Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars , with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than 700 cc (43 cu in). Specific types of microcars include bubble cars , cycle cars , invacar , quadricycles and voiturettes . Microcars are often covered by separate regulations to normal cars, having relaxed requirements for registration and licensing.
16-471: The Biscúter Pegasín (or 200-F) was a microcar from Autonacional . It was revealed in 1957 in an attempt to attract the wealthier buyers. It was more upscale than the very basic Biscúter and it had two-colour plastic body, hard- and soft-top. The styling was similar to the Pegaso Z-102 . It was powered by a Hispano-Villiers, 197 cc two-stroke, single-cylinder 9 hp (7 kW) engine, giving
32-480: A brand new Mercedes-Benz 190E . Manufacturers include Pocket Classics , the Little Car Company , Eshelman , and Hackney . There are also a variety of microcar trucks, usually of the "forward control" or van style to provide more cargo room. These might be used for local deliveries on narrow streets that are unsuited to larger vehicles. The Piaggio Ape is a three-wheeled example. The Honda Acty
48-486: A top speed of 75 km/h (47 mph). By the early 1960s, Biscúter sales and production stopped, after a total production run of about 12,000. It is thought that almost all of the cars were eventually scrapped. This article about a classic post-war automobile produced between 1945 and 1975 is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Microcar Voiturette is a term used by some small cars and tricycles manufactured from 1895 to 1910. Cyclecars are
64-780: A type of small, lightweight and inexpensive car manufactured mainly between 1910 and the late 1920s. The first cars to be described as microcars (earlier equivalents were called voiturettes or cyclecars) were built in the United Kingdom and Germany following World War II, and remained popular until the 1960s. They were originally called minicars, but later became known as microcars. France also produced large numbers of similar tiny vehicles called voiturettes , but they were rarely sold abroad. Microcars have three or four wheels, although most were three-wheelers which, in many countries, meant that they qualified for lower taxes and were licensed as motorcycles . Another common characteristic
80-555: A weight of 330 lb (150 kg). Like the P50, it uses a 49 cc (3.0 cu in) DKW engine which generates 4.2 hp (3.1 kW), and a top speed of 28 mph (45 km/h). It was advertised that the Trident got 100 miles per imperial gallon (2.8 L/100 km; 83 mpg ‑US ), "almost cheaper than walking". The original retail price was £190. All engines supplied to Peel from Zweirad Union (for both
96-587: Is a four-wheeled example. Peel Trident The Peel Trident is the second three-wheeled microcar built by the Peel Engineering Company on the Isle of Man . An all-new design from its one-seat counterpart the Peel P50 , the Trident has two seats. The Trident was launched at the 1964 British Motorcycle Show held at Earls Court . The seat, stated as being 31 in (79 cm) wide,
112-465: Is an engine displacement of less than 700 cc (43 cu in), although several cars with engines up to 1,000 cc (61 cu in) have also been classified as microcars. Often, the engine was originally designed for a motorcycle. Microcars originated in the years following World War II , when motorcycles transport was commonly used. To provide better weather protection, three-wheeled microcars began increasing in popularity in
128-780: Is often called a microcar in the United States; although it requires a regular licence to drive. The European Union introduced the quadricycle category in 1992. In several European countries since then, microcars are classified by governments separately from normal cars, sometimes using the same regulations as motorcycles or mopeds . Therefore, compared with normal cars, microcars often have relaxed requirements for registration and licensing, and can be subject to lower taxes and insurance costs. Junior cars are motorized cars for children, typically copies of real designs. Originally powered either by electric engines or small internal combustion engines, electric engines currently dominate. From
144-906: The Heinkel Kabine and the Isetta . The British version of the Isetta was built with only one rear wheel, instead of the narrow-tracked pair of wheels in the normal Isetta design, in order to take advantage of the three-wheel vehicle laws in the United Kingdom. There were also indigenous British three-wheeled microcars, including the Peel Trident . Examples include the Citroën Prototype C , FMR Tg500 , Fuldamobil , Heinkel Kabine , Isetta , Messerschmitt KR175 , Messerschmitt KR200 , Peel P50 , Peel Trident , SMZ S-1L , Trojan 200 , and Kleinschnittger F125 . Recent microcars include
160-579: The 1926 Baby Bugatti until today, junior cars are often as expensive as a real car and are built to a higher standard than a ride-in toy car. As with the Bugatti, these are frequently sold directly by real car manufacturers such as Porsche and Ferrari. In the 1990s Aston Martin built a half-scale junior car version of the then-new Aston Martin Virage Volante , with a handmade aluminium body, leather interior, and 160-cc Honda engine. It cost as much as
176-469: The 2001 Aixam 5xx series, Renault Twizy , Citroën Ami , and XEV Yoyo . Electric-powered microcars which have reached production include the 1987 CityEl , the 1990 Automobiles ERAD Spacia, the 1999 Corbin Sparrow , the 2001 REVAi , the 2005 Commuter Cars Tango , the 2009 Tazzari Zero and the resurrected Peel P50 of 2011 (the original model of 1962 - 65 being petrol powered). The Smart Fortwo
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#1732793557938192-474: The United Kingdom, where they could be driven using only a motorcycle licence. One of the first microcars was the 1949 Bond Minicar . Microcars also became popular in Europe. A demand for cheap personal motorised transport emerged, and their greater fuel efficiency meant that microcars became even more significant when fuel prices rose, partly due to the 1956 Suez Crisis . The microcar boom lasted until
208-493: The late 1950s, when larger cars regained popularity. The 1959 introduction of the Mini , which provided greater size and performance at an affordable price, contributed to the decline in popularity of microcars. Production of microcars had largely ceased by the end of the 1960s, due to competition from the Mini , Citroën 2CV , Fiat 500 and Renault 4 . Several microcars of the 1950s and 1960s were nicknamed bubble cars . This
224-460: Was a monocoque with coil-sprung, undamped wheels. It featured a clear bubble top and either two seats or one seat with a detachable shopping basket . The Lakeland Motor Museum observes that the Trident's bubble top constituted grounds for its sobriquet "The Terrestrial Flying Saucer." Like its predecessor, it was marketed as a "shopping car" or a "Saloon Scooter". The car is 73 in (185 cm) long and 39 in (99 cm) wide, with
240-735: Was due to the aircraft-style bubble canopies of vehicles such as the Messerschmitt KR175 , Messerschmitt KR200 and the FMR Tg500 . Other microcars, such as the Isetta , also had a bubble-like appearance. German manufacturers of bubble cars included former military aircraft manufacturers Messerschmitt and Heinkel . BMW manufactured the Italian Iso Rivolta Isetta under licence, using an engine based on one from one of their own motorcycles. The United Kingdom had licence-built right-hand-drive versions of
256-545: Was intended to provide for use as an occasional two-seater. A completely new design from the earlier side-engined Peel P50 microcar, the Trident was manufactured in 1965 and 1966. In 2011, Peel Engineering Ltd. reinstated manufacture of the Peel Trident and P50, in Sutton-in-Ashfield , near Nottingham , England. All vehicles are hand-built to order in petrol and electric form. The glass-fibre shell
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