The team of the Association of Private Museums of Russia visited the Motors of October museum, where they recorded an interview with the director of the museum, Dmitry Oktyabrsky, and got acquainted with a new exposition dedicated to the post-war hobby for small cars.
Microcars were popular in Europe in the 1940s and 1960s. Due to high taxes and expensive gasoline, it was very expensive to maintain a full-fledged car, so many preferred to ride motorcycles or microcars. In most cases, microcars, like motorcycles, were tricycles. They were equipped with a motorcycle engine with a volume of no more than 700 cubic centimeters. But unlike motorcycles, microcars had a cabin that protected from the weather and road dust. Such cars were produced in Germany, France, Italy, USA, USSR and other countries.
The exposition presents 12 microcars of various modifications.
The Crosley Super Sport is a true sports roadster with the same concept as the legendary Chevrolet Corvette.
Autobianchi Bianchina is a luxury subcompact car produced by one of the divisions of the famous FIAT, intended for wealthy women.
Ile Shotterin Kar, reminiscent of the pre-war BMW sports cars, was used on rides in amusement parks. In order for the little car to go, it had to be pushed by a park employee.
The fastest and most dynamic microcar of its time was the NSU Prinz 30 microcar produced by the German company NSU. And the most reliable one can be called the home-made Hillers Model A, created by the director of the auto parts store Ernst Hillers for his son. Despite the fact that the children’s car was not intended for driving on public roads, it covered 7923 km.
Microcars, which were created in the USSR, were mainly intended for disabled people. They were issued free of charge for five years. The exposition presents the SMZ-C-3A motorized carriage, which was popularly called “Morgunovka” – after the name of the actor Yevgeny Morgunov, who played the pseudo-disabled Byvaliy in the Operation Y comedy. In the film, the iconic trio of charming swindlers drove around in a “wheelchair car”.
By the early 1960s, the popularity of minicars was declining. In Europe, they began to take a more serious approach to traffic safety, the requirements for deformation of the body, the transportation of children are becoming more stringent, and new requirements for car windows are emerging. As a result, microcars cannot compete with such small cars as: Volksvagen Beetlle, Mini, Citroen 2CV, Fiat 500 and others.
A unique collection of minicars is provided for the exposition by the KAMYSHMASH company.
