Messerschmitt

No, they were not made from leftover fighter planes, though they had plenty of aircraft practice in their backgrounds. The Messerschmitt Kabinenroller ("Cabin Scooter") evolved from designs by engineer Fritz Fend, who had worked for Willy Messerschmitt's aircraft factory during World War II. They were built at that factory during a period when the victorious Allies proscribed any German airplane manufacture. The tiny cars kept Messerschmitt alive.

Fend Flitzer

Fend's first commercial venture was the "Flitzer," a single-seat three-wheeler with a layout the predicted the Messerschmitt. It grew out of his designs for invalid cars for disabled war veterans. In various evolutionary forms, about 300 Flitzers were made from 1948-1950.


Fend then produced a prototype he called the Fend 150. This design, with very few changes, became the first genuine Messerschmitt, the KR175.
1954 KR175
"KR" stood for "Kabinenroller," "175" denoted the engine capacity. A 1-cylinder 2-stroke Sachs engine was located ahead of the single rear wheel. This and tandem seating (passenger behind driver) assured that weight was always distributed along the longitudinal axis, contributing to exceptional handling. Early KR175s had twist-grip throttles and hand-operated clutch levers, as in motor scooters. Reverse gear was lacking, as with many scooter-type microcars. The earliest 175s even had kick starters. Later cars adapted standard foot-pedal layout, electrical starting, and a mechanical reverse. About 11,000 KR175s were built from 1953-55.
In early Spring, 1955, Messerschmitt unveiled a new model, the KR200. Though similar to the KR175, it featured a larger 200 cc engine, wider front track, more sophisticated suspension, and numerous mechanical changes, including a clever system for starting the engine backwards, giving 4 speeds in reverse! KR200s can be distinguished from KR175s by their open front fenders, wraparound windscreen, and radically different dome configuration. In a year and a half, 16,000 KR200s came out of the Regensburg plant.
1958 KR200 by FMR

By the mid 1950s, Messerschmitt was allowed to return to airplane manufacture, so Fend formed his own company, Fahrzeug und Maschinenbau Regensburg (FMR) to continue production of the Kabinenroller, still under the Messerschmitt name. Over 25,000 FMR vehicles were produced before production stopped in 1964.

The KR200 came in several variants: the bubble-top coupe, the convertible cabriolet, the Spartan, topless Sports, and the KR201 roadster.
In late 1957, FMR introduced the TG500, popularly known as the "Tiger." Resembling a KR200 back to the motor deck, it then sprouted a pair of rear wheels powered by a 500 cc 2-stroke twin, also by Sachs.


From all accounts, the Tiger was a rapid and nimble sports car, but it cost twice as much as a KR200 (and lost the tax advantages of the 3-wheeler) and in fact was as expensive as Austin-Healey's new Sprite, a much less radical vehicle. Only 950 TG500s saw the light of day. Production ceased in 1961.

All Messerschmitts are highly collectible today. The KR200 bubbletop is the most common (though many have been restored as cabriolets due to the difficulty in finding replacement domes). KR175s are relatively rare, but not quite as valuable. The KR201 roadster and TG500 Tiger are the rarest of the breed.