Messerschmitt Kabinenroller
How to buy the most desirable bubble-cars ever made
THE QUIRKY Messerschmitt occupies a singular place even within the exotic world of microcars. The Kabinenroller (KR) name literally means ‘Scooter with cabin’. Yet this budget vehicle has long inspired owners. Why? It’s quick off the mark and fun to drive, with direct-acting ‘tiller’ steering connected straight to the track-rod ends. Add 80mpg fuel efficiency and you can see why it exactly captured the mood of a Western Europe emerging from the throes of World War Two.
The KR175 came about after former Luftwaffe officer Fritz Fend developed and built around 250 tiny three-wheeler vehicles (intended as invalid carriages) between 1948 and ’51. Called the Victoria, Fend’s design featured a single driven front wheel and two at the rear. But Fend soon adopted the more stable two-front, single-driven-rear theme. Dubbed the Fend Flitzer, his car sold well and Fend noticed that they were being bought by able-bodied people rather more than their intended customers. So he approached exaircraft maker Messerschmitt to volumeproduce his design for sale to a wider audience.
By February 1953, customer versions of the KR175 model were available. The car featured a monocoque tub at the front, with a tubular steel frame at the rear supporting the motor and rear wheel. In design terms it’s almost an E-type Jaguar, only backwards.
Springing was rubber-in-torsion, and the canopy – a fresh design – used a glass windscreen and plastic ‘bubble’ with sliding windows on a steel frame. This allowed two occupants to sit in tandem, and afforded a very small frontal area, reducing drag. A roadster version was introduced, with a canvas hood – naturally cooler to drive in sunny weather than roasting under that canopy.
By 1955, a larger-engined KR200 version was offered, distinguished by a wider front track than its older KR175 stablemate. To promote the uprated model, a streamlined record-breaker was built. On 29-30 August 1955, record runs were attempted at Hockenheim. In total, 22 were set, including a stunning 24-hour record at 64.0mph.
Best of all, the record-breaker inspired Fend to create a sports car. The introduction of the TG500 ‘Tiger’ came in 1958. It used the front of the Kabinenroller mated to a re-designed rear, which featured two rear wheels with independent suspension by coil springs and jointed driveshafts. With a 0-60mph time of 28 seconds, it was fast for a car that could still achieve more than 60mpg. Only 320 were made, of which 150 or so remain, and one achieved the highest price at auction for any microcar: the rose-pink Tiger (above) from the Bruce Weiner collection made $322,000 at RM Auctions in 2013.