The term time-capsule is way overused, especially by me, but this is one case where it’s true! This 1956 Heinkel Kabine 150 is located in Germany, even though the eBay ad shows the seller being in San Francisco, California. So be prepared for some shipping, customs, duties, etc. charges if you’re not in Europe. That being said, if you’re looking for undoubtedly the world’s nicest, original Heinkel Kabine, this is it. Period. The current bid price is $20,000 and the reserve isn’t met so bring your big boy pants to this auction, even if the car makes you feel like you should have your little boy pants on..
The Heinkel Kabine was made for three short years, 1956, 1957, and 1958. I always think of the huge American cars made in that same era and wonder how anything like this ever made it to production. But, of course, these weren’t made in America and they weren’t made for American highways like the big-iron cruisers from the 1950s were. The Heinkel Kabine was made in post-war Germany for a population starved for cheap transportation. You probably wouldn’t want to drive this one in Tucson with all of that glass heating it up in there, but the open top could help to get rid of some of the heat. This car looks like it’s had a high-end, nut-and-bolt full restoration, but it’s original!
Believe it or not, this car is all original other than a NOS replacement driver’s seat cover! It’s absolutely amazing to see a 60-year old car like this in original condition, this is a true museum piece. The Kabine 150 was the first model for Heinkel, introduced in March of 1956. By October of 1956, the company renamed them as the type 153 (3 for three wheels) and they also came out with the type 154 with four wheels. Of course, that’s a bit confusing because this early 150 also has three wheels. And, just look at the sight-seeing fun that you can have in a Heinkel! Ok, unless you own a 500-acre spread somewhere, you probably won’t have as much fun as those people are having, especially towards the end of 2016 when 75% of drivers are wielding 4000+ SUVs while texting so you’ll probably want to stay on the side streets with a car this small, all 540 pounds of it. That being said, load the family and head out to the country house for the weekend on back roads, just remember to pack lightly..
Like an Isetta, the Heinkel Kabine had the single door opening in the front. In the hopefully unlikely event of a crash, occupants were expects to exit the vehicle through the opening in the roof. If they’re able to, that is. You don’t want to have a head-on crash with anything other than a Schwinn Varsity with one of these. That always comes up when microcars are shown here as people can’t seem to realize that these microcars were not made for highway driving and they weren’t made to compete with full-sized cars. They were meant as inexpensive city cars for slow travel in crowded post-war European cities, not for driving next to a 2016 American SUV on the freeway at 70 mph.
Unfortunately, the seller didn’t provide any engine photos, but the 150 had a 174 CC, single-cylinder, four-stroke engine with around 9 hp, good for about a 55 MPH top speed. Of course, the engine is in the rear and you’ll have easy access for maintenance. This car has four speeds and reverse, which some microcars of the era didn’t have and you would have to plan your parking carefully so you wouldn’t have to push it backwards. That’s probably not the image that you want anyone to remember about a car like this, someone getting out and pushing it backwards. I think that this is a heck of a find. I know that these cars aren’t for everyone, but their place in history is solid and they helped to get a big chunk of the world back on the roads again.
Great find, Scotty! I’ve long been a fan of Bubble Cars, and the Heinkel has the further appeal of beating the Isetta and Messerschmitt in the rarity stakes.
Would love to know the back story: how did this little beast survive in this condition?
Along with the two-door Zundapp Janus, this is at the top of my favorites list. And I think I’d try to bring it home on the plane as carry-on baggage!
Adorable. That’s the only word I have for it. Seriously, I wanna just put it in my pocket and feed it two stroke oil as a treat.
Invest another couple thou in a 5 X 8 enclosed utility trailer and you now have a way to take it to car shows, where you will be the hit of every show as you putt around the grounds.
Microcars have done really well at auctions for the last few years. I don’t know how well these Heinkels sell, but the current bid of $20K sounds below most of the prices that I remember being paid for microcars lately, especially for one in this condition.
But the car being in Germany (altho initially said to be in San Francisco) would make me wary.
The seller sells mostly tech gadgets. What’s his relationship to the owner of the car? What assurance do you have that the car will actually show up once you pay the bid price + shipping? Ebay guarantees car purchases from its site, but I would read the fine print of that guarantee very carefully before assuming that it covers this purchase.
Weirdly enough, I think this would do well in some of the smaller mountain towns here in CO. Would be quaint to see, as some places are still locked in the past.
Ornament – wouldn’t drive it to the shops
I grew up with these road mites. They were dangerously tiny, noisy, wobbly and slow, even back in 1960’s Europe. I remember them smoking when idling, and they sounded like a Toro lawnmower going past. I have nothing with these things, but just curiously looking at them on display.
Car in Germany, seller in the USA. Sounds like a scam to me.
Auction closed @ USD 26,100. Seems a bargain to me.
Fantomworks did one of these a while ago didn’t they?
Any of you micro car fans in Ontario Canada, google Micro North. They have a yearly gathering just south of Midland in June every year with dozens of participants.
http://www.microcar.org/micronorth/
New auction, bid at around 19.6K now. I loved being in the Army, in Germany, during the mid-60’s through the end of the 60’s and then back and forth for years. I bought a ’57 Fiat 500 for around town as my new Fairlane GTA was a real 4 barrel “gas hog”. Many of the streets in German towns were perfect for my Fiat, these, Isettas, Messerschmidts, et al. German gas was still really expensive and the streets of any “old town” were narrow, cobblestone, and had very low speed limits. Not fit for ANY size American car. What no one has mentioned yet is that WE and the other Allies prohibited the manufacturers of most of these German micros from building what they were actually best at, which was planes. Could be why many looked like a “cabin” or fuselage, don’t you think ?
Hello,
I would like to know, who is the current owner of is this Kabine.
I am the representative of the Heinkel-Club Deutschland.We are currently investigating the formulation of the color you see on the image and have some questions
Can you help?