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The Figaro was meant to capture the general spirit of '50s cars in some vague way, rather than to be a reproduction of a car that had actually existed. It was one of a series of Nissan special editions known as the Pike cars, all of which were knowing takes on different eras or cult vehicles.

With its kitsch, dumpy styling, the Figaro looked rather like a giant radio set, a wheeled version of Ed's Diner, or something equally facile. 'Only' 20,000 were built in 1991, based on the Nissan Micra platform but using a twin-cam, turbo-charged one-litre engine. Figaros were theoretically made only for the Japanese market, but several of these awful pistachio-coloured runts have been sold to British celebs. Notable owners are Jonathan Ross and Vanessa Feltz. Nuff said.

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