The Austin-Healey Sprite is a small open sports car produced in the United Kingdom from 1958 until 1971. The Sprite was announced to the press in Monte Carlo by the British Motor Corporation on 20 May 1958, two days after that year's Monaco Grand Prix. It was intended to be a low-cost model that "a chap could keep in his bike shed", yet be the successor to the sporting versions of the pre-war Austin Seven. The Sprite was designed by the Donald Healey Motor Company, with production being undertaken at the MG factory at Abingdon. It first went on sale for £669, using a tuned version of the Austin A-Series engine and as many other components from existing cars as possible to keep costs down.
Donald Healey Motor Company Limited was a British car manufacturer.
The Saab Sonett is an automobile manufactured between 1955 and 1957 and again between 1966 and 1974 by Saab of Sweden. Sonetts share engines and other components with Saab 93, 95 and 96 of the same era. It was mainly intended for the lucrative American export market and was only offered intermittently in the Swedish domestic market.
Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than 700 cc (43 cu in). Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are often covered by separate regulations to normal cars, having relaxed requirements for registration and licensing.
The Isetta is an Italian-designed microcar built under license in a number of different countries, including Argentina, Spain, Belgium, France, Brazil, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Because of its egg shape and bubble-like windows, it became known as a bubble car, a name also given to other similar vehicles.
The Fend Flitzer was a three-wheeled invalid carriage designed and built by Fritz Fend. The Flitzer established many of the basic concepts on which Fend's later Messerschmitt Kabinenroller microcars were developed.
The Honda S600 is an automobile manufactured by Honda. It was launched in March 1964. Available as a roadster – bearing strong resemblance to the Honda S500 – and as a fastback coupé – introduced in March 1965 – the S600 was the first Honda available in two trim levels. During its production run up to 1966, the model styling would remain pretty much the same, with the most notable changes coming to the front grille, bumper, and headlights.
The Messerschmitt KR200, or Kabinenroller, is a three-wheeled bubble car designed by the aircraft engineer Fritz Fend and produced in the factory of the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt from 1955 until 1964.
The Austin-Healey 100 is a sports car that was built by Austin-Healey from 1953 until 1956.
The Messerschmitt Kabinenroller was a series of microcars made by RSM Messerschmitt from 1953 to 1956 and by Fahrzeug- und Maschinenbau GmbH, Regensburg (FMR) from 1956 to 1964. All the Messerschmitt and FMR production cars used the Kabinenroller's monocoque structure, featuring tandem seating and usually a bubble canopy.
The Messerschmitt KR175 microcar (1953–1955) was the first vehicle built by Messerschmitt under its 1952 agreement with Fritz Fend. In concept, although not in actual design, it was, in principle, a development of the Fend Flitzer invalid carriage. Approximately 15,000 were built before it was replaced by the Messerschmitt KR200 in 1956.
The S800 is a sports car from Honda. Introduced at the 1965 Tokyo Motor Show, the S800 replaced the successful Honda S600 as the company's image car. With a redline of 9,500 rpm, it is one of the highest-revving sports cars produced for street use. The S800 competed with the Austin-Healey Sprite, MG Midget, Triumph Spitfire, Datsun Fairlady, and Fiat 850 Spider.
Fritz Fend was an aeronautical engineer. He was noted for designing Messerschmitt's Kabinenroller (cabinscooter) KR175 and KR200 microcars, for co-founding FMR, the company that took over production of the Kabinenrollers in 1956, and for designing the FMR Tg500, a sports microcar based on the Kabinenroller. Fend continued his career as an inventor and designer after the KR200 ended production. Fend was working on another lightweight vehicle project shortly before his death.
In automobile design, a rear-engine design layout places the engine at the rear of the vehicle. The center of gravity of the engine itself is behind the rear axle. This is not to be confused with the center of gravity of the whole vehicle, as an imbalance of such proportions would make it impossible to keep the front wheels on the ground.
Egon Brütsch Fahrzeugbau, usually shortened to Brütsch, was a German automotive design and automaker based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg.
Jetcar is a brand of small car manufactured by Jetcar Zukunftsfahrzeug GmbH in Neuruppin, Germany. The company was established in 2000. The car has two seats, with the passenger sitting behind the driver. It is built using carbon fibre and costs between 48,000 and 58,000 euros including taxes in Germany The manufacturer has a limited production of the vehicle to 100 cars. The car consumed 2.8l of diesel per 100 kilometers during an official TÜV test. Top speed for the car is 160 km/h (100mp/hr). The driver's seat looks similar to a cockpit, which may be the reason for the car's name. The engine is the diesel engine from a Smart (car).
A vehicle canopy is a rarely used type of door for cars. It has no official name so it is also known as an articulated canopy, bubble canopy, cockpit canopy, canopy door, or simply a canopy. A canopy is a type of door which sits on top of a car and lifts up in some way, to provide access for passengers. It is similar to an aircraft canopy. There are no established sub-types of canopies, so they can be hinged at the front, side, or back, although hinging at the front is most common. Canopy doors are rarely used on production cars, and are sometimes used on concept cars.
A retro-style automobile is a vehicle that is styled to appear like cars from previous decades. Often these cars use modern technology and production techniques. This design trend developed in the early 1990s and led to almost all automobile brands introducing models that referenced previous cars of the 1950s and 1960s.
