The Nissan Be-1 is a

retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the "nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...

-styled two-door notchback sedan manufactured by Nissan for model years 1987-1988, and originally marketed solely in Japan at their '' Nissan Cherry Stores''. Be-1rear

Designed to be a fashionable city car, the Be-1 was marketed without any Nissan branding, by reservation only, and solely in Japan. Because of its origins at the Pike Factory, Nissan's special project group, the Be-1—along with the

Nissan Figaro The Nissan Figaro is a front-engine, front-wheel drive, two-door, 2+2, fixed-profile convertible manufactured by Nissan for model year 1991, and marketed in Japan at Nissan Cherry Stores. A total of 20,073 Figaros were produced by Nissan in ...

, Pao and S-Cargo—are known as Nissan's "Pike cars." It, the Pao, and the Figaro are built on the

Nissan March The Nissan Micra, also known as the , is a supermini car (B-segment) that has been produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan since 1982. The Nissan Micra replaced the Japanese-market Nissan Cherry. It was exclusive to Nissan Japa ...

's underpinnings. In 2011, noted design critic Phil Patton, writing for the ''New York Times'', called the Pike cars "the height of postmodernism" and "unabashedly retro, promiscuously combining elements of the

Citroën 2CV The Citroën 2CV (french: link=no, deux chevaux(-vapeur), , lit. "two steam horse(power)s", meaning "two ''taxable'' horsepower") is an air-cooled front-engine, front-wheel-drive, economy family car, introduced at the 1948 Paris Mondial d ...

Renault 4 The Renault 4, also known as the 4L (pronounced "Quatrelle" in French), is a small economy car produced by the French automaker Renault between 1961 and 1994. Although the Renault 4 was marketed as a short station wagon, its minimal rear overhang ...

Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

Fiat 500 The Fiat 500 ( it, Cinquecento, ) is a rear-engined, four-seat, small city car that was manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles from 1957 until 1975 over a single generation in two-door saloon and two-door station wagon bodystyles. Launc ...

Specifications

Like the later Pao and Figaro, the Be-1 is based on the first generation

Nissan Micra The Nissan Micra, also known as the , is a supermini car ( B-segment) that has been produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan since 1982. The Nissan Micra replaced the Japanese-market Nissan Cherry. It was exclusive to Nissan J ...

chassis. As such, it is powered by the 1.0 L (987 cc) carbureted

MA10S The MA is a straight-4 SOHC 0.9 L, 1.0 L, or 1.2 L engine introduced in 1982 by Nissan, intended primarily for the K10 series Micra/March model. It shares design similarities with the older E engine, with an 8-valve hemispherical cylinder head ...

I4 engine A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the e ...

coupled to a choice of a 3-speed automatic or 5-speed

manual transmission A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system, where gear change ...

. This engine produces at 6000 rpm and of torque at 3600 rpm. The chassis included rack and pinion steering, independent suspension with

strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. Human anatomy Part of the functionality o ...

s in front, as well as 4-links and

coil spring A selection of conical coil springs The most common type of spring is the coil spring, which is made out of a long piece of metal that is wound around itself. Coil springs were in use in Roman times, evidence of this can be found in bronze Fib ...

s in back. Disc brakes were used in the front A large, electronically operated canvas roof was offered as an option The interior is very basic and notably features a large, centrally mounted speedometer. Like the original

, the Be-1 has a small bootlid (although it opens upwards) and a fixed rear window and is thus a two-door sedan. Nissan themselves has sometimes classified the car as a "coupé".

Production

10,000 Be-1s were built in total from 1987-1988, but since demand was so high for the Be-1, buyers were decided through a lottery organized by Nissan. The cars were assembled, partially by hand, by contract manufacturers . Takada later also built the Pao and Figaro, as well as some small-series Isuzu and Subaru products. The Be-1 was available in 4 colors: Pumpkin Yellow, Tomato Red, Hydrangea Blue and Onion White. The Pumpkin Yellow Be-1 came with body-colored steel wheels with black hubcaps, the other colors came with white steel wheels with black hubcaps. ;Model codes: * BK10RHF (5MT) * BK10RHFW (5MT w/canvas top) * BK10RHA (3AT) * BK10RHAW (3AT w/canvas top) ;Dimensions and weight: * Length: * Width: * Height: 1395 mm (w/canvas top 1420 mm) * Wheelbase: * Ground clearance: * Front tread: * Rear tread: * Weight: MT 670 kg, (w/canvas top 680 kg), AT 700 (w/canvas top 710 kg) * Gross weight: MT 945 kg (w/canvas top 955 kg), AT 975 kg (w/canvas top 985 kg) * Capacity: 5 people ;Performance: * Minimum turning radius: * Fuel consumption (according to Japanese rule 10.15): (5MT) 20.5 km/L (48.2 mpg); (3AT) 16.5 km/L (38.8 mpg); (3AT w/canvas top) 15.0 km/L (35.3 mpg) * Fuel consumption at a steady : (5MT) 31.4 km/L (73.9 mpg); (3AT) 25.4 km/L (59.7 mpg) ;Engine * Water-cooled OHC inline-4-cylinder * Bore x Stroke: * Compression ratio: 9.5 * Electronically controlled carburetor (ECC) ;Other: * Fuel tank capacity: unleaded regular, 40 L (10.6 US gal) * Disc brakes front * Tire size: 165/70R12 front and rear

References

External links

Catalog
{{Nissan Be-1 Retro-style automobiles Cars introduced in 1987