Make: Messerschmitt
Model: KR200 Kabrio Convertible
Year: 1962
Origin: Augsburg, Germany
Production: 1955 – 1964 | 40,000
Engine: 191cc Single Cylinder, Two-Stroke
Designed by the aircraft engineer Fritz Fend and produced in the German aircraft factory Messerschmitt, who was temporarily not allowed to manufacture airplanes. Instead, they turned to the production of small motor vehicles. In 1952, Fend approached Messerschmitt with the idea of the small vehicles and produced their first, the KR175 the next year. The KR175 was a three-wheeled motorcycle/bubble car or Kabineroller (Cabin Scooter).
The KR200 replaced the KR175 in 1955 and considered an instant success. In the first year, almost 12,000 KR200s were built of the approximately 40,000 total. In the same year, the KR200 broke 22 international speed records in its three-wheeled vehicles under 250cc class including the 24-hour speed record, which is set at 64 mph. In 1957, the KR200 Kabrio was released, offering a cloth convertible top, fixed side window frames and electric windshield wiper.
Another company, Regensburger Stahlund Metallbau GmbH, was actually created to manufacture and market the vehicle. The only thing Messerschmitt really had to do with the vehicle was using their name to brand it. In 1964, the production of the KR200 came to an end.