1955 Messerschmitt KR200 Coupe

The Messerschmitt was designed by an aircraft engineer, Fritz Fend, and was manufactured in the former Messerschmitt Aircraft Company located in Regensburg, Germany. The KR stands for 'Kabinenroller' which means 'cabin scooter.' The KR-200 is noted for its three-wheel design and is immediately identifiable by its distinctive bubble canopy. The engine is an air-cooled 199cc 1-cylinder, 2-stroke that develops ten horsepower at 5250 RPM. The Messerschmitt KR-200 was produced between February 1955 and December 1966. Sixteen thousand were produced. The car has been in the owner's family since 1959.

One of several post-WWII minicars, the Messerschmitt is associated with the famous aircraft works. But its design came from Fritz Fend, an aeronautical engineer who had established a company producing scooters for invalids in 1946.

Around 1950, Fend began thinking about a design for a tiny, inexpensive car, but lacked the means to implement production, and approached Messerschmitt with his idea in 1951. The company was limited by a post-war ban on aircraft enterprises at the time, and its management was receptive.

Messerschmitt's engineering staff worked with Fend to develop the concept, and in the spring of 1953, the little three-wheeler went on sale. Classified as a 'kabinenroller,' German for 'cabin scooter' or 'bubble car,' the original KR175 was driven by a 171cc Fichtel & Sachs single-cylinder air-cooled 2-stroke engine sending nine horsepower to the rear-wheel by a 4-speed manual gearbox and chain drive.

Introduced in 1955, the KR200 had a bigger engine - 191cc - generating ten horsepower. A foot throttle replaced the previous twist-grip, and backing up was achieved by reversing the engine's rotation, a little-known 2-stroke trait. Just 111 inches long and 48 inches wide, the flip-top kabinenroller seated two in tandem. It weighed less than 400 pounds, and was reportedly capable of 62 mph and 100 mpg.

This example was acquired by his father in 1959 as a basket case project. Re-assembled, it became the son's first driving experience at age 11. The car was passed to his son in 1999, and in 2003 conducted a comprehensive restoration.