Nissan Figaro 35th Birthday Today – Saturday 14th of February 2025

Back 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. Divided into sections including Concept, Exterior, Interior, Mechanism of convertible top & Specification. Nissan must have been looking for 4 colours to represent the seasons and rather the publication reveals that these were inspired by gemstones. Emerald Green is based on the crisp green colour of Emeralds, Pale Aqua is the blue colour of Aquamarine, Topaz Mist is the calm beige of Topaz and lastly Lapis Grey is the deep blue-grey of Lapis Lazuli.  Thanks to Japanese Member Yuki Saga for sending us a copy of the brochure.

View/Print/Download Brochure Click here

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 the car went into full production. This is truly remarkable, and it’s a testament to the designers of the car that their original concept still remains so recognisable today. It’s a great example of how the original design can be so timeless and classic. Read more

The Figaro has been referred to as a ‘retro fashion car,’ and was born out of the Japanese ’boutique’ movement in car design. Japanese designer Shoji Takahashi was inspired by Swatch watches – the notion that it was possible to give identical products different casings. Around 1988 the magpies of the Figaro design team took all the best and shiniest bits from a variety of European cars and fused them into an almost-cartoon whole. There’s something there to remind you of just about every classic car you have ever seen. An Austin Healey specialist provided the grille, a Vauxhall one the chrome and some panels are Ford Popular, others vintage Rootes. Owners will become used to pensioners approaching to say ‘I had one of those in the sixties!’ – no mean feat considering the car was introduced to the public at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show under the slogan ‘Back to the Future.’

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 4500GT, Celsior, Nissan Infiniti Q45, President, Honda NSX, and Eunos Cosmo and the Figaro were exhibited and attracted a lot of attention. Read more

You can only establish the month and year of manufacture of your Figaro here.

1. 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
2. Now only using the last 6 digits (004551) input this into the SEARCH BAR – Click here
3. You will be provided with a Full VIN, Model Code, Type, Manufacture Date, Colour & Interior Colour.

CREDIT
Can we express our sincere thanks to club member Mark Dodd