Once in a while, automakers build cars that seem out of character with their brand. These weirdly unusual vehicles span from wild concepts that never saw the light of day to actual mass-market models. They are everywhere, and you might have spotted one at some point, and they either left you scratching your head or bursting out with laughter, thanks to their bizarre boldness or strangeness.
The Nissan S-Cargo is a car that perfectly fits this bill as one of the bravest moments in automotive design. A weird, yet wonderful vehicle whose opinion-divisive nature proves that beauty is subjective. The Nissan S-Cargo adopted a different direction to the competition ethos with an unassuming and hilarious design, while others aimed to attain the best acceleration, lateral-g, or aerodynamics. But the result was an unmistakable tiny van that became highly popular when it hit the market. Here are things you didn’t know about the puntastic 1989 Nissan S-Cargo.
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9 The 1989 Nissan S-Cargo Was A JDM Only Commercial Van
Nissan first offered the S-Cargo in 1989, classified as a light commercial van instead of a passenger car. It is the only commercial vehicle in the bizarre Pike Car series with four nostalgic retro Kei car masterpieces, including the successful Be-1, the Pao, and the Figaro.
The S-Cargo was arguably the weirder car but most practical of the bunch. Nissan originally sold these cars exclusively in the Japanese market, but they eventually became very popular in the UK and Ireland, thanks to their right-hand drive configuration.
8 The 1989 Nissan S-Cargo Was Designed To Look Like A Snail
The Nissan S-Cargo name was a pun on the word escargot, French for a snail served in its shell in its purest form. Like other cars in the Pike family, drawing inspiration from European cars of the '60s, the S-Cargo borrowed styling cues from the Citroën 2CV delivery van nicknamed snail.
It was an innovative product that appealed as a delivery van that doubled as a company’s eye-catching rolling billboard thanks to its unusual snail-like shape.
7 The S-Cargo Was Based On The Nissan Sentra Platform
Naoki Sakai was the brains behind the Pike family of cars. While in art school, he became obsessed with Japanese tattoo culture and t-shirt art until Nissan roped him into a design competition. In 1987, Nissan showed off three concepts designed by Sakai based on the Nissan March platform with a 90-inch wheelbase. The fourth was the front-wheel-drive Nissan Sentra/Sunny-based S-Cargo Van.
The S-Cargo is arguably most people’s favorite of a bunch that debuted at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show.
6 The 1989 Nissan S-Cargo Came With Four Color Options And Lacked Nissan Branding
Nissan offered the S-Cargo with a color palette made entirely of four-color options; white, pinkish-peach, baby blue, and a pale ochre. This was a brief palette, but they were calming and trendy colors perfect for a unique vehicle.
Also, the S-Cargo lacked Nissan branding, which was a weird flex. And you could only order yours via reservation, and they came with a delicious 70s-looking snail logo.
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5 The 1989 Nissan S-Cargo Came With A 1.5-Liter Inline-Four Engine
Unlike other members of the Pike family, the Nissan S-Cargo didn’t feature the 987-cc turbo Inline-four engine. Instead, it featured a bigger displacement 1.5-liter E-family engine that produced a maximum power of about 75hp and a maximum torque of 85.3lb-ft.
It sent all power to the front wheels via a 3AT three-speed automatic transmission. The suspension came in the shape of a MacPherson strut in front, shocks in the back alongside solid 9-inch disc brakes at the front. This helped the tiny van to a maximum top speed of 75 mph.
4 The 1989 Nissan S-Cargo Had A Unique Interior
Inside the S-Cargo’s cabin was all business, with dull, molded gray surfaces, a cloth bench seat that could fit three, and rubber floor mats. It was pretty basic, but for a few modern niceties like air conditioning, a power tailgate release, optional power sliding cloth sunroof, and power steering.
It featured a flat, usable dash with a centrally positioned dashtop half-sphere that housed the speedometer, fuel gauge, engine temp, and two warning lights. The S-Cargo was available in two- and four-seat configurations and had a relatively small cargo area accessed through a rear hatch. Owners could fold the bench seat to create a flat cargo area.
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3 Nissan Marketed The S-Cargo As A Fun And Quirky Alternative To Commercial Vans
Nissan designed the S-Cargo to be a small, maneuverable van with a compact size and tight turning radius. Its distinctive appearance, with a rounded body and large, round headlights, gave it a friendly, almost cartoonish appearance.
This allowed Nissan to market the S-Cargo as a fun and quirky alternative to commercial vans. It was basic and minimalist in all its aspects while staying true to the delivery-van theme.
2 Nissan Built Only About 8,000 S-Cargos
We will probably never see anything like the S-Cargo again, a simple vehicle built in low quantities. The JDM-only fashion statement made perfect sense as a small utility vehicle in the land of the rising sun that doubles as a tiny car paradise.
Nissan built about 8,000 copies of the miniature S-Cargo commercial van across two model years, with the bulk of them coming out in 1989.
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1 The 1989 Nissan S-Cargo Is Now A Cult Classic
Despite its unusual appearance and compact size, the S-Cargo was not a particularly popular model when new, and Nissan built it for a few years before being discontinued. But it has since become a cult classic and has a dedicated following among collectors and automotive enthusiasts.
Nissan didn’t export the S-Cargo outside of Japan, but collectors and enthusiasts have exported it to other countries, including the States. Examples in good condition fetch between $10,000 and $20,000, like an immaculate example imported to the US in 2018 and sold for $17,000 on Bring a Trailer auction in 2021.
sources: Nissan, Hemmings.com, Hagerty.com
