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Messerschmitt KR200 remains the sexiest car ever


Image for article titled There will never be another car sexier than the Messerschmitt KR200

image: Adam Ismail

One of the best reasons to go to a race, even if you don’t like motorsport, is the almost limitless opportunity to ride a car. Maybe you’ve seen more your fair the sharing of The exception is predictable over the years, but at most good races there are always something to get your attention. Last weekend in Northeastern Grand Prix at Lime Rock Parka Messerschmitt KR200 mine was captured.

I didn’t notice the three-wheeled microcar until late in the afternoon, when I took my second stroll through a block just a stone’s throw from the Porsche and the luxury German bumper. Hiding among 911s, M cars and quick Golfs is this oddity that has attracted all the attention. Some stopped to take pictures, others asked themselves “what the hell To be that?” FEMALEobody got through it without a smile or a the look of suspicious conspiracies.

Image for article titled There will never be another car sexier than the Messerschmitt KR200

image: Adam Ismail

We talked about Messerschmitt’s “Kabinenroller” series many times around these and our old friend Jason Torchinsky even drove one a few years agoin one backside-arrive-back compare with the BMW Isetta, Peel P50 and Mazda 360. But this is the first time I have witnessed a Messerschmitt in person. Close-up it is extremely seductive; little more than its history is relevant.

Messerschmitt is a German aircraft manufacturer banned from building aircraft after World War II (can you guess why). Company used to make other machines, such as what you see here. The KR175, KR200 and KR201 were both designed by aircraft engineer Fritz Fend, but the KR200 is by far the most successful of them all, with around 30,000 units sold between 1955 and 1964.

Image for article titled There will never be another car sexier than the Messerschmitt KR200

image: Adam Ismail

Where do we even start? It is the unmistakable face of a friend, chrome decoration like whiskers on a cat. It even wears a small hat, in the form of sunshade. Great, you can fit two people in this less powerful death trap, and I love how funny the tiny front seat is to anyone sitting in it. The steering wheel is wider than the seat cushion!

Image for article titled There will never be another car sexier than the Messerschmitt KR200

image: Adam Ismail

The interior couldn’t be simpler. Switch because the windshield wipers are above wiper motor itself, because why put it anywhere else? The steering wheel was a yoke, oriented upside down from the way we’re used to it today, with the handles joined at the top into a “U.” upside down. All the wiring was exposed and I only knew I had accidentally disconnected the circuit the moment I jumped in.

You might ask how you got in, and that lies in the genius of the KR200’s design. The entire canopy is hinged on the right side, raised like a coffin lid. when you turn on the handle. How is that interesting? There’s even a small storage space just above the back seatback to where the owner kept some period-appropriate picnic blankets. And I can confirm that two adults fit this; I observed the owner and a passenger Drive away, legs and everything is still intact!

Image for article titled There will never be another car sexier than the Messerschmitt KR200

image: Adam Ismail

That’s one of my regrets – I didn’t get a chance to talk to the owner, because by the time I showed up he was ready to leave. There was a long line at exit – Lime Rock only has one – and he worries that the little guy will overheat on his way out. KR200, after all, is offered by a 191-cc, 10 hp two strokestruth Confirmed by fuel-oil mixture prompt inside the door.

Image for article titled There will never be another car sexier than the Messerschmitt KR200

image: Adam Ismail

The cool thing: The KR200 doesn’t have a dedicated reverse gear. Instead, if you want to reverse, you turn off the engine and start the engine again, pushing the key deeper into the electric switch. As a result, the starter will spin the engine in the opposite direction (two-stroke engines don’t care which direction their crankshaft is turning), which means the four-speed transmission now gives you four reverse ratios. . REMOVESince the KR200 hits 65 mph, that means you can go in the opposite direction much faster in this low-traction tin than in any other car.. You know, watch out for the idea of ​​driving Normal in traffic seems so ordinary.

Image for article titled There will never be another car sexier than the Messerschmitt KR200

image: Adam Ismail

Now I have to admit, I probably wouldn’t be writing this if I hadn’t been exposed to the KR200 at a very early age, other than video games. Especially, USA Daytona 2001 on Sega Dreamcast. Daytona 2001 Is one weird game, with a very unusual vehicle list, supersaturated visuals and an excellent broadcaster. It also has a Active menu adjustments that’s always in my head. Between Daytona 2001’s The secret cars are a pair called Pywackett Barchetta and Pywackett Barchetta Super, modeled after KR200 and Pywackett Barchetta respectively. KR200 “Super” built to break the 24-hour speed record for a tricycle under 250cc. They are driven by aliens and wear the number “69” on their side, as you will see in the video below.

So that’s the Messerschmitt KR200: a postwar German electric supercar built by an aircraft maker, shaped like a wingless plane, reintroduced for a generation (okay), maybe just me) in a Japanese-developed game about classic American car racing. And if you think it couldn’t get any weirder, someone once stuffed a Hemi in one of these and send it drag race. Madness!

Image for article titled There will never be another car sexier than the Messerschmitt KR200

image: Adam Ismail

Image for article titled There will never be another car sexier than the Messerschmitt KR200

image: Adam Ismail

Image for article titled There will never be another car sexier than the Messerschmitt KR200

image: Adam Ismail

Image for article titled There will never be another car sexier than the Messerschmitt KR200

image: Adam Ismail



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