Messerschmitt’s Micro-car

In 1923 professor Willy Messerschmitt founded the aircraft company that bore his name.
 
The firm is best remembered for two WWII fighters, the ME109, which was probably the best all-around Axis fighter of the war, and the ME 262, the world’s first operational jet fighter.

The return to peacetime production led Messerschmitt to explore such avenues as prefabricated housing and a line of microcars.
 
Microcars enjoyed a brief popularity in Europe in the early postwar era.
European industry had been mostly destroyed and fuel was rationed for a number of years, so in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s many automakers focused on simple, economical transportation.

A number of well-known small cars appeared during this time, including the Fiat Topolino, Citroen 2CV, Morris Minor, and of course the Volkswagen Beetle.
The microcars took the idea of small, simple, economical cars to the extreme.
 
Messerschmitt did not actually call their product an automobile, instead referring to it as a ‘Kabinenroller,’ meaning cabin scooter.

This is an apt name, for the controls are basically those of a motorcycle, including
handlebars with a twist throttle and motorcycle-type shifting.

The engine is an air-cooled single of the type that would be found in a small scooter, but it didn’t have a lot of weight to carry around - at 385 pounds, it is actually lighter than most motorcycles today.

Top speed was claimed at 62 MPH (100 kph) with fuel economy as high as 100 MPG.
 
In Germany and the rest of Europe, Messerschmitts were relatively popular and eventually found about 50,000 buyers, mainly because they were priced at the equivalent of $560.

They were more of a novelty in America, and by the time the shipping and duty charges were paid they cost over $1,000.

Nonetheless, they are enjoying renewed interest in the collector car market today, with good examples fetching strong prices.

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