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

We have managed to locate a YouTube video of the show (thanks to Tyler McMenamin) of the actual show. The Tokyo Motor Show was held in 1989 at Makuhari Messe for the first time. The show was in the midst of a bubble economy and focused on luxury cars. Toyota… 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

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

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

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

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

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

We have to thank two very special designers who were responsible for the car Shoji Takahashi Shoji also designed the Nissan Pao which like the Figaro had a low volume production run of just 10,000. Also like the Figaro, the Nissan Pao was an instant hit. Nissan had to run a lottery to… 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