March of the March: the retro-style Japanese cars of the nineties (2/5) - Nissan March derivatives

The Nissan March (or Micra, if you live anywhere apart from Asia and Latin America) is not known as the most interesting car in the world. Oh sure, they’ve been used in rallying, and there’s even a one-make championship in Canada, but they’ve always been known as the car your grandmother drove. My great aunt had one, except she didn’t actually know what it was. Then of course there was the K12, the weird mid-2000s generation that looked like a slightly more boring VW Beetle, but that’s a whole other story.

The generation I wish to focus on is the K11, because there were quite a few divisive/hideous versions designed to look vaguely like some lump of infamous British uselessness, and cars designed to look vaguely like some lump of infamous British uselessness are very interesting. Or maybe I’m just insane. Only a madman could be αrsed to write about these cars, so it’s probably the latter.

Autech Bolero and Tango

Autech is famous for making good cars even better, and also for a collaboration with Zagato which turned out the most beautiful ugly car ever - the Stelvio. However, they also had a little dabble in this weird little trend, producing the Bolero, and the Tango, which can be seen in the main image of this article. Both cars appeared to only be lightly modified, with only the front really changed; however, that is certainly enough to make each car stand out from any other K11. There was also the Polka and the Rumba, which continued on in roughly the same vein.

Nissan Verita

Nissan Taiwan also decided to have a go at this whole let’s-make-a-new-car-look-old trend, with some eye-catching results. The Verita seems to be a more complete modification, as not only is there a new front, there are new side skirts, fender flares, and a completely redesigned rear, which I can’t even begin to describe. But that’s what pictures are for.

Come on, you would rather see this on the street than yet another grey saloon, right?

Nissan March Lotas Princess

A surprising amount of these retro-styled March-based cars were designed to look like the Vanden Plas 1300, for some odd reason. The Lotas Princess isn’t the most extravagant, but it’s got fender mirrors, so it’s the best. Fight me.

As well as that, there was the Nissan March Mook The Tokyo Princess, which is the single best name for a car, ever (again, fight me). Unfortunately, I can’t find a picture of it which doesn’t consist of about seventeen pixels.

Thanks for reading, and here’s part one if you want to read it: https://www.carthrottle.com/post/rzd3dvd/

#blogpost