The Messerschmitt KR200 - The German scooter-car that made a SmartCar look like a tank In 1952, German aircraft engineer Fritz Fend presented a design for a Kabinenroller, or Cabin Scooter, to the Messerschmitt aircraft corporation, which had been prohibited from manufacturing aircrafts after World War II and was seeking other vehicles to produce. Three years later, the three-wheeled Messerschmitt KR200 was released to immediate success; 12,000 were built in the first year alone. The KR200 with its tandem seating, 56 MPH top speed and hinged bubble canopy, was an affordable and attractive step up from a typical scooter. The claimed fuel consumption of the car was 87 mpg-imp (3.2 L/100 km). Some 40,000 Kabinenroller models rolled out between 1955 and 1964. Production of the not-quite-car eventually ceased as the vehicles were overshadowed by more robust compact cars like the Mini. One has to wonder if an electric version of this type of car will be the future city commuter car.... See http://ift.tt/29NseaT and more info too at Wikipedia at http://ift.tt/1M88dMm.
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