Kleinschnittger F125
The Kleinschnittger was the product of a German engineer, who decided to build his own car at the end of the forties. After the was private car ownership was limited and special licenses were required and Paul Kleinschittger then went for it, by constructing an aluminium body on central girder chassis. Propulsion was by a 100 cc DKW motorcycle engine, later increased in size to 125 cc and producing 6 BHP at 5500 revs. By 1949 a financial injection came and series production could start.
The whole concept was based on weight reduction. There was no rear window, no reverse gear, and neither a starter engine or even a battery. The car was started with a rope, like a lawn mower. If you wanted to turn, you just lifted the car from behind and moved it around…..A special were the springs made from rubber belts.
Production stretched until 1957 and remarkably almost 3000 examples were made.
Here is one at the Sinsheim museum in Germany