After World War II Fritz Fend, an aircraft engineer was no longer working in that field and turned his attention to producing an invalid tricycle for the many men that came back from the war as amputees. His little three-wheeler soon was powered by a small engine and a bit later it was equipped with bodywork. Fend built about 250 of the little cars between the late 1940s and the early 1950s.

By 1952 the machine had been developed into the Fend microcar seen above. He then offered the car to Messerschmitt AG as a post-war product to replace the airplanes it was no longer allowed to produce. The company soon came to an agreement with Fend and came out with the slightly redesigned and new KR175.

They are fun little cars to drive and feature excellent handling, great gas mileage and with the low to the ground stance and seating, give you a driving sensation unlike any other car. They are however on the slow side, with a little 175cc two-stroke engine producing only nine h.p.

On a similar vein (below), can be seen what appears to be the prototype of the 1954 Atom built by Fairthorpe Ltd in the UK. The lightweight car was powered by a small motorcycle engine, wore a fiberglass body over a very plain fabricated chassis. It was fitted with front independent suspension appearing to be outsourced, and swing-arm rear suspension. Watch as the crudely-constructed little car is taken out for a demonstration ride. The video is courtesy of British Pathe.