Can you name this car?
I’m pretty good at recognizing automotive marques and models, but not this time. The vehicle I encounter at a midtown shopping center has a short, squat body, convertible top, little wheels, and righthand drive.
Maybe an old Metropolitan, I think? A Sunbeam Alpine?
Nope. Although it’s not wise to inspect vehicles at close range when they’re in public parking spaces, I couldn’t help myself. Drawing closer, I circle the car (which doesn’t take long; it’s quite small), which appears in be in excellent condition. That leaves out the Metropolitan (offered in model years 1954-1962), said to be the first car designed for and marketed to women; it was unlikely many of them would be in such prestine shape unless it spent its existence in a well-fortified garage.
Most Metropolitans, built by Nash, were manufactured for U.S. drivers, although some were constructed with right-hand drive for customers in New Zealand and the UK. I’ve seen a few Metropolitans before; this vehicle is different.
Then I spot the badge on the front of the car: Nissan Figaro. Not a Datsun (the Japanese automobile manufacturerer owned by Nissan and exported to the U.S. and elsewhere from 1958 to 1986).
The Figaro, I later learned, is a front-engine, front-wheel drive, two-door, four-seater fixed-profile convertible. A total of 20,073 Figaros were produced by Nissan in the convertible’s single year of production of 1991 (the brief period was part of Nissan’s master plan), all with right-hand drive. Each is powered by a 987cc turbocharged engine that produces 80 horsepower and has a three-speed automatic transmission. They come in four colors, symbolizing the four seasons: Emerald Green (spring), Pale Aqua (summer), Topaz Mist (autumn) and Lapis Grey (winter).
Each comes with leather seats, air conditioning, a CD player, a retractable roof that folds into its own boot (which also holds the rear window, made of defroster-equipped glass), front MacPherson struts, rear fourlink coil spring suspension, rack and pinion steering, and front ventilated disc and rear drum brakes. It can reach a top speed of 106 mph.
Average price when new was around $13,000; they were so popular that a lottery was used to determine who could buy one.
No touch screens, no GPS, no Apple Car Play, but any competent techy type could surely add such amenities.
The car I’m seeing in this midtown location has Texas license plates on it; turns out you can drive a right-hand drive car in the U.S. If it follows federal emissions and safety standards statutes, it can be licensed and used by anyone holding a driver’s license.
The pleasant guy who owns this tiny gem comes out of the coffee shop he was in and tells a growing circle of admirers that he bought it in Tokyo and shipped it to the U.S.
Charmed and intrigued, I crank up my MacBook Air when I get home. The website Hemmings.com has several Figaros for sale, ranging in price from $14,000 (pale aqua, in Virginia) to $27,000 (a gray model in North Carolina). There’s a red model (not an original color) for $15,000 in Florida.
According to one of the sellers: “While looking like a car from the 1950s, you have all the driving and comfort features of a modern car. … It’s a happy little car, one that timelessly pays tribute to vintage Italian, French and Japanese microcars. It’s remarkably ageless, retaining its bouncy charisma despite being 27 years old.” That’s nicely wrought ad copy.
Other rare cars, according to autobytel.com, include the Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 (2005-2006), Toyota RAV4 EV (first generation), BMW 1 Series M Coupe (2011), Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon (production ended in 2014), Alfa Romeo 4C (2015), Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca (2012-2013), Acura NSX (priced at $60,000 in 1991 and increasing to almost $90,000 by the time production stopped in 2005), and the Pontiac SolsticeGXP Coupe (with a removable targa roof, 2009).
These lusty rides are capable of bewitching their fans into forking over piles of post-covid cash, along with serious maintenance charges (I once briefly owned a 1982 Datsun 240Z with so many repair issues that I nicknamed it the $200-a-week surprise).
That doesn’t mean that rare-car fans learn from their mistakes. If a Figaro turns out to be for sale anywhere nearby—and I can figure out how to deal with right-hand drive— I’ll be there.