History of the little car that was good enough for Elvis

Fancy getting behind the controls of a Messerschmitt? Not the Me109 fighter favoured by the German Luftwaffe but the post-war three-wheeler KR 200 microcar from the same company.

It was good enough for Elvis Presley who had a red one and was one of a range of “bubblecars” with tiny engines that went on sale in the austere years of the late 1940s until the 60s.

Curator Damian McDonald with a 1950’s Messerschmitt KR 200 and a 1950’s Goggomobil Dart.Credit:Rhett Wyman

The memories of vehicles such as the Goggomobil Dart, Lambretta Willam and the Heinkel Kabine are about to be relived at a new exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum.

The aesthetic design of the microcar had spread worldwide by the late 1950s and Australian engineers began to create their own versions. Most notably those produced by Sydney-based Buckle Motors and Adelaide entrepreneur Harold Lightburn who developed the Zeta runabout.

Elvis with parents Vernon, and Gladys in the backyard of the house at 1034 Audubon Drive, Memphis, Tennessee with the Messerschmitt.Credit:Alamy

An article in the Herald in June 1959 says the Dart has two unusual features: “a plastic body and no doors”. Driver and passenger step over the sides to get into the cockpit, there’s room for luggage and a top speed from the two-stroke rear engine of 65mph (104 kph). Yours for £685.

Curator Damian McDonald says there are similarities to what happened in the 50s to the move to smaller, environmentally-friendly cars today.

“People didn’t have the means to go out and buy a large family car but there was freedom in Europe and people were keen to get out and travel,” he said.

“Both Heinkel and Messerschmitt designed very small cars really around the scooter with a small chassis. The KR200 takes a little bit of its design pedigree from aircraft, instead of a steering wheel it’s got a little handle and you sit under a canopy with the passenger behind you. You could go on a picnic but you would be hard-pressed to take a couple of suitcases with you.”

Gogo microcar advert circa 1960.Credit:Fairfax

Motor car entrepreneur Bill Buckle, whose father William G Buckle established showrooms in William Street in 1927, was first on the microcar grid in Australia. He went to Bavaria in 1958 to convince Hans Glas GmbH automotive that he could produce fibreglass bodies for Goggomobil cars. He obtained the rights for Australia and about 5000 cars were assembled.

“Buckle Motors bought a Goggomobil and I drove it around the Alps in heavy snow with snow tyres on the back and decided it was a pretty sensible little thing,” Mr Buckle said.

“The Dart just took off, we couldn’t build them quick enough.”

The “Elvis” car in the exhibition is owned by Fred Diwell, founder of the Microcar and Scooter Club. He got a call from Baz Luhrmann’s production company asking if they could borrow his grey Messchersmitt for the Elvis movie starring Tom Hanks due for release next June. They repainted it red which was the colour of Elvis’s.

Mr Diwell, 80, who lives near Windsor said he bought the car second hand for $70 in 1970 from a Bondi dealer.

“The original owners were both five foot nothing,” he said. “They drove it from Sydney to Brisbane for their honeymoon and used to sleep in it overnight.”

Fred Diwell with the Messerschmitt before it was repainted in Parramatta Park.

But what brought about the demise of the microcar?

“England and a guy called Issigonis [designer of the Mini],” Mr Buckle said. “That was an absolute breakthrough and it set the pattern for small cars from then on. The engine was across the front and you could fit more people and luggage in the back.”

Microcars opens at the Powerhouse on November 5.

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.

Most Viewed in National

From our partners

Source: Read Full Article