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.
21-830: The Heinkel Kabine was a microcar designed by Heinkel Flugzeugwerke and built by them from 1956 to 1958. Production was transferred under licence to Dundalk Engineering Company in Ireland in 1958. However, the licence was withdrawn shortly afterwards due to poor quality control. Production restarted in 1960, again under licence, under the Trojan 200 name by Trojan Cars Ltd. in the UK, and continued until 1966. Heinkel Kabines were also assembled under licence by Los Cedros S.A. from 1959 until 1962. As Heinkel in Argentina, they were built alongside Studebaker pickups. The Kabine Model 150 used
42-480: 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
63-706: Is a four-wheeled example. Messerschmitt KR175 The Messerschmitt KR175 microcar (1953–1955) was the first vehicle built by Messerschmitt under its 1952 agreement with Fritz Fend . In concept, although not in actual design, it was, in principle, a development of the Fend Flitzer invalid carriage . Approximately 15,000 were built before it was replaced by the Messerschmitt KR200 in 1955. Messerschmitt, temporarily not allowed to manufacture aircraft, had turned its resources to producing other products. In 1952, Fend approached Messerschmitt with
84-465: 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
105-780: 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
126-970: 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
147-527: The Kabinenroller platform, the KR175 had tandem seating accessed by a hatch that opened upward and to the right. The standard version of the KR175's hatch had a canopy made from a large Plexiglas dome with a cutout at the front for a small, flat glass windshield and a cutout on either side for the frames for the sliding windows. A "sportster" model was available without the dome or the windows, with only
168-530: The 174 cc 9.2 hp single-cylinder four-stroke engine that powered the Heinkel Tourist scooter . In October 1956, Heinkel introduced the Kabine Model 153 (with three wheels) and the Kabine Model 154 (with four wheels), both with 204 cc engines. The engines in these models were later reduced in capacity to 198 cc for insurance purposes. The Kabine had a steel unit body . Access to the interior
189-579: 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
210-565: The 1959 film I'm All Right Jack and the 1961 film Murder in Eden , and was briefly featured in the 1957 films Blue Murder at St Trinian's and The Naked Truth (aka Your Past Is Showing ). "Kabine" is the German word for "cabin". Microcar Voiturette is a term used by some small cars and tricycles manufactured from 1895 to 1910. Cyclecars are a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive car manufactured mainly between 1910 and
231-469: 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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#1732786770448252-474: 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
273-515: The car, a separate company, incorporated as Regensburger Stahl- und Metallbau GmbH (RSM), was created to manufacture and market the vehicle. There were several problems with the first KR175s to be built, resulting in 70 design modifications between the beginning of production in February and June 1953. The KR200, although superficially very similar was developed from the KR175 but with many fundamental changes, replaced it in 1955. Being based on
294-482: The idea of manufacturing small motor vehicles. These were based on his Fend Flitzer invalid carriage. The first of Fend's vehicles to enter production at Messerschmitt's Regensburg factory was the KR175 (prototypes had been designated FK150 - Fend Kabinenroller 150 - with a 150cc F&S engine) . The title Kabinenroller means " scooter with cabin". While the Messerschmitt name and insignia were used on
315-630: 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
336-493: 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
357-411: The windshield attached. On early models, the windshield wiper was manually operated. The front fenders did not have wheel cutouts. The KR175 ran on a 173 cc (10.6 cu in) Fichtel & Sachs air-cooled single cylinder two-stroke engine centrally positioned in front of the rear wheel, just behind the passenger's seat. The engine was started with a pull rope as standard, but there
378-441: Was an option of an electric starter. The electric starter became standard in 1954. The transmission was a sequential, positive-stop type with four speeds and no synchronization nor reverse gear. The KR175 used the standard Kabinenroller steering system, with a steering bar connected directly to the track rods of the front wheels, providing an extremely direct response best suited to small, measured inputs. The KR175's steering bar
399-403: Was by an opening front. In order not to infringe Iso Rivolta 's patent used on the Isetta , the steering wheel did not hinge outwards with the door to ease passenger access. However, it did feature a reverse gear, unlike some other bubble cars . The fabric sun roof served as an emergency escape hatch should the sole door in front become jammed in a collision. The Kabine featured prominently in
420-735: 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
441-399: Was made from tubular steel. The gearshift lever, on the right side of the cockpit, had a secondary lever on it which operated the clutch. The throttle was operated by a twist-grip on the left handlebar. The foot brake pedal, which was the only pedal in the car, operated brakes on all three wheels mechanically, using cables. The handbrake lever operated similarly. In 1954, the clutch lever
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