KR200 Model History

In the spring of 1955 the KR200 was with the dealers and in that year 12,000 were sold despite considerable competition from the BMW Isetta. 1955 cars are identifiable by the louvred openings in the top of the rear bonnet. By December 1956 some 15,000 vehicles were sold at a cost of 2500 Marks each. Each had the distinctive perspex dome top. The Suez crisis in Britain during 1956 brought fuel rationing but led directly to the importation of large numbers of small vehicles. Messerschmitts became firmly established in this time and a good dealer network was developed. All versions have the Fichtel & Sachs 200 AZL-R engine of 9.7 & 10.2 BHP with four speed gearbox with reversing starter. The engine is stopped and re-started in reverse. All two-stroke engines can do this when there is a second ignition timing arrangement to give the spark in the correct position. Theoretically, all four gears are available in reverse but as with any car, high speed reversing is dangerous! Handicapped versions were always available and in a special brochure the KR200 was offered in 13 different specifications, embracing the most diverse combinations of arm and leg amputations. Fend boasted that if you still had a head, you could drive a Messerschmitt. After 1958, F M R delivered the KR200 in four versions. Any pre-1958 car would have left the factory with a Perspex dome. Pre-1958 cars had an extruded track for the side windows that caused annoying rattles if the original rubber edging strip has perished. There were different dome moulds and a more streamlined form can identify early ones though few originals now exist. All new domes produced since the sixties take the later form offering more room for tall drivers and passengers. It is thought that 500 (including examples of the models listed below) exist in the UK, the biggest market after Germany. Exports to the rest of the world and particularly the USA and Australia, led to a good number of cars to choose from but the size of those countries makes research difficult.