LOVERS of a quirky retro motorcar will be taking to the roads around Craven and the Yorkshire Dales making it the first Figaro festival in the county.

Fifty-nine of the rare, open topped tourers - only 20,000 were made by Nissan from 1991 - will tootle off on each of four days from the Rendezvous Hotel at Snaygill, Skipton.

Between Friday June 2 and Sunday June 4 owners from all over Europe will explore Wharfedale, Nidderdale, Coverdale, Wensleydale, Littondale, Malhamdale, Ribblesdale and The Three Peaks.

Hosting the event is Jane Ellison-Bates and her partner Mark Bamforth, who have attended previous annual club rallies in Holland, Scotland and Belgium.

She said:“We’re used to people stopping to wave and smile when they see our rallies and I’m hoping that our club members will get a real Yorkshire welcome here with lots of waving as we pass.

"Driving on some of the challenging routes that first attracted the Tour de France cyclists to Yorkshire, the driving will certainly be a contrast to the lowlands of Holland and Belgium”.

"We hope Yorkshire residents and visitors alike will enjoy the spectacle as the pastel procession makes its way through the Dales."

The first Figaro came off the production line in 1991 with the sales theme "back to the future, said Jane.

" There was such a demand that a lottery was held and only those with winning tickets could purchase a cars which were the first to have a CD player as standard and were luxuriously equipped with leather seats, air conditioning, an open roof and bags of style.

"There are still many of the original classic colours on the road - Topaz Mist, Emerald Green, Pale Aqua and Lapis Grey- but they have been joined by a rainbow of 'custom colours' that suit the quirky car equally well."

Friday, June 2 will see the cars passing through Embsay, Burnsall, Grassington, Hebden, Appletreewick to Stump Cross Caverns, back to Bolton Abbey and Hesketh Farm Park.

Saturday, June 3 cars go through Cracoe, Linton, Grassington, Kilnsey, Carleton in Coverdale, West Witton, Aysgarth and Hawes.

And Sunday, June 4 takes in Cracoe, Threshfield, Arncliffe, Stainforth, Clapham, Austwick, Langcliffe and Malham.

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