BRAVO ON BUYING A NISSAN FIGARO

I’ve been meaning to write since picking up a copy of the April issue, which I did as soon as I saw the Nissan Figaro on the front cover. Firstly and in response to your point within the feature, please accept this as praise for your choice and I’m hereby bolstering your decision to go for this excellent car! The Nissan Figaro is hardly ever featured within the broad classic media publications, but could be argued as being a vehicle that mainstream manufacturers benefitted from in tapping into a market which brought personality and fun back to motoring; think of cars such as the VW Beetle, Fiat 500 and of course the initial MINI.

I agree with your point that the Figaro may largely have been misunderstood, and being a car with a nod to the past does not mean living in the past or lacking its own imagination. Its concept is also as relevant now as it was in 1991 and I would bet that should Nissan announce its relaunch in 2020, then orders would once again outstrip available units.

Like you, the Figaro has been on my wish list for many years but because so little is written about the car, it remains a mystery and I have until now hesitated to take the plunge. The other point that I love about the Figaro is the fact that they are all automatic and with enough modern features like power steering and windows that sit in subtle harmony with what can only described as an ‘Art Decoesque’ stereo that is a pure joy to look at.

My central classic car is the Mini – any age and any era – however I have a special interest in the automatic Mini, which again is largely airbrushed from the car’s history but is so pivotal and was something that Alec Issigonis was very much involved in. I’m currently working on a feature around this, having recently discovered so much about it’s unknown history, but that’s another story!

I look forward to reading the project updates on your Figaro and hope the car gives you a great deal of pleasure. I feel quite sure that now is the time for me to look for a Figaro of my own.