Messerschmitt models

Messerschmitt cars were small three-wheeled "cabin scooters" designed by Fritz Fend, an aircraft engineer, and built in Regensburg, West Germany. The aircraft maker Messerschmitt produced the early models at its Regensburg works; in 1956 it sold the works to Fend, who formed Fahrzeug- und Maschinenbau GmbH Regensburg (FMR) with Valentin Knott to continue production.

The first model to enter series production was the KR175, replaced in 1955 by the Messerschmitt KR200. Both of these models seated two people one behind the other, which allowed a very narrow body with a small frontal area, under a transparent acrylic canopy. Nearly 12,000 KR200s were built in the first year alone, but output was heavily reduced in 1962, and production ended in 1964; sources give totals of about 30,000 to 41,000 cars. The FMR company also built the Tg500, a four-wheeled sports derivative of the same design. For other small post-war cars, see classic cars.