Micro Mania: 1953 Mochet CM-125 Grand Luxe
Wow, this thing is small. As in being over a foot shorter than a Subaru 360 sort of small. That’s small. This is a 1953 Mochet CM-125 Grand Luxe and it’s listed on eBay as a classified ad in Brentwood, United Kingdom. The seller is asking a not-small price of £4,750 ($6,321) for this unusual micro car.
Charles Mochet owned a company in France making adult pedal cars, as odd as that sounds to most of us or at least those of us in the US. These pedal cars were made from the mid-1920s until sometime during WWII. They also made engine-assisted pedal cars. The pedals finally went away after WWII and their cars were powered solely by engines under the direction of his son, George.
If they kept the engines below 125cc the drivers didn’t need an operator’s license so these were “sans permis” cars, hence the 125 part of the name. Of course, the CM is for Charles Mochet. Could you imagine a few hundred of these buzzing around your neighborhood?
As you can tell this example needs a lot of help but at around 8-feet in length it shouldn’t take up too much room in your garage as you restore it. They don’t come up for sale too often but they have sold for $20,000+ in the past in restored condition. You can see the bicycle-like wheels and within a couple of years they would have disc wheels.
Unfortunately for owners of these small cars, and for the Mochet company, in 1958 the French government changed the rules to only allow 50cc vehicles to be driven sans permis. Business dropped dramatically and Mochet decided to end production. These are cars that really only appeal to those of us who like and appreciate unusual vehicles and are interested in learning about anything and everything related to vehicles of all types. Which is to say that this car most likely won’t be too popular other than in a pretty tight group of micro car enthusiasts. Have any of you heard of a Mochet?
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Comments
Prius hybrid conversion?
Nice ! just begging for a Briggs n Stratton or one of them Chinese 66cc bike engines …
What amusement park was that stolen from?
Playland in Rye, NY!
Funtown,,,Capitol Court,,Milwaukee, Wis. mid ’60’s ( 2nd pic down)
https://www.retrocom.com/retromilw/more_milwaukee_memories_page_9.htm
You mean there’s a car smaller than a Crosley or an Isetta or Fiat 500 or a King Midget, and it even has bike wheels??
Mon dieu! That is a rarity.
It would be nice to see this poor thang resurrected and driven. (No, Scotty, I’m not tempted – LOL)
“Grand Luxe” Hahahahahahahahahahahaha
Once again, I can’t resist. We had dual quad hemi Chrysler’s, and the poor French had this,,,
My kids Barbie doll car is bigger than this toy car 😂😂😂😂😂
This could be a great pedal car conversion !
@classic steel: I was thinking along the
lines of an LSV that uses the same layout
that Rhiadescar pedal cars use that includes an electric motor and battery
pack along with the pedal assemblies
that you just mentioned. Said motor
and battery could be used to assist the
driver while pedaling up a hill, or be used
to power the car along instead. Would build it that way and use it to putt around
town running errands. One thing’s for
sure, I’d have the most novel vehicle
at our monthly car show here in
Winter Haven!
Hahaha…grand deluxe…wonder what the
Base model looks like!?
That must be one heck of a rough ride
With bicycle wheels.
Being a Grande Luxe, it would make a good hood ornament on the ol’ Escalade.
wishin 4 a motor pic. Lists both “250” & 1 cyl 125 cc.
1st look I said “Some 1 mistakenly put bike wheels onit.” wrong again.
Scotty digs deep again fer our pleasure!
Last Summer I saw a two-seater micro car of dimensions similar to this one driving down the paved shoulder of one of the main roads near the town where I live. There were two full grown men sitting in it and they were cramped. It had two-tone paint and fins, looked very late-50s in terms of styling. Any BF readers out there have any idea what it was? It didn’t look home built.
amphicar?
When the Mochet reached top speed, the snail on the hood proclaimed…”I’ll get out and walk. See you when you get there.”
I’d much rather have the Lancia Flaminia GT in the background, or the early ’50’sPeugeot with the grille-mounted headlights!
Sharp eye! The Peugeot is an 02 series, 202, 302, 402, ‘34 to ‘48–can’t really tell from the pic. I have a friend restoring a Mochet. It’s quite an adventure. The seller has an interesting collection. I would love to see the rest of his garage.