The Heinkel Kabine was a

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 often ...

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

Engineering Company in Ireland in 1958. However, the licence was withdrawn shortly afterwards due to poor quality control. Production restarted in 1960, again under licence, under the Trojan 200 name by Trojan Cars Ltd. in the UK, and continued until 1966. Heinkel Kabines were also assembled under licence by Los Cedros S.A. from 1959 until 1962. As Heinkel in Argentina, they were built alongside Studebaker pickups. The Kabine Model 150 used the 174 cc 9.2 hp single-cylinder four-stroke engine that powered the

Heinkel Tourist The Heinkel Tourist is a motor scooter that was made by Heinkel Flugzeugwerke from 1953 to 1965. More than 100,000 were manufactured and sold.The Encyclopedia of the Motorcycle: Heinkel TouristThe Ultimate Motorcycle Book: Scooters — Hein ...

scooter. In October 1956, Heinkel introduced the Kabine Model 153 (with three wheels) and the Kabine Model 154 (with four wheels), both with 204 cc engines. The engines in these models were later reduced in capacity to 198 cc for insurance purposes. The Kabine had a steel

unit body A vehicle frame, also historically known as its ''chassis'', is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, comparable to the skeleton of an organism. Until the 1930s, virtually every car had a ...

. Access to the interior was by an opening front. In order not to infringe

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's patent used on the

Isetta The Isetta is an Italian-designed microcar built under license in a number of different countries, including Argentina, Spain, Belgium, France, Brazil, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Because of its egg shape and bubble-like windows, it became kno ...

, the steering wheel did not hinge outwards with the door to ease passenger access. However, it did feature a reverse gear, unlike some other

bubble cars 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 often ...

. The fabric sun roof served as an emergency escape hatch should the sole door in front become jammed in a collision. The Kabine featured prominently in the 1959 film ''

I'm All Right Jack ''I'm All Right Jack'' is a 1959 British comedy film directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting from a script by Frank Harvey, John Boulting and Alan Hackney based on the 1958 novel ''Private Life'' by Alan Hackney. The film is a sequel t ...

'' and the 1961 film '' Murder in Eden'', and was briefly featured in the 1957 films ''

Blue Murder at St Trinian's ''Blue Murder at St Trinian's'' is a 1957 British comedy film, directed by Frank Launder, co-written by Launder and Sidney Gilliat, and starring Terry-Thomas, George Cole, Joyce Grenfell, Lionel Jeffries and Richard Wattis; the film also includ ...

'' and '' The Naked Truth'' (aka ''Your Past Is Showing''). "Kabine" is the German word for "cabin".

Specifications

References

{{Automotive industry in Ireland H Heinkel Three-wheeled motor vehicles Cars introduced in 1956 Cars of Ireland

Specifications

See also

References