Not A VW: Maico 500 Microcar
The Maico name might be familiar to some. In the 1950s Maico built those fat German motor scooters, including the huge Maico Mobil, and in the 1970s they built great enduro motorcycles. In the 1950s they also purchased the remains of Champion Automobiles and built the Maico 400 and Maico 500 from the remains of Champion. They advertised the Maico 500 as “Strong roomy and economical…that is the beautiful and elegant line of Maico 500 four-seaters”. There is much more imagination than truth in the claim, of course. The one on the left is a 1958 model and on the right is a 1959 model. They are advertised on Hemmings here and here for $5,000 each (or perhaps two for only $10,000?). They are from the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. They are rust free, fairly complete and ready for restoration.
The upholstery of the 1958 Maico on the left is much more worn than the 1959 interior on the right.
Here are the engines, water-cooled two-stroke, 452cc Heinkel 18 horsepower engines. The 1958 engine is on the left, the 1959 engine is on the right. There’s no word on their condition or if they are seized.
Perhaps even Scotty couldn’t love these cars. I never call a car ugly but the modified headlights on the 1959 Maico are certainly unattractive. It might take recreational pharmaceuticals or perversion but there’s always someone who will see the beauty in any car, even these. I can’t imagine anyone spending $5,000 for one any more than I can imagine someone proposing an LS3 motor swap, but they are collectable. Restored examples are said to sell for $30,000. There is a restored example that sold at a Sotheby’s auction in 2013 for $29,900. Perhaps there’s a collector out there that just has to have one for his collection.
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Comments
The one that sold for $29,900 was bought by . . . the Lane Motor Museum. Tells you something about their market.
Not sure about anyone else but it seems to me they estimated it would cost more than $30k to restore one of these they’re now selling.
I suspect once Jeff Lane found a really nice version, he decided these 2 were superfluous to the collection, so they are now for sale.
They aren’t just ugly, they are Fugly!
Its so funkyugly……. supercool!
Me want….
David, don’t sell Scotty short, I bet he’s crunching the numbers on these right now. I’m well aware of Maico motorcycles, it was the hottest stick out there at the time. Maico cars? Never hoid of it. The one on the left looks pretty conventional, but if I hadn’t quit drinking coffee, I sure would have spit it out all over, seeing the one on the right. It immediately reminded me of some cartoon character’s eye’s bulging out. Who, in ANY country, would think this car is attractive.
https://imgix.ranker.com/user_node_img/50061/1001205322/original/most-of-the-time-it-just-looks-like-your-eye-is-bulging-photo-u3?w=650&q=50&fm=jpg
Be great for the “under 35 mph” crowd. Great for traffic jams, unless,of course, traffic starts moving again, you’re screwed. Pretty useless in America otherwise.
Poor Scotty, he does love 1970s motorcycles and these cars aren’t much bigger than the Maico Mobil scooter from the 1950s. https://www.mecum.com/lots/CM0616-243944/1952-maico-mobil-175/
“Great for traffic jams” Do you mean great for causing traffic jams perchance? Microcars have certainly taken off and values keep climbing but do collectors really drive them?
Soooo…. you don’t like coffee can headlights? Perhaps it is appropriate that these look terrified in traffic!
Let’s start with a short history of Maico autos née Champion which includes a photo of a Coupé Cabriolet – more appealing to some Barn Finds readers. Trust Herr Google’s English translation page will load properly:
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.traumautoarchiv.de%2Fhtml%2F4637.html&edit-text=&act=url
Probably cannot click and enlarge the coupé cabriolet photo on the “translate” version of the page. Never fear as there many photos (not all Champion & Maico as usual on a Google search) on google.de, that’s Herr Google’s German side by searching for “champion – maico auto geschichte” and clicking on “bilder” for photos.
Perhaps one would prefer a Maico woody wagon. Yep, 25 made between Sep ’55 and Dec ’56, but before that there were 25 Champion 500 G kombiwagens manufactured between Feb & Jun 1954:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champion_500_G
Click on German wiki woody pics to enlarge. In the photos found on the German google page you’ll see one of the 5 red and black Maico 500 Sport cabriolets with men pushing it into position at a museum so one can gauge the size. There was a final last-gasp attempt with a slick Maico 500 coupe. Photo and info can be found in a Hemmings’ article on-line.
BTW top speed on the Maico 500 sedan was 95 kph = 59 mph. Not too shabby. The odd modified “eyeballs” on the ’59 need to be amputated and returned to stock. Looks as if right front damage may have elicited the ugly-fixation to this 2 door sedan. There were no 4 doors, but there were Champion 250 & 250 S roadsters (267) with no doors.
My 1959 Observers Book of Automobiles shows a Maico 500 Sport, a 2 door convertible different from the cabriolet. Curved windshield, doors white walls. Same 452cc 2 cylinder. Weight 585 kg Max kph 110.
I’ve mentioned this before but I think that the “beauty” in cars like these is not in its looks but in its existence. Someone designed it, someone approved it, someone made it, someone marketed it and someone drove it home with pride. The “beauty” is in seeing a car I didn’t know existed while having my toast and coffee 50+ years after production. ( the car not the toast ).
What TBAU said………..
reminds me of the DKW