10 Of The Smallest Vehicles Ever Made

Voisin Biscuter

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When the Smart Fortwo debuted in the United States back in 2008, reactions were mixed, with many skeptical about its safety due to its small stature. At the time, it was among the smallest highway-legal cars available, and it’s a wonder it lasted the 12 years it did. And though it may have been mercilessly mocked by Americans in oversized SUVs and giant pickups, smaller cars preceded it — surprisingly, much smaller ones came before.

While some of the earliest motorized vehicles were quite small, they grew as the industry matured. And while the average car size has fluctuated over the decades, the occasional model featuring highly diminished proportions pops up. Often dubbed microcars, these pint-sized automobiles come in a wide variety of configurations and styles, spanning every era of the automobile. Furthermore, some designs can be described as cute and playful, while others come off as utilitarian or just plain ugly.

While some physical limits dictate the minimum size a car can be built, it appears as though some manufacturers have put that to the test. Many microcars receive power from motorcycle engines on a three-wheel setup, and countless prototypes and one-offs have been built over the decades. The list of all microcars is staggeringly long. Therefore, setting aside anything not rolling on four wheels and any model not put into regular serial production, these 10 tiny cars are among the smallest ever made.

Vespa 400

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Founded in 1884, Italian company Piaggio eventually built airplanes, contributing to the Italian war effort in WWII. But in the aftermath of the conflict and sitting in a factory surrounded by devastation, Enrico Piaggio came up with an idea inspired by American soldiers riding Cushman Model 53 scooters. This resulted in a motor scooter called Vespa — Italian for wasp — an icon of Italian industry.

The Vespa scooter turned out to be a huge success, going on to sell in the millions worldwide. As Piaggio grew into a dominant position in the scooter market, it released a fascinating car. Built with a twin-cylinder, two-stroke, air-cooled engine powering the wheels from the rear, the Vespa 400 excelled in the same ways as its scooters by providing basic and affordable transportation with no frills.

With only 14 horsepower, the 400 is not fast, but the output was still enough to motivate the tiny car. With exactly zero amenities, it does not get much more basic, but it does surprisingly have room for two adults and two children — although comfort was not guaranteed. For political reasons, the Vespa 400, launched in 1957, was marketed to the French market, where microcars were trending, and it was even built in France. However, despite robust sales in 1958, its popularity quickly dropped off, and production ended in 1961 with about 28,000 built. Basic as it may be, it was never lacking in that hallmark of Italian industrial products — an abundance of style.

SMZ S3A Invalidka

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Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the Soviet automobile industry will know it functioned far differently from Western industries, and Soviet cars were often quite strange. Production rates were set by central planning rather than consumer demand, leaving citizens waiting for years to buy poorly built and outdated cars. However, other planning mandates directed the production of cars specifically for the disabled, including the SMZ S3A Invalid Car.

To call this a “car” is being very generous with the terminology. With a two-stroke engine and only the thinnest Soviet steel available, disabled but loyal citizens could get around town. They were slow and smoky but neither comfortable nor safe. And for trustworthy comrades without the use of their legs, some models had controls mounted to the steering wheel instead of pedals, but manual transmissions made driving them as complicated as possible.

These cars were given to disabled people and only meant to be used for about five years before being returned and traded for a new one. It was not legal to sell or buy one, so most of them did not survive. However, the novelty of them today has led modern owners to fix them up and even customize them as a sort of classic car of irony. About 200,000 were built from 1958 to 1970 before being replaced by a slightly larger but equally terrible version.

Mazda R360

Although Mazda has existed as a company for more than a century, its first car did not arrive until 1960. Like other Japanese automakers, it started small and slowly grew its customer base and lineup to become the world-class automaker it is today. And saying that it started small may be an understatement considering its first passenger car, the Mazda R360, one of the best Mazda cars of all time.

Designated as a Kei car, a special government-regulated class of small car in Japan, the R360 had to be built to specifications to receive the Kei designation and associated tax breaks for buyers. In 1955, regulations changed, allowing for a maximum engine size of 360cc, so Mazda put together a 356cc V-twin engine to be placed in the rear. Unlike competing models with two-stroke engines, Mazda chose to make the R360 engine a smooth and reliable four-stroke. It became an instant success.

Despite being absolutely tiny, the little Mazda had seating for four. Furthermore, from the start, Mazda chose to make its cars engaging and enjoyable to drive, and features such as fully independent suspension set the R360 apart and established an ethos that Mazda continues to uphold today.

Rovin D2

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Europe is particularly well suited for microcars due to its compact cities and narrow roads. And in the post-war period, when crumbled economies were rebuilding, microcars offered affordable transportation and proliferated in the era. It was during this time that successful race car driver Raoul de Rovin began building a new microcar from a prototype created before the war ended.

De Rovin bought a disused factory of Delaunay-Belleville, one of the first luxury automakers, and began production of a tiny and incredibly lightweight roadster called the Rovin D2. Its styling follows trends carried over from the pre-war period, but its dimensions give it the unmistakable look of cars featured in 1940s cartoons. It has a very Roger Rabbit feel to it, and the styling, along with its size, makes it about as cute as it can be. Its chassis appears to be shared by its successor, the D4, which looks a bit like an upside-down bathtub but remains charming, particularly for its “bugeye” headlights.

Early Rovins came with a 260cc air-cooled single-cylinder engine, which was soon replaced by a 425cc water-cooled flat-twin four-stroke engine. Using a mix of aluminum and steel, along with coil springs and independent suspension, Rovins were surprisingly technologically advanced for their time. Today, they are rare and rather valuable. Back in 2014, Sotheby’s sold a 1947 D2 for $43,700, a value that has surely risen dramatically since then.

King Midget

Although microcars see widespread use in Europe and Asia, that does not mean Americans were always immune to the fad. Indeed, one of the largest makers of microcars once built them in Athens, Ohio. At the close of WWII, Claud Dry and Dale Orcutt got the idea to sell a small car and put it into production, choosing to sell directly to consumers by placing ads in Popular Science and other magazines.

Initially, $270 got buyers a complete kit to assemble a car at home, followed by fully assembled cars shortly thereafter. The completed price rose to just $350. With wheels set just 40 inches apart and a wheelbase of 72 inches, cars initially came powered by a 6-horsepower Wisconsin engine, rising to 7.5 horsepower by 1951 and up to 12 horsepower by 1966 with the introduction of a Kohler engine. While the first models were more like go-karts than cars, subsequent models featured four-wheel brakes, dual-speed transmissions, and a tube steel frame, which was superseded by unit-body construction. They were small and basic, but they were definitely cars.

King Midget remained in business from 1946 until 1970, producing a total of about 5,000 cars. The original owners kept it profitable and well-managed throughout, but after they sold it in 1966, new corporate owners attempted to expand the business for a market that didn’t exist. That was the end of King Midget production, but an active community keeps it alive with The International King Midget Car Club today.

Subaru 360

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After WWII, Fuji Heavy Industries, a former aircraft manufacturer, started building a scooter to get Japan back on the move. The Rabbit proved to be a good seller, prompting the company to branch out into automobiles. Looking to produce a car that would comply with Kei car regulations, Fuji built one ready to debut in 1958 and called it a Subaru.

The Subaru 360, its first production automobile, was powered by an air-cooled 356cc twin-cylinder two-stroke engine and weighed only 900 pounds. The tiny, egg-like shape provided seating for four, although it might be a stretch to fit that many if they were all adults. Regardless of how small and cramped it may have been, Subaru had a hit on its hands, selling them across Japan with regular updates. The 16-horsepower output of the debut model eventually rose to 36, and other variants were created, such as a van and truck.

After a decade of domestic sales, Malcolm Bricklin approached Fuji initially to import its Rabbit scooters but left with a deal to import cars instead. With an order for 10,000 cars, Subarus went on sale. However, Consumer Reports wrote about its multiple inherently unsafe attributes, tanking sales in the process. Bricklin went on to create the Bricklin SV-1 and later import the Yugo, while Fuji made another attempt with a proper car, the FF1 sedan, becoming the fixture on American roads it is today.

Crosley Farm-O-Road

You may be familiar with a selection of cheap record players and radios, often made to look like antique models, bearing the name Crosley. What you may not know is that the current name has little to do with the Crosley of the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s that made automobiles – small automobiles.

Powel Crosley made money in appliances and broadcasting, but his passion was for automaking, which started in the ’30s. After WWII, Crosley released its 1950 Farm-O-Road, sitting on a frame with just a 63-inch wheelbase and looking much like Jeeps from the war. Powered by the Crosley 44 cubic-inch 4-cylinder engine with overhead cam, output was more than adequate for the little truck and any equipment, such as farming implements, being driven by the power-take-off unit connected to the three-speed transmission.

With two seats and basic controls and gauges, the Farm-O-Road was ideally suited for small jobs around a farm, much like a UTV is used today, although it was road-legal. And while the engine sent power to the rear axles, owners might say theirs was driven by four wheels, two on each side in the rear. There may be cars smaller than the Farm-O-Road, but it is surely the smallest work truck capable of running farm equipment, and it would definitely be more useful on the farm than a tiny Subaru.

SEAB Flipper

In France, a category of vehicle exists known as “voiture sans permis” (VSP), or license-free car by locals. Indeed, VSPs have been popular in the country for a long time, continuing to this day. Therefore, many microcar manufacturers have built cars in and for the French market over the years, and while foreign makers export their models to France, its homegrown industry continues to flourish.

Societe d’Exploitation et d’Application des Brevet (SEAB) created the wholly unique Flipper in the 1970s, taking a couple of shortcuts to build a functioning motor vehicle. Instead of fleshing out fully formed ideas to engineer a proper front suspension and steering system, SEAB attached the drive wheels directly to a transaxle coupled to an engine and placed the whole contraption under the nose of the car on a swivel. When the driver turned the steering wheel, the entire drivetrain turned with it to change the direction of the car. Furthermore, this setup negated the need for reverse, as five complete rotations of the steering wheel put the wheels in position to move the car backwards.

As for the design, think of a cross between a golf cart, patrol boat, and parking attendant booth. It is a strange little car, but somehow it works. The engine is only a 47cc two-stroke, so the rotating power is constrained. SEAB assuredly saved money by avoiding complicated steering controls, but it also saved by building the body and windows out of plastic.

Viosin Biscúter

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Widespread and wide-ranging changes resulting from WWII affected political and economic institutions, and the fallout trickled through society. A small but glaring example of a radical shift brought on by conflict shows up in the models produced by automaker Voisin before and after the war. Pre-war, Voisin created luxury cars that are still objects of beauty and opulence, while the cars built afterward are the polar opposite.

Voisin designed a car meant to be affordable and cheap to manufacture, but nobody in France wanted to build it. Due to a trade embargo on Francoist Spain and the economic aftermath of the war, conditions were perfect for the production of cheap, basic transportation. Manufactured in Barcelona, the Biscúter, aka Biscooter, was made just large enough to carry two people and maybe a bag or two of groceries. Powered by a 9-horsepower 197cc two-stroke engine, the car came with no doors, roof, windows, or even a reverse gear. The engine provided power to only one of the front wheels, while braking applied to only three. One slight advantage it had was the aluminum bodywork keeping its weight down, making the underpowered engine nearly adequate for city traffic.

Dubbed the Zapatilla by locals for its shoe-like appearance, Voisin managed to produce about 12,000 cars despite multiple complications in sourcing materials. These can bring in surprisingly high bids now, as evidenced by a 2013 Sotheby’s sale of a 1957 model for $28,750.

ACOMA Super Comtesse

In the 1970s, a French company producing forklifts, Ateliers de Construction de Matériel (ACOMA), took notice of a request from a young disabled person for a car that would allow for greater mobility without the need for a license. This first car, the Comtesse, was powered by a 50cc engine and rode on just three wheels. Production of this tiny contraption continued for several years, receiving an upgrade to the Super Comtesse in 1978 and gaining a fourth wheel.

The new model continued to be powered by a Motobecane 50cc engine located under the seat and driving the rear wheels. Some of the luxury appointments included electric starting, coil springs on all four corners, automatic transmission, and even hydraulic brakes. With room for about one and a half humans, the 3-horsepower engine helped it cruise at up to a blistering 39 kph, or 24.2 mph. The tube chassis and fiberglass body surely kept its weight down, but riding in this car — a term used very loosely — was unlikely to be enjoyable for trips of any length.

ACOMA built several variants of microcars and even offered a 125cc version for better acceleration and top speed. Even with expanded storage, all of them continued to use the same bulk mailbox aesthetic, meaning any of them could still be mistaken for a trash bin if parked in the wrong spot.