The (German for ''sparrow''), later renamed the Victoria 250, is a four-wheeled

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 ...

that was built between 1956 and 1958. The car was originally conceived by Egon Brütsch as the Brütsch 200 "Spatz" a

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

three-wheeler A three-wheeler is a vehicle with three wheels. Some are motorized tricycles, which may be legally classed as motorcycles, while others are tricycles without a motor, some of which are human-powered vehicles and animal-powered vehicles. Ove ...

with the suspension of the front wheels and the rear wheel attached directly to the body shell. As such the car's engineering proved unsound and trial runs on rough roads led to severe cracks in the bodywork. Harald Friedrich, managing partner of Alzmetall P. Meier & Friedrich GmbH in

Altenmarkt an der Alz Altenmarkt an der Alz is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Traunstein (district), Traunstein in Bavaria, Germany. References

Traunstein (district) {{Traunsteindistrict-geo-stub ...

, acquired the license from Brütsch to build the "Spatz" and in July 1956 with the

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

works as a partner, founded the GmbH (BAG) in

Traunreut Traunreut (; Central Bavarian: ''Traunreit'') is a town in southeastern Bavaria, Germany in the Traunstein district. It is located at . Traunreut lies in the heart of the Chiemgau region between Munich and Salzburg, approximately 10 km east ...

. Because of the deficiencies in the original design, Friedrich asked the then 77-year-old

Hans Ledwinka Hans Ledwinka (14 February 1878 – 2 March 1967) was an Austrian automobile designer. Youth Ledwinka was born in Klosterneuburg (Lower Austria), near Vienna, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He started his career as a mechanic, a ...

, the former Tatra engineer, to design a robust chassis for the car.Margolius, Ivan and Henry, John G: ''Tatra - The Legacy of Hans Ledwinka'', Veloce Publishing, Dorchester 2015, The result was a central tube frame and four wheels – in contrast to the original three-wheeled Brütsch. Friedrich then saw himself no longer obligated to pay royalties to Brütsch, which led to a court case, which Friedrich won. The judges recognising that the original Brütsch construction was both useless and dangerous. The

bodywork resembled a sports car, but with only was too underpowered to qualify as such, no matter how light it was. The cloth top was erected from inside the car. Reverse was, like for the

Messerschmitt KR200 The Messerschmitt KR200, or ''Kabinenroller'' (Cabin Scooter), is a three-wheeled bubble car designed by the aircraft engineer Fritz Fend and produced in the factory of the West Germany, West German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt from 1955 un ...

, by running the engine backward (or by physically picking it up). The car was mechanically similar to the KR200 but with a single bench seat for two or three people sitting beside each other. The engine size was increased from 200 to 250 cc. 1,588 were built between 1956 and 1958, 859 as "Spatz", 729 as "Victoria 250". Victoria 1957

References

* Hans-Ulrich von Mende, Matthias Dietz & Benedikt Taschen (Sep 1994), ''Kleinwagen, Small Cars, Petites Voitures'', Taschen, * Hanns Peter Rosellen: ''Deutsche Kleinwagen ...,'' Weltbild Verlag GmbH, Augsburg 1991, * Reinhard Lintelmann: ''Die Motorroller und Kleinwagen der fünfziger Jahre,'' 3rd edition, Verlag Walter Podszun, Brilon 1995,

External links

*{{Commons category inline, Victoria 250 Microcars Cars of Germany Cars introduced in 1956