I thought that I might be the first to cover a Maico for Barn Finds but dang if we didn’t write one up back in 2017. I’m undeterred, it’s still a great find courtesy of Kyle K. The listing states this microcar is a 1951 model but research indicates that the Maico 500 was only produced between ’56 and ’58 so ’51 can’t be correct. Anyway, claimed to be one of 6K assembled, this very unusual little car is located in Druten, Netherlands and is available, here on Metropole Classics for 6.500 € or about $6,955 U.S.
Maico’s business was and is motorcycles. Formed in Pfaffingen, Germany in 1926, it is still a going concern today though ownership has changed several times, and Koestler, a German firm, owns it today. Besides motorcycles, with a heavy focus on motocross models, they also produced Maicoletta scooters starting in the ’50s. What pushed Maico into the car business seems to be an unknown but perhaps it seemed to be a logical step forward considering their mechanical expertise and the success that Volkswagen was enjoying with the Beetle.
Looking more like a toon car, small the 500 is at 11 feet 3 inches in length and weighing in at only 1,300 lbs. Notable features include reverse-opening doors and sliding side windows. As for this Maico, it’s in the “Uh-Oh, better get Maaco” state of condition – and it’s not just the paint – dents and rust abound. I wonder what one does if that driver’s side fender is beyond straightening? It’s not like you’ll find another at your local Pick-A-Part. This example is hardly a complete wreck but it’s gonna need a lot of attention.
Under the bonnet is an 18 HP, 500 CC, two-cylinder, water-cooled engine driving a four-speed manual transaxle. The engine was sourced from Heinkel and the top speed was claimed to be 60 MPH. The seller mentions that extra parts are included, along with an “extra engine gearbox sheet” (a service manual maybe?). What’s not stated is whether or not this little bugger operates on its own.
No frills would be one way to describe the interior, besides its barrenness, it’s stained and grubby. The opening in the dash is supposedly where a radio would have been placed. One interesting factoid is that these 500s were built in both right and left-hand drive versions.
This car will probably be a tough sale. The seller will have to find someone, likely, that has owned one before or has a fond memory, for one reason or another, of this peculiar little car – and someone who’s not put off by its condition. Know anyone who might be interested?
*Many thanks to Bring-A-Trailer for their insight into Maico and its 500 micro car.
Europe’s Crosley.
Say, that’s pretty neat! Haven’t seen
one before I saw this one listed here.
It could be a really fun project for the
right person. Me, I”d convert it to an
EV to sidestep the long and exhaustive search for parts. And with
an EV, you can replace the stick shift
with a direct drive gearbox that would
make it much easier to drive. With the miniaturization of charge controllers and lithium ion batteries,
a conversion like this would be pretty
much a natural step. I’m betting this
little critter would zip right along at
80+MPH with the right motor/ battery
setup. One thing’s for sure, you’ll have
the only one in town!
Electric-powered cars are a passing phase…they have NO soul.
Oh, I don’t know. Some people get a charge out of them.
I have that shirt, EVs have no soul
Those headlamp buckets look like the older VW’s – were they sourced from a common vendor?
Headlights were on several German cars over the early years. I still have a couple of the original bulbs out of one of our 356s.
Headlamps were made by Bosch and Hella like those and they were available from parts distributors ie not all were in VW packages and sold by VW. I have a pair of Marchal H4 headlamps that fit the VW bucket.
This is what you buy when a Renault Dauphine is just too “over the top” for you.
I just love it! Make everything an “EV!” Because those batteries don’t add any weight to this micro car.
Can’t believe I’m the first:
LS swap!!!
Can we please cease and desist with all this LS swap crap???
This thing needs to be on top of a pole with the word ‘AUTO PARTS’ written on it with an arrow pointing toward the junkyard. It’s not only rare but ugly too. A winning combo that some one wants $6000 for! What a deal……Not
amen!!!!!
Hahaha! The generator is bigger than the engine. Take the belt of and you get 2 more h.p!
I think you’d lose the starter when you removed the generator.
I thought old garden tractor starter/generator when I saw the photo of the engine.
that wuz gunna B my exact comment
I live in Arizona and don’t play golf or have a golf cart. I don’t plan on taking up Golf, but maybe this could be my Golf Cart.
Cheaper than a VW Golf!
Ha, you beat me to it!
This is the bare bones version which was quite successful in Germany due to its high quality built and reliability. They also built a sports version which was quite beautiful (believe it or not) but due to cost factors only 10 examples of it were produced. The hands down best Maico of all time was their 400cc 2-stroke twin Taifun motorcycle which was possibly the most advanved machine on 2 wheels in existence.
Many motorcycle and scooter makers built micro cars in the years following WW2. In the economy in most European countries in the 50s having anything with 4 wheels was a big deal. A friend of mine owned a Maico 400, BTW, but it was a motocross bike.
Uh oh, better not get Maico.
The Smart Car’s grandfather!
I’m quite fond of the micro cars, not fond of the asking price. Most were European, where the engine size is what classified a car or motorcycle. Why so many 3 wheelers were built, in England. they were classified as motorcycles, so tax was lower, along with plating one. these vehicles provide a transportation need to war ravaged countries, and helped to get their economies up and running. just as American auto manufacturers provided compact cars in the 1960s’ these companies provided a means to an end.
Does anyone know what happened to the lovely Maico 500 Sport Coupe displayed at the 1958 NY Int’l Auto Show? It’s the only one, with body by Swiss coach builder Buetler. (About 200 Maico cars were imported by Whizzer Motor Bikes of Pontiac, MI, in 1957.)
One of those 200 evidently migrated north to the Flint area. It was buzzing around town in the early 1970s.
Amen! In the early 1900’s gasoline, steam and electric vehicles battled it out for consumer dollars. Electric cars lost out due to the time and frequency needed to recharge the batteries. I predict the same end for the current trend in electric vehicles. Steam cars?? Bill Lear tried this with his “magic” fuel he called Learium. The AEC shut him down saying Learium was essentially “heavy water” and just as unstable.
I know of only one Maico 500 automobile in America. It was once part of Bruce Weiner’s microcar collection, and I’m pretty sure it is now part of Jeff Lane’s museum in TN.
If this was offered at a more reasonable price [like $2k or less] then perhaps Jeff might bring it over as a parts car.
The Lane had an extra Maico sedan for sale for a while. Someone had modified the headlights, but it was a fairly solid car.
Rick:
What a shocking thing to say!
The frump factor of this car is pretty high.
Ahoi
Seems to be a fair (no, not cheap) price for this car
(if you want to call something like this a car)
Well, prices are so high because this big bubblecars are raritys
Somebody imported this cars in the 50`s to the USA
That`s was new for me and by the way – why he did it???
And again, my opinion has only a german point of view
Best regards,
Till J.
Nearly every microcar was imported to the U.S. back in the 1950s: Zundapp Janus, Heinkel, Kleinschnittger, even Brutsch. The U.S. was and still is a huge market. There were many Americans who lived through the Great Depression and wanted a frugal car for basic transportation. However the roads here were not kind to such small machines: fuel was inexpensive and distances between cities are significant. BMW Isetta, Messerschmitt, and NSU Prinz were somewhat successful due to their uniqueness. To most people the Maico too closely resembled a shrunken VW Beetle, but VW had a good dealer and spare parts organization that marginal small cars could not compete with.
Thanks for this information RobM
I already knew that BMW Isetta, Goggo, NSU Prinz was exported to the USA. But also Messerschmitt, Janus, Heinkel – for me surprising…
Well, there were more small cars and some were really not successful.
And well, the Maico car was one of these. By the way, the Maico motorcycles were quite successful. Also a big scooter were produced…
Till J,
Tag, There are a couple of possibilities as to how a Maico 500 came to North America. The 2 most likely are;
1. Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers [NCOs] including most Sargent grades E-6 and above, were allowed to bring one vehicle back with them on their return to the US, paying no shipping charges.
2. I do believe Maico imported their motorcycles into north America, and it’s possible one or more cars came in thru the bike dealers. I know that an American importer of Jawa and CZ motorcycles from Czechoslovakia wanted a new Tatra T-603 car, and they sent one to him in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Before 1 January 1968 it was possible to import any vehicle into the USA without restriction, provided the buyer paid the 2 percent US Customs import fee. Many American servicemen brought their own car back from Germany at no cost, including me!
Bill, it’s a documented fact that Whizzer Motor Bikes imported 200 Maico cars in 1957. I do not know how many more they imported in 1958 (if any – Maico was on the ropes by then), other than the single Sport Coupe shown at the 1958 New York International Auto Show.
RobM,
Thanks for the info, I had not heard about Whizzer’s Maico endeavor. You might want to suggest Wiki do an update to the Whizzer page, as it makes no mention of Maico cars or bikes.
Hi Bill, hi RobM
thanks for the information…
The Maico MC500/4 was produced after the Maico400/4.
The 400 was only 21 times produced.
The 500 was 6301 times produced.
That`s not sooo much.
For comparision – the BMW Isetta was 161728 times produced.
Well, the Isetta was a successful bubblecar, of course.
200 Maico cars were imported into the USA –
again…, thanks for the information …
Blessedly the concern and saaaaafety trolls haven’t reared their ugly heads.
Great find, BTW
Two words, The Farside. I now know where Larson’s inspiration for his bee hived dew gals and Edgar’s car came from….
As always, it pays to keep reading down past the initial “that’ll buff out” stuff to the knowledgeable comments.