establish the month and year of manufacture of your Figaro here. First, locate your VIN Number (Vehicle Identification Number) which as an example will be like FK10-004551. This will be in the paperwork or printed in the engine bay – Learn more Now only… Read More

In our ongoing commitment to preserving the legacy of the Nissan Figaro, we are excited to share an insightful article written by Kazunori Morioka, which was published in the April 1991 edition of MotorFan (Volume 45 No 4) just two months after the Figaro made its debut in showrooms. This… Read More

Back in 1991 when the Figaro was launched Nissan created a range of push bikes to help promote their Pike Factory cars. The bicycles were built under license by the Tsunoda Corporation. If you look closely you can see the Figaro bike below carries the DNA of the car with… Read More

Did you know that when the car was launched back in 1991, Nissan worked with Sony Music to create five ‘mood music’ CDs? It is thought that these might have been available to buy in some dealers or given away as promotional merchandise to promote the car. Each CD included… Read More

On the 14th February 1991 NISSAN NEWS (which was the official media channel of Nissan Motor Co Ltd) published a 5 page press release telling the world about the Figaro. If you read the release it contains some real gems such as; “Nissan has given the Figaro a unique design… Read More

Enjoy this rather strange video promotional film which we think was supplied by Nissan to all dealers back in 1991 to display within the car showrooms to prospective buyers of the Figaro. The quality is not that good but it’s the only copy we could find. The observant will notice… Read More

When the car was sold back in 1991 it would have included a range of documentation covering operation and service issues. Over the years these documents become lost and not passed on when the car is sold. Below are the documents along with some early service schedules. If you have… Read More

We have translated the Original Price List which issued by Nissan on the 14th February 1991. The information shows: The car had base price of 1,870,000 Yen (£14,000*). The base price car included as standard power steering, power windows and genuine leather seats. Air Conditioning was an additional cost of … Read More

Have you ever wondered where your Figaro was made? The car was actually manufactured under license by a company named Takata (Takada) Kogyo, who was an approved manufacturing partner of the Nissan Motor Company. We assume the main reason that Nissan choose Takata to produce the Figaro was due to… Read More

Naoki Sakai (along with Shoji Takahashi) was credited with the design of the Nissan Figaro back in 1990. In December 2018 the Figaro Owners Club managed to track down Naoki via Facebook and asked him to provide more information on how the Figaro came about being designed in the first… Read More

As a CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, we wanted to share this amazing insight into how the Figaro was designed and where they took their inspiration from!  Figaro Smiles (Facebook) founder Adam Woods got in touch with us about this very special and… Read More

This petite classic never fails to turn heads with its innate quirky style and sense of fun Read More

Can you establish the ‘Month’ and ‘Year‘ of manufacture? First, locate your VIN Number (see below), which, for example, will be similar to FK10-004551. Now, enter this number into the SEARCH BAR – https://nissan.epc-data.com/figaro You will be provided with Frame/Series Type, Body, Transmission, Production Month, Interior and… Read More

Some of the original documentation supplied with the car including labels attached at the time of delivery, handbooks, parts manuals plus marketing literature including the original promotional imagery and more. Kindly supplied by Graham Foulston… Read More

You will recognise the Fleur De Lys (which means Flower & Lily) design from the badge of your bonnet. If you look closely at the top of the badge you will notice the Lily has three distinct petals. But did you realise that these three petals are used throughout the… Read More

Although the Figaro doesn’t shout about its manufacturing heritage, we thought it might interest owners to learn more about the logo. As you can see from the picture on the right, the logo used on the car is outlined in orange. It is probably the most understated of the lot. Read More

Read the amazing story of the ultimate Nissan Figaro Racing Car! Read More