This little 1960 Heinkel is certainly a cute little car, although some might give pause to driving around with the Trojan nameplate. It’s been part of a private collection in Alabama for the last 50 years. There are a several really interesting cars in the background of the pictures. It does start, but will need some work to make it driveable again. The Heinkel has an interesting history. The were originally named the Kabine and produced from 1956 to 1958 and then produced under license for a short time in Ireland. Poor quality control quickly halted production in Ireland. Then from 1966 they were produced under license by Trojan Cars Ltd. in England. They were also produced in Argentina from 1959 until 1962 right next to Studebaker trucks! The steering wheel doesn’t move when the door opens like the Isetta because of Isetta’s patent. This one is listed here on eBay with bidding currently at $7,650 and the reserve not met. That seems like a lot of money, but the micro car market has really heated up. Many micro cars sell for $20,000 and more. This little car could be a fun little thing for running around, but you’d have to be a devoted micro car fan perhaps. Thanks to Robert R for this tip!
Would love to own this! It’s already drawing some serious bids and, based on what I’ve seen in the Microcar world, will probably go a good bit higher.
If I couldn’t get this, I’d be happy with the Topolino sitting in the pickup truck. Is the green car a 500C?
My guess is that these weren’t “barn finds” at all, but were in someone’s collection, and reasonably well cared for. There seems to be a lot of back story here that the seller isn’t telling….
Thanks for this post. I’ve heard of these but never seen one. Since it IS so Messerschmidt like, I would suspect a reserve somewhere around $15k or more. And for that price, If I was looking for a microcar, I’d much rather have a Berkley or a Gogomobil Dart.
Birth control on Wheels?? Not for the Guy who thinks his car will get him laid. I’m sure there’s plenty of women who will say ” How Cute” & that’s it. LOL
Hey, Mark; for that price I’d rather have a Dodge Dart.
The patent and all the rights to Isetta belong to Renzo Rivolta, who was the father of the Isetta. BMW recognized the potential of the little car and approached Mr. Rivolta to license the design. In the end BMW made Isetta a success, while Rivolta folded production in italy after 1500 units. Rumors floated that Fiat had created many issues for Renzo and his team in order to eliminate any competition to their upcoming 500.
Just saw a rerun tonight of Phantom Works on the Velocity channel where they restored one of these for their customer, final bill was either 34K or 44K (CRS, sorry).
Love the name! I am quite sure you would get quite a few comments driving it around.
There’s no way that’s been in Alabama for 50 years, those plastic number plates were most likely made in the 90’s at oldest – the plastic plates were introduced in the early 70’s an gradually replaced the pressed metal type – ones like these with the maker’s name on the bottom are much newer. Also it’s on the UK DVLA database, which was computerised in 1979 – anything that had been exported, scrapped or had just fallen from use “disappeared” at that point.
I had one of these as my first car in the early 1970s. In the UK you could drive it at 16 on a motorcycle license. It was classed as a motorbike and sidecar, but you had to have the reverse gear blocked off, though that was done with a strip of metal that was easily unscrewed.
The engine was a truly gutless 198cc.
Presumably they were made initially in the former Heinkel factory in Germany, but obviously that association with Nazi bombers would have made them unsaleable in Britain so soon after the Second World War, thence the name change to Trojan (a defunct British marque), which greatly amused by friends in the US.
Stupidly I bought another one in the early ’80s but was so scared driving it home – having had to navigate around London’s Hyde Park Corner – that I quickly sold it on again.
There is currently one for sale in eBay in the UK in much better condition with one bid at 10,000 pounds (around $15,000) and the reserve not met.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HEINKEL-TROJAN-BUBBLE-CAR-1963-/131571183792?hash=item1ea240f0b0
And here’s a link to a fun advert from simpler times:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TROJAN-200-MICROCAR-ORIGINAL-MAGAZINE-ADVERT-B-W-/321449167895?hash=item4ad7dd0c17