Kleinschnittger was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

company that produced

microcar Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are ofte ...

s between 1950 and 1957. Paul Kleinschnittger had already developed a small light vehicle in 1933 in

Ladelund Ladelund is a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany. History From November 1, 1944 until December 16, 1944, a concentration camp was established near Ladelund. The prisoners were mostly Dutch, ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

, which was equipped with a 98cc DKW engine. In the village museum, memorabilia of the developer KLEINSCHNITTGER can still be found today. However, this model was not suitable for series production. A new design with aluminium body, which was screwed onto a lightweight central tube frame, was then put into series production in

Arnsberg Arnsberg (; ) is a town in the Hochsauerland county, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the location of the Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg (region), Arnsberg administration and one of the three local administration offices of the Ho ...

in the

Hochsauerlandkreis Hochsauerlandkreis (, ) is a (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Soest (district), Soest, Paderborn (district), Paderborn, Höxter (district), Höxter, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Olpe ...

. The Kleinschnittger F125 was started like a lawnmower with a cable pull. There was no reverse gear, it was lifted at the back and turned around. Their most common car, with 1992 examples produced, was powered by a 125 cc

single cylinder A single-cylinder engine, sometimes called a thumper, is a piston engine with one cylinder. This engine is often used for motorcycles, motor scooters, motorized bicycles, go-karts, all-terrain vehicles, radio-controlled vehicles, power tools and ...

two-stroke engine A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a f ...

that produced and had a top speed of . The body was made of

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

. It was quite fuel efficient and consumed roughly 2.5 litres per 100 km (94 miles per gallon). The vehicle was 2650 mm long, 1150 mm wide and 1200 mm high. The wheelbase was 1700 mm, the track width 980 mm. The ground clearance was 165 mm. The curb weight was 135 kg. The transmission had three gears and was operated via a steering wheel shift. Kleinschnittger also produced the F250, which was fitted with a 250 cc engine from

ILO-Motorenwerke The ILO-Motorenwerke GmbH 2-stroke motor company in Pinneberg, Germany existed from 1911 to 1990 and was one of the biggest manufacturers of two-stroke engines in Germany. The term ‘ILO’ comes from the constructed language Esperanto and mean ...

giving . It consumed roughly 4 litres per 100 km (58.8 miles per gallon). 22 examples were produced. It is alleged that it was also made in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

under the name ''Kleinstwagen'' and in the Netherlands as the ''Alco''.

References

Microcars Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Germany {{Motorvehicle-company-stub