| Nissan Be-1 | |
|---|---|
 Nissan Be-1 finished in Pumpkin Yellow | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Nissan Motors |
| Production | 1987–1988 10,000 produced |
| Assembly | Totsuka, Kanagawa, Japan (Takada Kogyo) |
| Designer | |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | 2-door notchback |
| Layout | FF layout |
| Related | |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 1.0 L MA10S I4 |
| Transmission | |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,300 mm (90.6 in) |
| Length | 3,635 mm (143.1 in) |
| Width | 1,580 mm (62.2 in) |
| Height | 1,395 mm (54.9 in) (hardtop) 1,420 mm (55.9 in) (canvas top) |
| Curb weight | 670–710 kg (1,477–1,565 lb) |
The Nissan Be-1 is a retro-styled two-door notchback sedan manufactured by Nissan for model years 1987-1988, and originally marketed solely in Japan at their Nissan Cherry Stores.
Designed to be a fashionable city car, the Be-1 was marketed without any Nissan branding, by reservation only, and solely in Japan.[1] Nissan's own design team made a design proposal (A), while industrial designer Naoki Sakai and an unnamed Italian design studio also provided proposals (B1 and B2). Sakai's B1 design was chosen, and with it, the name as well.[2]
Because of its origins at the Pike Factory, Nissan's special project group, the Be-1—along with the Nissan Figaro, Pao and S-Cargo—are known as Nissan's "Pike cars." It, the Pao, and the Figaro are built on the Nissan March's underpinnings.
In 2011, noted design critic Phil Patton, writing for the New York Times, called the Pike cars "the height of postmodernism"[3] and "unabashedly retro, promiscuously combining elements of the Citroën 2CV, Renault 4, Mini [and] Fiat 500."[3]
- ^ "Lesser-Known Pike: 1987 Nissan Be-1 in Washington State". Bring a Trailer. 2018-09-21. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
- ^ Wan, Mark. "Nissan Be-1, Pao, Figaro & S-Cargo (1987)". AutoZine. Archived from the original on 2018-12-24.
- ^ a b Patton, Phil (March 18, 2011). "Nissan's Cartoon Cars, Once So Hip". The New York Times.