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Belcar - the compact car from Switzerland

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Created on December 11, 2016

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Bruno von Rotz

44

Archiv Oliver Meier

8

Oliver Meier

5

Archiv

1

Bruno von Rotz

44

Archiv Oliver Meier

8

Oliver Meier

5

Archiv

1

Belcar (1956) - seems to float at the back, but this is an optical illusion because you can't see the rear wheel

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Belcar (1956) - looks a bit like a boat in its two-tone paintwork

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Belcar (1956) - ... but of course he can't swim

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Belcar (1956) - two wheels at the front, one at the back - like Messerschmitt and Co

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Belcar (1956) - only minimal weather protection when open

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Belcar (1956) - Owner Oliver Meier and his Belcar

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Belcar (1956) - the exhaust can also be mounted similarly on a Florett or moped

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Belcar (1956) - some things are reminiscent of a moped

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Belcar (1956) - formally still after am Brütsch 200

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Belcar (1956) - doors were dispensed with

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Belcar (1956) - no space was wasted, after all it was intended to be used as a three-seater

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Belcar (1956) - from above it looks like an egg

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Belcar (1956) - the many design improvements are barely visible from the outside

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Belcar (1956) - hood open

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Belcar (1956) - you can certainly keep up with the traffic

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Belcar (1956) - not restored, but completely overhauled

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Belcar (1956) - at 60 km/h you are already traveling quite fast

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Belcar (1956) - motorized like a scooter, but with considerably more space

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Belcar (1956) - Passers-by stopped when the tricycle drove past

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Belcar (1956) - rustic cockpit

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Belcar (1956) - minimalist dashboard

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Belcar (1956) - the gearshift is on the left so that it does not get in the way of the passengers

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Belcar (1956) - one speedometer must suffice

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Belcar (1956) - the "B" of course stands for Belcar

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Belcar (1956) - 120 km/h was probably a little exaggerated, but the Belcar was not slow

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Belcar (1956) - Gear lever for the single-cylinder engine

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Belcar (1956) - upright pedals

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Belcar (1956) - the spare wheel must also be carried in the trunk

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Belcar (1956) - Type plate of 1003

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Belcar (1956) - the on-board tool

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Belcar (1956) - the Sachs single-cylinder engine

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Belcar (1956) - recessed headlights

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Belcar (1956) - the lettering

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Belcar (1956) - the CH sign of the time

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Belcar (1956) - the CH symbol

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Belcar (1956) - steel rims with wheel covers, the center nut is an imitation

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Belcar (1956) - chrome-plated exhaust

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Brütsch 200 (1955) - the original, still without a separate steel chassis

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Brütsch 200 (1955) - the original without chassis

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Brütsch 200 (1955) - License for sale

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Brütsch Pfeil (1956) - further developed version with four wheels

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Belcar (1956) - well-chosen name for the car assembled from two plastic gearshifts - Geneva Motor Show 1956

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Belcar (1956) - with Geneva registration in 1964

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Belcar (1956) - Chassis 1003 with the first owner

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Belcar (1956) - M. Goldschmied sits at the steering wheel of 1003

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Belcar (1956) - M. Goldschmied sits at the steering wheel of 1003

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Belcar (1956) - Test drive with the chassis without bodywork

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Belcar (1956) - Engine overhaul

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Belcar (1956) - in front of the former workshop

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The Belcar was installed here at the Verenahof in Wollerau

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Belcar (1956) - at a small car meeting

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Belcar (1956) - traveling on the road, of course - at the ZCCA 2016

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Belcar - freshly demonstrated and approved for road use as a motorcycle with three wheels - Dolder Classics May 2016

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Belcar (1956) - Bonnet closed

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Belcar (1956) - the three-wheeled design allowed a narrowing rear end

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Belcar (1956) - in principle a mid-engine

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Belcar (1956) - looks like a boat itself ...

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Belcar (1956) - a fun ride in the open Belcar

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Summary

Monteverdi, Enzmann and perhaps also PicPic or Turicum are known as Swiss car brands, but Belcar is a household name for very few people. Yet this small car was closer to mass production than many other brands that tried. The Belcar was actually derived from the Brütsch 200, but this design did not prove to be fully developed, so a number of new models were developed in Switzerland. Of the examples built, only one survived, and this report, which is extensively illustrated, is dedicated to it.

This article contains the following chapters

Car construction on Lake Zurich
Presentation at the 1956 Geneva Motor Show
Egon Brütsch - the prototype builder
The development of the roadworthy automobile
The beginning of the end
One of seven
Really sexy
Further information

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

In the mid-fifties, the boom in small cars was in full swing, especially in Germany. The small cars, which promised an automobile at (almost) the cost of a motorcycle, while offering weather protection and storage space, were in great demand and satisfied the need for mobility in the post-war decade. Although the Swiss were less euphoric about this wave of miniature cars, there were also many people here who were looking for an alternative to two-wheelers. Josef Ganz had already launched a miniature car in the 1940s, the Rapid, but it did not make it past the four dozen mark when production was discontinued in 1947.

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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