The Coolest Japanese Convertible You Can Buy In America

For drivers striving to look trendy on the drive to work, shopping for a convertible could be a cheeky shortcut to reaching it. Fashions just like the timeless Audi TT or Jaguar E-Kind will match the invoice completely, the previous even being reasonably priced for many gearheads. Each of those automobiles work from a styling perspective resulting from being well-proportioned and modern, in addition to trying extra fashionable than their launch date suggests.

Nissan

Nissan Motor Company is a Japanese automaker based in 1933 and the mother or father automaker of Infiniti and previously Datsun. Nissan produces all kinds of mass-market autos, together with fashionable SUVs just like the Rogue, sedans just like the Sentra, and vans just like the Nissan Frontier, however can be answerable for iconic sports activities automobiles just like the Nissan Z and GT-R. Since 1999, Nissan has been a part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance (the identify modified when Mitsubishi joined in 2016).

Based

26 December 1933

Founder

Yoshisuke Aikawa

Headquarters

Nishi-ku, Yokohama

Owned By

Publicly Traded

Present CEO

Ivan Espinosa (as of 1 April, 2025)

Nissan determined to go down a distinct route with its convertible providing within the early Nineties, the Japanese marque as a substitute opting to make use of retro styling as its inspiration.

The Figaro Used Nineteen Thirties Automobile Design As Inspiration

Nissan first unveiled the Figaro on the 1989 Tokyo Motor Present, with the mannequin designed to be as effortlessly trendy because the Nineteen Thirties and Nineteen Fifties autos its physique drew inspiration from. Nissan’s designers targeted on the 1935 Datsun Roadster as a specific supply of inspiration, with its spherical headlights, aero-enhancing wheel covers and chrome grille encompass all being borrowed from the automobile. Just like the outdated Datsun, the Figaro was additionally a convertible, with the material roof capable of be saved away within the trunk manually like its ancestor. Solely 4 colours had been out there for the outside, all of which featured a retro theme.

The identical eye for retro element continued within the cabin, too, with the flat dashboard and old style steering wheel welcoming you in. It additionally had luscious cream leather-based seats, which had been accomplished with black piping to present it a contact of sophistication that peppered automobiles within the early days of motoring.

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The Figaro Proved To Be A Smash Hit

The Figaro’s eye-catching styling proved fashionable with patrons, and Nissan shortly offered all 8,000 models it had deliberate to construct. Demand proved so big that the model even expanded its complete manufacturing run to twenty,000, a formidable feat on condition that the Figaro was solely offered in its residence nation of Japan. Its roughly $13,000 beginning value, the equal of round $30,500 right this moment, was one other key cause for its reputation. All examples had been constructed in 1991, and lots of automobiles had been later exported to Europe and the US, given how interesting it was.

Contemplating it was based mostly on a Micra, it got here with a helpful quantity of kit given the interval when it hit the highway. It got here normal with air con, a CD Participant, a heated rear window in addition to a slick inside design. It was fortunate it was well-equipped and seemed so good, as its Micra-based underpinnings did little to supply an exciting driving expertise.

Dialogue

Why do some producers use the phrase cabriolet for a automotive that is a convertible?

The phrases ‘convertible’ and ‘cabriolet’ imply precisely the identical factor – a automotive with a retractable roof. The time period ‘cabriolet’ is generally utilized in European nations, whereas ‘convertible’ is extra widespread within the States. Some automakers have, till just lately, saved the designation cabriolet (cabrio for brief) for his or her convertibles – however the which means is similar.

The Figaro Was Nothing To Write About On The Street

Because the Figaro was constructed upon the identical platform used for the Micra compact automotive, it additionally utilized the identical 1.0-liter inline-four engine utilized by the hatchback. In contrast to the Micra although, the Figaro had a turbo strapped to it. This supplied it with 75 hp, all of which was channeled by the entrance wheels through a three-speed automated transmission. Fortuitously, because the Figaro tipped the scales at below 1,800 lbs, it may hit 60 mph in round 11 seconds, which is not unhealthy given its lack of outright grunt.

Its Suspension Setup Was Pretty Superior For An Financial system Automobile

The Figaro even got here with an impartial suspension setup all spherical, with MacPherson struts getting used on the entrance and a four-link spring configuration on the rear. It wasn’t precisely a sports activities automotive although, because it was set as much as soften impacts quite than clip apexes with surgical precision. The Figaro’s lesser worth was illustrated to an extent by its braking association as, whereas fashionable discs had been used on the entrance, the rear wheels needed to make do with much less efficient drum parts.

A sports activities automotive the Figaro wasn’t, however its retro styling meant it might flip heads wherever it went.

The Figaro Has Held Its Worth Impressively Effectively

The Figaro’s fashion, cool issue and collectability have ensured that its worth has remained decently excessive, greater than 30 years because it went out of manufacturing. Hagerty’s Valuation Software reviews {that a} good-condition instance ought to set you again round $17,000, whereas a mint model can fetch getting on for $50,000. In the event you’re not fearful of a mission, drained however lovable Figaros will be had for below $10,000. Apparently, Hagerty additionally reviews that values of the retro Nissan have dropped over the previous 12 months, with good-condition automobiles having been price $19,500 in March 2024. For these fancying one, now could be the time to strike.

These values are mirrored by Traditional.com, which collates public sale listings from around the globe. As of March 2025, the Figaro holds a mean sale worth of $18,720, with most priced between $15,000–$20,000. Effectively-looked-after examples with greater mileages are listed for between $20,000-$25,000, whereas automobiles with decrease mileages can be found for round $40,000.

The most cost effective Figaro went for a shade over $4,000, whereas the costliest instance managed to seize just below $44,000 from its new proprietor. It might be based mostly on a Micra, however greater mileage style-rich Figaros are an reasonably priced solution to appeal to consideration wherever you go.

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The Figaro Was Half Of A Nissan Retro Assortment

Within the mid-Nineteen Eighties, Nissan determined to begin constructing a variety of retro-inspired automobiles from its Pike manufacturing unit, which housed a particular workforce tasked with designing and constructing them. The Figaro was the final of the quartet to succeed in manufacturing, following the S-Cargo kei van and the Pao, which was a small canvas-roofed hatchback that used Nineteen Fifties and Sixties European commuter automobiles, just like the Mini and Citroën 2CV, as inspiration.

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The primary of the gathering to succeed in manufacturing was referred to as the Be-1, which was first proven in 1985 and reached clients in 1987. Nissan wished to construct a small automotive that went towards the widespread Nineteen Eighties design language of being boxy, the automobile as a substitute that includes a smoother and curvier design extra harking back to compact automobiles from the Sixties and earlier. One of many headlining options was its rounded headlights, just like these used on the Figaro.

A complete of 10,000 Be-1s had been made, every constructed on a Micra chassis, just like the later Figaro. The 2 retro fashions did not share the identical engine although, with the Be-1 making use of a naturally aspirated 1.0-liter I4 unit from a Micra, which used carburetors quite than gasoline injection and which was starting to realize reputation on the time. With solely 51 hp being despatched to the entrance wheels, the little Be-1 was most comfy sliding round metropolis streets.

The Be-1 Holds Even Much less Worth Than The Figaro

Just like the Figaro, many examples of the Be-1 had been shipped to the US, although they provide much more in the way in which of worth.

Traditional.com reviews that the typical public sale sale value for them is simply over $8,000, which is impressively low given their exclusivity and classy nature. Choose up a cared-for instance with decrease miles, and you will have a plucky little metropolis automotive that’ll flip heads as a lot because the Figaro, however for lots much less money.

Sources: Nissan