The sting of high oil prices has always affected drivers. Here in 2022, consumers turn to EVs or hybrids to try to lessen the blow on their wallets.
But back in the ‘50s, still reeling from a world war and the Suez Crisis, Europeans couldn’t just switch to the Prius
for a few months. Their solution was a little bit funkier, and much, much smaller. Enter the microcar. Here’s the interesting history
of these tiny vehicles. Out of the ashes
Like weeds that grow between cracks in the concrete, microcars blossomed during tough times. Post-war European consumers needed affordability and great gas mileage, reports Enso
in a beautiful spread. Plus, kneecapped military outfits, no longer permitted to make planes, needed a new product to make and sell. Microcars, with their up to three-digit miles-per-gallon offerings and easily constructed bodies, were at the confluence of these two needs. Ranging from goofy-hooded scooters to surprisingly sexy convertibles, these tiny vehicles pack a punch. Enso introduces us to a few of the most famous.
The German influence
History might well have remembered the German manufacturing company Messerschmidt with unbridled distaste, as it built some of the most famous Nazi bombers. Luckily, circumstances dictated that the firm would have to move on to a new pursuit: building an absolutely adorable microcar.
A Messerschmidt looks a bit like an old-fashioned airplane cockpit, with a narrow cabin bubbled over with glass, a pointy trunk, and two seats lined up one in front of the other, so don’t bother calling shotgun. Microcars have their quirks, and the Messerschmidt’s is its reverse option. In order to back up, you have to stop the car and restart it in the gear that runs the engine backwards.
The BMW Isetta shares the Messerschmidt’s three-wheel configuration, but has a style all its own. The Isetta looks a little like a shrunken VW Bug, except it gets a whopping 80 mpg and maxes out at around 55 mph.
The Isetta was designed by an Italian firm that specialized in scooters and refrigerators, reports Enso, and this little car is a testament to this specificity. To drive an Isetta, you open up the front of the car like you would a fridge, watching nervously as the steering wheel swings out too, and settle on to the bench seat. Bon appetit!
A French offering
The Inter 175 Berline was produced in the mid-’50s by a French aircraft maker.
The overall impression of this microcar is of narrowness. There is no wasted lateral space, and the front and the rear parts of the car are nearly identical, save for the tricycle wheel configuration. It shares the Messerschmidt’s cockpit style seating, and many models have an airplane steering wheel. The trunk swings up to reveal the engine, a 175 cc 2-stroke, which wouldn’t be out of place in a motorcycle.
We return to Germany to check out the Zündapp Janus. Like the Roman god for which it is named, this microcar has two faces, and its symmetricality would give some supermodels a run for their money.
This little trapezoid featured two matching doors, one on the front of the car and one on the back. Passengers could get in from the back and settle into their backwards-facing bench seat, presumably to play sweet and sour on the way to the picnic, while a driver and a co-pilot could hop in from the front and enjoy their mirror-image bench seat.
And the Janus’s final flourish: the bench seats fold down flat, so any camping can be done on a whim, and on a budget. No need to save up for that rooftop tent.
The Brits take the top spot
Of course, if we’re talking about microcars, we have to hand out a very important award. The British Peel P50 is the big winner of the small contest.
At just 54 inches long and 41 inches wide, reports the irrepressible Jeremy Clarkson, formerly of “Top Gear,” it holds the Guinness Book of World Records title of smallest production car ever. It’s small enough to be driven inside a building (Clarkson even takes the elevator in it) and light enough to be lifted up unceremoniously by one end and rolled around.
But the cost-benefit weighing must be done: it looks quite unsafe on the road among all the normal-sized cars, you can’t bring anyone or anything besides yourself, and you might forget it somewhere inside the BBC office. The life of a microcar owner isn’t for everyone, but it definitely looks fun.
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