The desperate need for cheap transport in war devastated Europe encouraged many small companies to develop 'microcars', small, simple vehicles affordable to people of limited means. Some of these machines went on to great success and fame, such the Messerschmitt Kabine scooter and the BMW Isetta, but a great many of these vehicles were poorly made and did not last particularly long. Kleinschnittger of Arnsberg, West Germany unveiled their contribution to this trend in 1950. The F250 was a very small two-seater roadster powered by a Jlo-250cc single cylinder two-stroke motor delivering 5.5 horsepower. Bodywork consisted of aluminium panels pressed over a steel spaceframe. This meant the little F250 was very light at only 150 kilograms empty. Light weight was important as the car had no reverse gear. To reverse or get out of a tight parking spot, a carry handle was attached to the rear body so that the driver could lift the rear end and manhandle the car onto the driving direction. Simple! Such a basic vehicle could have been quickly dispatched into oblivion, but the F250 was sufficiently sporty looking to find a market. It would be produced for five years, from 1950 to 1955, after which sales plummeted to a few dozen a year. The company would continue selling the backlog of machines for a further two years before going bankrupt in 1957. Approximately 3000 examples were sold.
A bilingual German and English brochure.
An American write up from Popular Mechanics. It's very doubtful any US customers would have been interested in this novelty.
More info: https://www.kleinschnittger-info.de/ausgabe.html
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