Istorie
Messerschmitt, a company that was no longer permitted to produce airplanes after the war, became one of the foremost manufacturers of microcars.
This car bears the distinction of having won its class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 1997, when it was entered in that year’s special Microcar class.
Full description
Messerschmitt AG was a German aircraft manufacturing corporation named after its chief designer Willy Messerschmitt and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, in particular the Bf 109 and Me 262. The company survived in the post-war era, undergoing a number of mergers and changing its name from Messerschmitt to Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm before being bought by Deutsche Aerospace in 1989.
Messerschmitt, temporarily not allowed to manufacture aircraft, had turned its resources to producing other commodities. In 1952, Fritz Fend approached the company with the idea of manufacturing small motor vehicles.
Nearly 11,000 examples of Messerschmitt’s first microcar, the KR175, were produced before the new and improved KR200 was introduced in 1955. The Messerschmitt KR200, also known as Kabinenroller (Cabin Scooter), was a three-wheeled bubble car designed by the aircraft engineer Fritz Fend and produced in the factory of the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt from 1955 to 1964. Perhaps the car’s most curious feature was its engine and transmission, which provided four gears going both forwards and backwards. Over 40,000 examples were built through 1964.
In 1955, in order to prove the KR 200's durability, Messerschmitt prepared a KR200 to break the 24-hour speed record for three-wheeled vehicles under 250 cc. The record car had a special single-seat body and a highly modified engine, but the suspension, steering, and braking components were stock. Throttle, brake, and clutch cables were duplicated. The record car was run on 29-30 August 1955 at the Hockenheimring for 24 hours and broke 22 international speed records in its class, including the 24-hour speed record, which it set at 103 km/h.
This car bears the distinction of having won its class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 1997, when it was entered in that year’s special Microcar class.
The car also won the „Best of Show Referendum del Pubblico” award at the Concurs d’Elegance “Alla Corte dei Medici” held in Florence 2017.
This car has covered 198 km.
