Thomas.W The cute bubble with fighter jet pedigree.
Meet the unique little car bulit by the company known for producing some of the most advanced fighter planes of World War II, including the first jet fighter Me 262.
The Messerschmitt KR200, also known as the Kabinenroller or “Cabin Scooter”, is a microcar that was produced in Germany from 1955 to 1964
The KR200 was designed and produced by the aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt AG, which was best known for its military airplanes during World War II. After the war, the company was banned from producing aircraft, so it turned its attention to producing small vehicles to meet the demand for affordable transportation in the post-war era.
To make it more affordable, engineers simpily the mechnical design of the car, one of the remarkable feature is that the car could move backward without a reverse gear in it’s transmission.
But how do does it move backward?
The KR200 was powered by a 191cc, air-cooled, two-stroke engine, which produced around 10 horsepower, and equipped a four-speed manual transmission.
To engage reverse gear, the engine has to be turned off and restarted by depressing the ignition key, which changed the direction of the engine’s rotation, since a two-stroke engine can run in one direction or another, thus allowed the car to move backwards, the driver can then change up through all the gears in reverse.
