Scootacar - a moving telephone box on three wheels

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Scootacar - a moving telephone box on three wheels

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Created on April 15, 2020

Text:

Daniel Koch

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Darin Schnabel - Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

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Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

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Uli Sonntag

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Archiv

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Scootacar MKI (1959) - Unconventional tricycle

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Scootacar MKI (1959) - Also known as the "telephone box" because of its shape

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Scootacar MKI (1959) - One door on the left was enough to get in

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Scootacar MKI (1959) - The two passengers took a seat on the bench seat

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Scootacar De Luxe MKII (1960) - More reminiscent of a car than the MKI

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Scootacar De Luxe MKII (1960) - plastic body with door hinges hinged on the outside

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Scootacar De Luxe MKII (1960) - Sliding window

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Scootacar De Luxe MKII (1960) - Now there was room for three people

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Scootacar De Luxe MKII (1960) - Clearly arranged cockpit

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Scootacar De Luxe MKII (1960) - the single-cylinder engine from Villier

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Scootacar De Luxe MKII (1960) - Exhaust system

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Scootacar MKI (1960) - Street flea from Great Britain

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Scootacar MKI (1960) - There was only one door on the left-hand side

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Scootacar De Luxe MKII (1960) - Mini car of the sixties

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Scootacar Mk 1 (1960) - at the Concours d'Elegance of the Schloss Bensberg Classics 2012

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Scootacar Mark I (1959) - Classic Gala Schwetzingen 2019

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Summary

Are you familiar with the Peel P50? Jeremy Clarkson helped the little car to worldwide fame on Top Gear when he drove it to his office in a lift on the British television station BBC. However, hardly anyone is likely to know the similar "Scootacar", although it appeared earlier and was built 1000 times. This report tells the story of the little car and shows it in current and historical pictures, as well as in the sales literature of the time.

This article contains the following chapters

From the train to the tricycle
Unconventional design method
Optimistic driving performance
Convinced trade press
Marathon to Istanbul
A more luxurious second version
Divided opinions
Not a cheap pleasure

Estimated reading time: 4min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Small cars have a long tradition not only on the British Isles. The Peel P50 was produced in small numbers on the Isle of Man from 1962 to 1965. The three-wheeler with just one door achieved worldwide fame when Jeremy Clarkson, the presenter of the car show Top Gear, drove it to the office at the BBC television station - on the lift! As early as 1957, locomotive manufacturer Hunslet Engine Company took a similar approach to a microcar. If the stories about the "Scootacar" microcar are to be believed, the wife of one of the directors was "to blame" for the design. She complained that her Jaguar barely fitted into a parking space and wanted a vehicle that was easier to park.

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