Unveiled at the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show, the Nissan Pao is a three-door hatchback and was the second “Pike Car” in the series, which features the Nissan Be-1, Nissan S-Cargo and Nissan Figaro.
Being part of the “Pike Car” series, the Pao was designed to be a fashionable city car with retro-inspired styling. Its styling took inspiration from cars like the Austin Mini, with its external door handles; the Citroën 2CV, with its ‘flap-up’ windows and Woodie car body styles, with its side strakes. The car features an optional sunroof, as seen in the Forza series.
The Pao is powered by First generation Nissan Micra’s 1.0L I4 that produces 51 hp (38 kW) and 55 ft·lb (75 N·m) coupled to a 3-speed automatic transmission. Struts are employed up front and a four-link coil suspension system in the rear. Steering is rack and pinion, and the front brakes are ventilated disks while the rear are drum brakes.
31,352 units of the Pao were produced for the Japanese market from 1989-1991.