Brütsch Mopetta

Brütsch
Brütsch Mopetta from 1957
Mopetta
Sales designation:	also just Mopetta, Opelit Mopetta or just Opelit
Production period:	1956-1958
Class :	Light vehicle
Body versions :	Roadster
Engines:	Otto engines : 0.05 liters (1.5–1.8 kW)
Length:	1700 mm
Width:	880-910 mm
Height:	1000-1080 mm
Wheelbase :	1000 mm
Empty weight :	approx. 60-78 kg
Previous model	Brütsch dwarf - single seater

The Brütsch Mopetta is an open single-seat microcar from West German production with door-less plastic - body , three wheels and a single cylinder - two-stroke engine of a moped with about 50 cubic centimeters displacement . The designer was the German entrepreneur and former racing driver Egon Brütsch from Stuttgart . The car model was developed step by step and in the further course initially only marketed as Mopetta and finally referred to as Opelit Mopetta or solely as Opelit . According to consistent sources, only 14 copies of the moped car were made between October 1956 and spring 1958 .

Overview

The version of the Brütsch Mopetta from the first half of 1957, right front: closed front and Brütsch lettering. Typical for all original Mopettas : Individual front headlights and on the right side a continuous body contour up to the rear wheel

In terms of road traffic law , the Brütsch Mopetta was  considered a moped - at least in the Federal Republic of Germany and regardless of the three wheels. It was thus exempt from the regular motor vehicle tax and the driver's license requirement, as applied to conventional passenger cars, and its top speed was limited due to the design .

The Mopetta was the smallest of a series of so-called "egg cars" with open, doorless plastic bodies that Brütsch designed between October 1954 and spring 1958. The best-known design was the larger Brütsch 200 Spatz from October 1954. In a fundamentally revised form with four instead of the original three wheels, Bayerische Autowerke GmbH (BAG) in Traunreut under the leadership of entrepreneur Harald Friedrich and then Victoria-Werke AG in Nuremberg built in between February 1956 and February 1958 around 1,600 vehicles as Spatz and Victoria 250 .

When the smaller Brütsch Mopetta was presented in October 1956, a front engine with drive for the single, steered front wheel was planned; the vehicle should even be able to float . In the final version, however, the engine was on the outside to the left of the driver and only powered the left rear wheel.

The Frankfurt entrepreneur Georg von Opel acted as investor for a short time . He planned to have 100,000  Mopettas built by the ailing motorcycle manufacturer Horex in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe in Hesse from the end of 1957 . At a unit price of 1,045  D-Marks , he wanted to sell them within four years under the brand name Mopetta or Opelit . In this context, Mopetta GmbH , based in Frankfurt am Main, also made an appearance.

In addition to Horex and Mopetta GmbH , the Frankfurt company Opelit Bootswerft & Kunststoff-Gesellschaft was also involved in the planning and development; von Opel had founded it years earlier independently of this vehicle project. However, the investor withdrew from the project for a short time in the spring of 1958 before the actual series production had started. With the end of the cooperation and thus of the entire project, ten Mopettas remained with Brütsch and only one with von Opel.

Individual specimens have been preserved to this day, some of them still drivable and exhibits from automobile museums that are widely admired , especially in small car collections. Were occasionally be replicas (replicas) of the Mopetta offered, some with more modern engines Honda or Suzuki ; the replicas, which are comparatively easy to manufacture because of their simple construction, are also made in the United Kingdom in a few cases in addition to Germany .

The Mopetta brought Egon Brütsch just as little lasting business success as his other vehicle designs. He only achieved success when he gave up automobile manufacture in the fall of 1958 and, at the age of over 50, turned to new business areas, in particular the construction and sale of prefabricated houses .

To this day , the Mopetta competes with other small motorized vehicles for the "title" of the "smallest automobile in the world."

backgrounds

The designer Egon Brütsch

The EBS Maserati from 1948, which Brütsch helped to design and which he used until 1949

Egon Brütsch (1904–1988) came from a wealthy family; his father had set up a factory for women's stockings in the Hohenzollern town of Jungingen . Throughout his life he was hardly interested in the company that he inherited after his father's death . The financial circumstances enabled him to pursue a career as a racing driver between the world wars , first on motorcycles and then on automobiles. He celebrated his greatest motorsport successes in the years immediately after the Second World War : Before the currency reform in 1948 , he exchanged women's stockings for high-quality machine parts , including a compressor - charged 3.7-liter Maserati racing engine from the pre-war period. It built Brütsch in a solid, especially for race designed and individually built tube frame - chassis one; The engineer Westenrieder carried out essential work on the basis of a ladder frame that came from an Alfa Romeo used in the war . Provided with a lightweight, streamlined single-seater -Karosserie stepped Brütsch with the EBS Maserati successful in numerous post-war race against competitors, which mostly Veritas - racing cars drove or DIY projects. EBS stood for Egon Brütsch, Stuttgart . He benefited from the regulation according to which the German post-war races were mostly held according to the Formula Libre until 1949 ; however, only drivers of Formula 2 vehicles received points for the German championship.

Brütsch ended his racing career in 1950 when he was in his mid-40s: In addition to age, the fact that the currency reform ended his lucrative barter ; In addition, new racing classes were introduced in 1950 , which de facto excluded the previously used racing vehicles with supercharged engines .

After EBS Maserati , which is a unique piece remained, and built Brütsch between spring 1950 and autumn drafted in 1958 a number of different cars, including replicas of his race car "on a scale of 2: 1" for children, four coupes and convertibles of Brütsch 1200 based on the Ford Taunus 12M and two coupés based on the Mercedes-Benz 220 . Its parallel-designed small car brought Brütsch in contact with people like the German Vespa - licensee Oskar J. Hoffmann , the Italians Piero Dusio , former owner of Cisitalia , and the businessman Henning Thorndal , as owner of the Rheinische Automobile Factory (RAF) in Ludwigshafen then Manufacturer of the champion ; other contacts Brütschs passed in early stage companies such as the NSU engine plants in Neckarsulm to Zündapp in Nuremberg and Steyr-Puch in Austria's Graz .

Brütsch itself had neither the personnel nor the financial resources to set up large-scale series production of automobiles on its own. His goal was therefore to find cooperation partners for joint automobile production or to sell his vehicle designs to entrepreneurs. Among the companies that license agreements were received with Brütsch, in addition belonged BAG and Victoria in particular, the Swiss company A. Grünhut & Co. in Wollerau in canton Schwyz under the brand name Belcar and one each in France Jean Avot with the Avolette , Nodic in Levallois-Perret with the Rollera and Union Industrielles in Neuilly-sur-Marne by jet .

The Brütsch Mopetta from 1956 combined a number of special features that Brütsch had already implemented in various vehicle models, but now in a further reduced form.

Earlier single-seater Brütsch small cars

Brütsch had already presented its first single-seat small car in the summer of 1950, the open touring and sports model with four wheels and single-cylinder two-stroke engines; In addition to an NSU engine with a displacement of 125 cubic centimeters, one from Baker & Pölling with 250 cubic centimeters was also planned, which originally came from a chainsaw . This was followed in 1950/51 by the single-seater Model T , later also called the Hermit , with a coupé body and the same engine from Baker & Pölling . Another single-seater forerunner of the Mopetta was the Brütsch dwarf single-seater presented in September 1955 .

The Brütsch small cars with plastic bodies

A Spatz (1956/57) built by BAG , a further development of the first automobile with a plastic body designed by Brütsch, the originally three-wheeled Brütsch 200 Spatz

A Chevrolet Corvette from 1953: The still unusual plastic structure inspired Brütsch to build their own GRP bodies

Brütsch pursued the concept of designing and building its own plastic bodies for its automobiles from October 1954 to autumn 1958, starting with the Brütsch 200 Spatz . The background was that repeatedly interested entrepreneurs refrained from acquiring a production license for one of his models from Brütsch when he disclosed to them the cost of purchasing sheet metal presses that were required for the series production of steel bodies.

The idea of ​​using plastic as a body material came to Brütsch when the American sports car Chevrolet Corvette was introduced in 1953 ; As early as the summer of 1954, he had the body of the third and last Brütsch 1200 Coupé made from plastic by the body construction company Friedrich Wacker in Pforzheim , using the previous sheet steel bodies from Wendler as a model. Brütsch was so convinced of the possibilities of the new material that he began developing his own egg-shaped plastic bodies. They consisted of two separately manufactured half-shells , an upper and a lower one, which were joined by a band. The plastic bodies from Brütsch were - also due to the curvature - so stable that “up to ten men could stand on one without it breaking;” they weighed only half of a sheet steel body of the same size.

The body half-shells were made from glass fiber reinforced plastic (GRP) using reusable wooden molds: Components were glass fiber mats, heated, liquid polyester resin and other substances such as hardeners . The synthetic resin was composed in such a way that the bodies hardened by themselves in the air at temperatures above 21  degrees Celsius . Drying took at least another 24 hours. Brütsch obtained the resin from the Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik (BASF) in Ludwigshafen, initially in containers of 70 kilograms at a price of 10 D-Marks per kilogram.

The direct predecessor of the Mopetta

A Victoria 250 from 1957/58, which goes back to the Brütsch 200 Spatz with rear single wheel from 1954

The end of 1956 presented French Avolette with rear single wheel, which in the 1955 featured Brütsch Zwerg based

A forerunner of the Mopetta was the Brütsch 200 Spatz , which debuted at the Paris Motor Show in October 1954 . It had a conventional two-wheeled front axle , but only a single rear wheel, which was also used to drive it . It even offered three (narrow) seats side by side on a continuous bench with steering from the middle and used a single-cylinder two-stroke engine from Fichtel & Sachs as a mid-engine with 191 cubic centimeters of displacement and 10  DIN PS (7.4  kW ) at 5250 rpm Minute; the power was transmitted via an electrically switched draw key four-speed gearbox .

Another special feature of the Mopetta forerunner 200 Spatz was the self-supporting structure of the plastic body without a separate frame: drive, chassis and steering parts were attached directly to the body. However, this led to cracks in the plastic body during longer journeys on uneven surfaces and in this form made the model unsuitable for traffic; this aspect later became important in a legal dispute with the licensee BAG . At Brütsch itself, only about five vehicles of the model 200 Spatz were built , others in slightly modified form until the beginning of 1957 at the latest, licensed in Switzerland as Belcar .

Two other forerunners of the Mopetta were the Brütsch dwarf and the dwarf single-seater , both of which were presented in September 1955 at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt am Main. Like the 200 Spatz , they too had a conventional front axle with two wheels, but only a single, driven rear wheel. To prevent serious damage to the body, both models had a tubular steel frame that was bolted to the plastic body; Brütsch adopted this principle for all other models including the Mopetta .

The larger dwarf model offered two seats side by side; In addition to the engine of the 200 Spatz , three further single-cylinder two-stroke engines from Victoria and Maico with a displacement of up to 247 cubic centimeters and 14 DIN hp (10.3 kW) were planned for it. The smaller dwarf model, however, only offered a single seat; it used a single-cylinder two-stroke engine from the DKW Hobby scooter with a displacement of 74 cubic centimeters and 3 DIN HP (2.2 kW) at 5000 revolutions per minute. At least twelve copies of the dwarf model and four of the dwarf single-seater were made at Brütsch . The Gottlieb Gess body and vehicle factory in Ebingen was initially interested in license production of the two dwarf models, but series production did not materialize. On the other hand, the Frenchman Jean Avot acquired a production license for the dwarf model and, from the end of 1956, a few vehicles were briefly produced in small series in France under the model name Avolette .

The sister models of the Mopetta

In October 1956, Brütsch presented the Mopetta as well as the three sister models Rollera , Bussard and Pfeil at the International Bicycle and Motorcycle Exhibition (IFMA) in Frankfurt am Main . For the Mopetta and the Rollera , he reversed the three-wheeler principle and for the first time used individual front wheels in combination with two rear wheels. The also single-seat scooter was slightly larger than the Mopetta and its single-cylinder offered 98 instead of 49 cubic centimeters with a total length of 2100 instead of 1700 millimeters and a final weight of 85 instead of 78 kilograms.

The Bussard , on the other hand, was a further development of the 200 Spatz model with a rear single wheel, tubular steel frame, revised front, now two-seater and with normal steering. The arrow, in turn, was a four-wheeled variant of the Bussard with a two-cylinder two- stroke in- line engine from Lloyd with 386 cubic centimeters and 13 DIN PS (9.6 kW) at 3750 revolutions per minute. He aimed at the sparrow of the Bayerische Autowerke after Brütsch had in the meantime fallen out with Harald Friedrich and the BAG because of allegedly owed, missing license fees .

The history of the Brütsch Mopetta model

The front of the Brütsch Mopetta : at the presentation in 1956 still with an oval radiator grille and front engine, from 1957 with a closed front and side engine (picture)

Two-stroke engines from the German two-wheeler manufacturer MOTA : Brütsch chose the smallest version with a displacement of around 50 cubic centimeters for the original Mopetta

The Brütsch Mopetta made its public debut at the IFMA in 1956. In the months that followed, it went through several development steps and the start of large-scale production was planned for the end of 1957, but this was no longer started. According to consistent sources, only 14 copies were made.

The model name Mopetta is derived from the engines originally designed for mopeds. At the same time, with the ending “-etta”, it is reminiscent of that of the larger BMW Isetta , which was built from April 1955 and was popular in the Federal Republic of Germany from the start.

The original Mopetta concept, the first prototype and its presentation at IFMA 1956

In July 1956, Brütsch gave up the dwarf single-seater model . It was not until shortly before IFMA in October 1956 that he completed the first Mopetta body. For the exhibition brochure, Brütsch photographed the finished body in which his secretary was sitting, standing on the garden path of his private house. At that time he was only able to lean against the wheels, but this cannot be seen in the photo. At that time, Brütsch was preparing for a dispute with Friedrich and the BAG , which was also carried out via the press, and wanted to use the additional attention in an advertising-effective way. According to his statement, he wanted to "build the smallest car in the world" and "change the world with his 'moped car'."

In the IFMA brochure, he announced the Brütsch Mopetta (its own spelling in capital letters and with a hyphen: BRÜTSCH-MOPETTA) as "the sensation", as "the floating moped car, on land and water with the same drive and steering units" and as “a Brütsch construction for a small budget.” At that time, the designer continued to operate as a sole trader as Egon Brütsch Fahrzeugbau Stuttgart ; the vehicles were still made in the workshop and on the courtyard of Egon Brütsch's private villa at Altenbergstrasse 60 in the south of Stuttgart. Brütsch put the price for the Mopetta at only 750 D-Marks.

In the brochure, Brütsch explicitly mentioned weather protection, which, however, is neither shown in the photo nor is it further described. Brütsch also emphasized the good suspension of the front fork without going into the rubber suspension elements that were used later . A spacious trunk was also highlighted; It is unclear whether this meant the area inside the vehicle behind the backrest or outside behind the driver on the rear of the vehicle.

At that time, a fan-cooled MOTA two -stroke engine of type K 50 ccm with an output of 2.5 HP (1.8 kW) was named as the drive . It was also planned that the front fork would house the motor that was supposed to drive the individual front wheel directly. In addition, wire-spoke wheels with size 400-100 tires were planned and the weight was given as only about 60 kilograms.

At the IFMA stand, Brütsch had deliberately raised the Mopetta , supposedly so that the visitors could see the vehicle better with the expected high rush. In fact, the prototype was still missing all mechanical parts, which Brütsch tried to disguise with the elevated position.

The four Brütsch models, in particular the Mopetta , received a lot of attention from visitors and the media at IFMA. Inquiries came from many countries. The Berlin newspaper “BZ” explicitly described the Mopetta as a “miniature motorboat.” The Swiss automotive specialist magazine Der Motorreporter ruled:

“Egon Brütsch achieved results that the audience at the upcoming IAA will definitely not be able to overlook. From the German audience, yes, because Prophet Brütsch was considered more important abroad than in his own country. "

In the same year, Brütsch also presented the Mopetta at the Motor Cycle Show in London's Earls Court Exhibition Center in the United Kingdom, where three-wheeled microcars were tax-privileged and have therefore always been widespread. With Automotive and Marine Ltd. , The Crown Garage, Albany Street, London, SW1, a British dealer was immediately named to sell the model at a price of 207  pounds sterling . The company Bruetsch Cars England , Sherwin Road, Castle Boulevard, Nottingham only appeared as an importer; with two versions of the Brütsch dwarf , on the other hand, it was supposed to take over the production under license in Great Britain. In April 1957, the English-language specialist magazine Popular Mechanics reported on the front-wheel drive version of the Brütsch Mopetta .

The first version of the Mopetta can be recognized by the large oval cooling air inlet with fine wire mesh and thin chrome frame on the front of the vehicle for the originally intended front engine. The chrome-plated handle, with which the vehicle can be raised and turned at the front if there is no reverse gear , is narrow and runs the entire width of the radiator grille. In contrast to later versions, the rear wheels are still conventionally guided: As in conventional automobiles, the wheels are cantilevered (supported on one side) on steering knuckles . Later, however, took advantage of Brütsch one of the specialist book author Hans Peter Rosellen as a swing axle designated rear suspension with a common for both wheels drawn rocker ; it encompassed the rear wheels in the style of a light two-arm swing arm, like a motorcycle, inside and out. As far as is known, the vehicles did not yet have a manufacturer's emblem and only in one case bore the Mopetta logo.

At least two, possibly three copies were made of this first version, although it is unclear how many were equipped with a functioning drive: A light-colored example is known from the first brochure with two narrow, color-contrasting decorative strips, without a hood and with round rear wheel cutouts; the side direction indicators are still missing . Two Mopettas are shown in the following brochure : A light-colored model with dark, wide, slightly curved decorative stripes, without a hood, with angular rear wheel cutouts and Mopetta lettering, and a dark model with corresponding light-colored decorative stripes and a thin fabric hood.

The revised Mopetta concept from 1957 and the pre-series models from Brütsch

The engine of the Brütsch Mopetta from the first half of 1957: on the outside left and supplied by Ilo . Clearly visible: the unusual arm of the rear axle tube, which is also hinged on the outside of the rear wheel

Between October 1956 and May 1957, Brütsch worked on getting several Mopettas ready to drive. He quickly gave up the original idea with a front engine and front-wheel drive. Instead, he decided on the final concept, in which the engine was placed to the left of the driver and only powered the left rear wheel via chain . For the engine, the body was given a cut-out on the left side to ensure adequate cooling by the airflow and the fan. As a result, at the latest, it was no longer possible to make the Mopetta float in practice: the open position would have caused water to enter the engine via the carburettor ; It also remained unclear whether the engine compartment could have been encapsulated in such a way that no water could have penetrated the interior. The asymmetrical position of the motor and drive would also have had a negative impact on the swimming position.

In March 1957, Brütsch announced the purchase price as 975 D-Marks instead of the originally mentioned 750 D-Marks, which is 30 percent more. Nonetheless, other new vehicles were significantly more expensive to purchase: the BMW Isetta 250 already cost 2780 D-Marks, the Spatz 2975, the Lloyd 400 3350 and the VW Beetle 4600 D-Marks. The new price of the single-cylinder BMW R 26 motorcycle with a displacement of around 250 cubic centimeters was 2150 D-Marks in 1957, the price of the NSU Quickly moped was 540 D-Marks in 1956.

On completion in May 1957, the trade magazine Roller, Mobil und Kleinwagen wrote :

"The expert is amazed, but at least you can admire the tenacity with which Mr. Brütsch works on his projects and he succeeds in getting something back on track despite all the difficulties."

A brochure that appeared around this time spoke of the "Brütsch MOPETTA luxury version" with an all-weather hood and heating. A "special version" of the Ilo Piano three-speed V50 with 2.3 HP (1.7 kW) and the size 4.00-8 for the tires have now been named as the drive unit . Brütsch stated the vehicle weight as around 75 kilograms, the fuel consumption as 2 liters per 100 kilometers and the top speed as "40–50 kilometers per hour depending on the gear ratio". The accompanying picture, however, still showed two Mopettas of the original version with a front cooling air grille and no motor visible from the side.

Mark of of Ilo originating Mopetta -Triebwerks was the atypical three-speed transmission; conventional contemporary moped motors, including the standard version of the Ilo Piano V50 , had to make do with only two forward gears for reasons of simplicity and cost, some even with just one gear. The designation as a “special version” resulted from the fact that this engine variant had a special engine mount on the fan housing instead of directly on the cylinder housing; Furthermore, instead of the usual kick starter, she used a special cable pull for starting , which in turn differed from the versions used in stationary operation as well as for construction machinery and the like.

Some Mopettas of this period have no brand emblem on the body, some on the front one from Brütsch ; the rear wheel cutouts are round again, but sometimes not yet flared. In this phase, the contrasting colored areas on the front of the vehicle and the sides seem to change from a curved to a straight contour that tapers to a wedge-shaped point at the rear. The first vehicles were given a door mirror (left in those for the continental European and sometimes right for the UK market) and a single center, which is articulated on the lower disk enclosure wipers .

Most of the mopettas were probably created in this phase . Some sources speak of a “start of production” by Brütsch. In fact, almost all vehicles differ in small details; With regard to the single-digit production figures at that time, the extensive manual work and the later planning, its character corresponds to that of a pilot or pre-series .

Although Brütsch's projects were now much discussed, no major automobile manufacturer had yet contacted him. Because there was no large-scale production of the other models in Switzerland or France either, Brütsch still lacked continuous license fees that should have ensured its economic survival as an automobile manufacturer in the long term. In the contemporary media, the Mopetta polarized to a high degree: The attitude ranged from blatant rejection with insulting as a "traffic obstruction" to great enthusiasm because it would be significantly cheaper to buy and maintain than a VW Beetle and thus for the first time a real " Volksmobil ".

From the spring of 1957, Brütsch conducted intensive acquisitions by loading up to five Mopettas onto his Mercedes-Benz - three on the roof, two “in the trunk” - and visiting interested parties to demonstrate his vehicles on site. The unusual vehicle transport itself attracted a lot of local attention and additional reporting in the regional press in word and image. Brütsch was often accompanied by his secretary: several pictures show a vehicle convoy consisting of a pontoon Mercedes-Benz with a single-axle trailer , two small vehicles on the vehicle roof and a Brütsch arrow on the trailer, and a Mercedes-Benz 170 V with a mopetta on the roof and a scooter on the trunk.

According to one source, the company Kaspar Klaus, vehicle construction based in Memmingen, should take over the production of the Brütsch Mopetta ; however, production did not start.

The entry of Georg von Opel, the Intermezzo Mopetta GmbH and the final concept as Opelit (1957/58)

The unrestored Opelit from the former possession of Georg von Opels, one of the few surviving examples of the Mopetta family with a convertible top; the unusual covering made of transparent plastic was last intended for mass production

In the late spring of 1957, Brütsch also visited the Hessian entrepreneur Georg von Opel (1912–1971). He was the grandson of Adam Opel and the son of Carl von Opel and had been very wealthy since 1928 after the von Opel family had sold the Adam Opel AG automobile company to General Motors . In Frankfurt am Main he was one of the most important German Opel dealers - together with a relative - as well as the owner of the company Opelit Bootswerft & Kunststoff-Gesellschaft as well as the initiator and marketer of " Volksbenzins " as a competitor to the established mineral oil companies . Von Opel tested the Mopetta in the company's own parking garage and was quickly won over by the concept. He took over the further planning and financing and has already appeared as a vehicle manufacturer at various automobile exhibitions. In the meantime, the price of the Mopetta rose to 1,045 D-Marks in September 1957, another seven percent more than before.

According to a contemporary German-language sales prospectus, the production and sale of the small car in this phase was the responsibility of Mopetta GmbH , based in Frankfurt am Main, which was the managing director of Opel. The price was even given as 1,050 D-Marks; the previous brand name Brütsch , however, no longer appeared. During this phase, Mopetta briefly advanced to its own brand name. In Switzerland the Mopetta was available for 1550 Swiss francs in 1957  .

At that time, the manufacturer specified the vehicle width as 910 instead of 880 and the height as 1080 instead of 1000 millimeters. This was due to the more strongly contoured wheel cutouts at the rear and a modified, above all higher windshield ; In conjunction with a modified hood, it enabled better weather protection and fewer obstructions to view when the hood is closed. The covering of the standard, clip-on folding top consisted of a transparent plastic. The vehicle weight is now 78 kilograms and the power is only 2 HP (1.5 kW). It is unclear whether the lower power rating is based on mere rounding or the fact that instead of the maximum power according to DIN, the then widespread continuous power according to DIN was specified; However, there are no indications of technical changes to the Ilo built-in engine. The manufacturer put the maximum speed at "approx. 45 km / h".

Some vehicles from this period do not have a brand emblem, others have a shiny metal plate with punched-out Mopetta lettering on the front, such as the exhibition vehicles that are also shown on press photos for the 1958 model year . Another feature for vehicles of this period are additional thin metal struts on the right and left side of the windshield as well as varying fastening aids on the rear edge of the cockpit, which are used to fix the transparent top.

Through his automobile trade and his Opelit Bootswerft & Kunststoff-Gesellschaft , von Opel already had experience in vehicle sales and the processing of plastics; by its position as a millionaire entrepreneur Frankfurt he had important contacts with other companies of the manufacturing sector and the banks. In Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Hesse, the motorcycle manufacturer Horex suffered from the economic slump in the motorcycle industry in the mid-1950s. From the end of 1957, Opel wanted to use the free capacity for the small car project and build 100,000 Mopettas there, which he wanted to sell within four years. In addition, he acquired a production hall in Offenbach am Main . Opel also wanted to use the existing Horex structures for the maintenance of the mopettas and for repairs , in particular the Horex contract workshops. The Hessian entrepreneur wanted to organize vehicle sales primarily through his planned network of Volksbenzin petrol stations. With the planned production figures, the Mopetta 1958 would have achieved dimensions comparable to the BMW Isetta or the Goggomobil ; in the case of passenger cars, it would have achieved a market share of around four percent in the Federal Republic of Germany and larger quantities than the entire German motorcycle industry.

At the same time, the Horex technicians experimented with the Mopetta . As a result, it received a new front suspension: Instead of a fork with a pushed long arm swing arm , which tended to constantly swing under the chassis, a more conventional design was provided. Several cross struts were omitted in the tubular frame chassis; It is unclear whether this primarily served to simplify production or to counteract the chassis weaknesses with a softer chassis. Minor changes were made to the cockpit section and various add-on parts such as the headlights, direction indicators, exterior mirrors and fittings.

In the sources, the revised vehicle model was and is often referred to as the Opelit Mopetta , but mostly simply as the Opelit . As a result, the start of large-scale production was delayed and only about five more pre-series vehicles with the changed specification were built.

In the spring of 1958, before the start of large-scale production, Opel withdrew from the Mopetta / Opelit project. The official reason was that von Opel's lawyers had come to the conclusion that the descendant of Adam Opel should not have been legally allowed to build cars. However, no further information on the facts that could have supported this legal opinion was given. Sources therefore occasionally speculate about other reasons for abandoning the project. It is presumed that Opels was mistrusting the Mopetta project as a result of the process between Brütsch and the Spatz group around the entrepreneur Friedrich; it was ultimately determined that the larger model 200 Spatz with its originally frameless plastic body was not roadworthy. Sudden doubts by Opels about the market opportunities of the Mopetta are also mentioned ; the sales of many scooter mobiles and other small cars collapsed in 1957/58 and the market finally tended towards the “full-fledged”, economical VW Beetle . The repeatedly increased price of the Opelit is also cited as a trigger. In contrast to this, the new price of the VW Beetle on the German market after the Second World War fell continuously or at least remained constant until 1961, with the exception of one year.

The technology of the Brütsch Mopetta

When it comes to body material, Brütsch broke new ground in the Federal Republic of Germany. The body production and the construction of the tubular steel frame were designed for simplicity and low costs, as was the use of inexpensive, mass-produced drive components that had already proven themselves in moped construction.

The body

The rear of a Mopetta from Mopetta GmbH from 1957, exhibited in Einbeck, Lower Saxony: GRP body with softly rounded shapes

The spartan interior of a Mopetta from 1957 with a moped-like short handlebar and later added lettering on the fittings; the vehicle was originally delivered to the UK.

A special feature of the Brütsch Mopetta is its open, rounded, egg-shaped plastic body without doors. Brütsch introduced the basic principle with the 200 Spatz model presented in October 1954 ; the last model without doors was to be the Brütsch V-2 in October 1957 . The basic form of the Mopetta is simple; only the rear fenders are modeled laterally, and furthermore a central elevation on the sloping front of the vehicle, at the front end of which the individual headlights are located. In front of the cockpit cutout is an edge to which the frameless Plexiglas windshield is only attached with a lower strip. Only individual front engine prototypes had a separately clad cockpit surround. The individual front wheel is largely hidden under the body, while the rear wheel cutouts are emphasized by a thin chrome strip on individual early vehicles and by a slight flanging on later ones.

In view of the small dimensions, the weak engine and the classification as a moped, the vehicle model is only single-seated; the open body and the low height made doors unnecessary. As a makeshift weather protection, an unlined, attachable hood was available, which was originally covered with fabric, from around the summer of 1957 with a transparent plastic. There were no retractable or insertable side windows; in return, the top could be closed on the side thanks to additional thin metal struts on the right and left of the windshield.

With regard to the body shape , the body of the Mopetta is regularly classified as a roadster or at least similar to a roadster, even if the single seat and the lack of doors and side windows actually contradicted the contemporary definition as early as the 1950s. Brütsch regularly emphasized resistance, elasticity, low weight, weather resistance, the ability to dampen noise and the ability to quickly remove damage as particular advantages of the GRP body material.

In its time, the Mopetta with its simple basic shape and chrome strips, color-contrasting stripes and other ornaments - like the other "egg cars" - was perceived as elegant and sporty. In a contemporary edition of the British trade magazine The Engineer , the basic shape was praised as "excellently designed"; However, the decorative elements there met with criticism: The Brütsch vehicles ...

"... are decorated in a style that is devastating to bumper cars reminiscent of showmen."

In current publications, the Mopetta concept and its design are often ridiculed and viewed as bizarre. Typical are the designation as a “rolling shopping bag” and comparisons with the cartoon character Mighty Mouse (“Oskar, the super mouse ”) from 1942 or a moving sidecar that lacks the associated motorcycle.

The chassis

The flat viewing angle illustrates the three-wheeled concept of the Brütsch Mopetta . In the center of the picture below, the central, forward-facing arm of the rear axle tube can be seen (to the left of the exhaust manifold); during compression, the rubber element fixed to the vehicle floor at the front end is subjected to tensile stress.

Detail of the front suspension: pushed long arm swing arm and at the rear end the lower mount of the rubber damping ring

Detail of the rear suspension: the rear axle guided in sleeves with a forward-facing boom and a round rubber spring element

The body is bolted to a simple, lightweight tubular frame made of seamless, cold-drawn precision steel tubes. It takes on all chassis and drive components. With the conventional Brütsch Mopetta, the individual front wheel is guided and steered directly via a short, moped-like fork, while the suspension is via a long-armed swing arm with a low-lying pivot point and rubber elements. Between the rocker arm and fork, two rubber rings that are subjected to tensile stress create a progressive suspension. Another rubber element serves as a steering damper . The fork and swing arm were an in-house design by Egon Brütsch without any noteworthy recourse to tried and tested two-wheeler components. The rubber suspension elements are otherwise used for the suspension of light motorcycle sidecars.

The later Opelit , however, received a conventional front fork developed by Horex .

The rear suspension of the Mopetta was also an in-house design by Egon Brütsch. On the rear cross member of the chassis are sleeves in which the rear axle tube is slidably mounted. At both outer ends of the axle tube there are two rearward-facing arms that encompass each rear wheel inside and outside in the style of a two-arm swing arm. Another boom points forward from the center of the axle tube, where it is mounted in a rubber spring element, which is subjected to tension when the rear wheels are compressed and to compression when they rebound. The rear wheels cannot move up and down independently of one another because of the axle tube and the arms that are fixedly mounted on it, so it is not an independent wheel suspension .

The rear wheels swing during compression and rebound over the drawn boom on a circular path with a constant distance around the transverse axis, which is determined by the rear axle tube. The specialist book author Rosellen calls this construction a pendulum axle; However, the one designed by Egon Brütsch is an atypical variant, since neither an independent wheel suspension is used, nor do the changes in camber and track width common for pendulum axles occur during compression and rebound . The spring element on the rear axle of the Brütsch Mopetta comes from a Mercedes-Benz 190 SL , where it serves as an engine mount and is primarily subjected to pressure. In practice, the part in the mopetta proves to be vulnerable for this purpose.

A short moped handlebar carries almost all of the controls, especially Magura twist grips for throttle and handlebars as well as brake and clutch levers. The handbrake is also designed as a parking brake and acts only on the front wheel. Because the throttle grip and clutch lever are on the handlebars, the brake pedal for the foot brake is the only pedal in the footwell; it is on the right and acts solely on the rear wheels. It is decelerated by mechanical, cable-operated drum brakes from Fichtel & Sachs on all three wheels. The total braking area is given as just 60.8 square centimeters. The tires of the rear-wheel drive version are size 4.00-8.

Brütsch also used a largely identical chassis, but longer and wider - supplemented by a balancing spring designed as a torsion bar at the rear - for its larger sister model, the Rollera . Brütsch also used pendulum axles in the Mopetta forerunner 200 Spatz , the sister models Bussard and Pfeil and subsequently in the V-2 , different rubber suspension elements also in the dwarf and dwarf single-seater models . The Mopetta adopted the wheel-tire combination from the latter and individual dwarf versions ; with wider tires, the small 8-inch rims can also be found on the Rollera and V-2 models .

The drive

The Ilo piano motor of a Mopetta with fan cooling and the starter rope handle

Power transmission detail: chain drive only on the left rear wheel

The right side of an Ilo-Piano engine, installed in a contemporary moped (variant without fan)

The corresponding left page: Deviations from the Mopetta engine concern the pedals, the missing fan blower and the starting mechanism

The Ilo-Piano engine in a Mars Monza

According to the vast majority of sources, the engine of the Mopetta series version was an air / fan-cooled single-cylinder two-stroke Ilo engine of the Piano three-speed V50 type . A cylinder bore of 38.0 millimeters and a piston stroke of 43.0 millimeters results in a displacement of around 48.8 cubic centimeters. With a compression of 8.7: 1, according to the majority of sources, the result is an output of 2.3 DIN PS (1.7 kW) at 5200 revolutions per minute. The maximum torque is given as 1.75 mkp (17.2 Nm) at 2850 revolutions per minute.

As fuel and lubrication to the engine a relatively "rich" gasoline-oil mixture is used in a ratio of 1: 20. The crankshaft is mounted twice, and for the mixture formation provides a Pallas - Horizontal carburetor of the type P 12/1 . The gas exchange takes place via reverse purging and the motor of this special version is started with a cable pull. The battery has 6 Volt / 11 Ah and the DC - alternator provides only 17 watts.

The power is transmitted via a manual gearbox with ratchet shifting and three forward gears, but without reverse, as well as via a multi-plate clutch . The gears are changed with a twist grip on the handlebar. The motor is located to the left of the driver and drives the left rear wheel alone via a chain; This means that there is no need for a differential gear . The first gear is 3.82: 1, the second with 2.50: 1 and the third with 1.79: 1; the axle ratio is 3.56: 1.

Alongside Fichtel & Sachs and Zündapp , Ilo was one of the largest German manufacturers of built-in moped engines at the time. The Ilo engine of the Piano three-speed V50 comes from a branched engine family that also includes the G50 variants and the successor V54 . The latter is a little more powerful with 2.5 HP (1.8 kW); It is unclear whether the last pre-series vehicles received this more powerful engine, whether it would have been used in the planned large-scale series or whether it was later used as an alternative exchange engine. The basic model of the engine family, the Ilo Piano two-speed G50 , which works without a cooling fan and has one gear less than the conventional Mopetta engine, already weighs nine kilograms. Instead of Pallas - can occur when Mopetta a -Motor Bing carburetor type 1/12 are used; The engines were built and supplied by the Süd-Ilo-Werk in Munich .

Brütsch only used a built-in motor from the German brand MOTA for the first, front-wheel drive prototypes . At least on a trial basis, possibly for the planned export to the United Kingdom, engines from other manufacturers were also built into the Mopetta at the factory . The standard work by Rosellen, which is basically the most comprehensive source on the Mopetta , assumes a Fichtel & Sachs engine instead of an Ilo engine ex works ; an English-language source mentions a 50 cubic centimeter DKW engine, as has been proven several times for the British Peel P50 small car . Other contemporary images show a one-off Mopetta with a two-stroke engine of unknown origin with a horizontal cylinder, air cooling and an unusual recess in the body to guide the cooling air onto a radially ribbed cylinder. This is likely to be an engine from Ateliers de Mécanique du Center  (AMC) from Clermont-Ferrand , as used by a French partner of Brütsch from 1958 in a licensed Rollera .

The Mopetta's three-speed manual transmission was unusual for contemporary mopeds, but required for the subcompact for several reasons. Despite the lightweight construction, the final mopetta weighed around 45 kilograms more than a conventional moped at the time , which weighed around 33 kilograms, almost 2.4 times as much. The relatively short translation of the first gear was therefore necessary to enable a sufficiently quick acceleration. It was also the only way to ensure that the vehicle had sufficient climbing ability on the mountain, especially since with the Mopetta  - unlike a moped - the driver cannot assist with pedaling due to the lack of pedals . With their “close gradation”, the other two gears help to keep the engine in the optimal speed range as possible.

mass and weight

The nameplate of the Brütsch Mopetta exhibited in Stopfenheim

The Mopetta has a wheelbase of just 1000 millimeters and a rear track of 751 millimeters. With a length of 1700 millimeters, the vehicle model was initially 880 millimeters wide, from around the summer of 1957 due to changed fender contours 910 millimeters; with a ground clearance of 180 millimeters, the height was initially 1000 millimeters, from about mid-1957 onwards, due to a modified windshield, 1080 millimeters. The turning circle has a diameter of 5.50 meters.

The curb weight of the series-ready version with rear-wheel drive was initially 75 kilograms, from around mid-1957 it was 78 kilograms and the permissible total weight was 150 kilograms, the payload thus 75 and 72 kilograms respectively. The tank holds 7 liters and the engine consumes 2 liters of two-stroke mixture per 100 kilometers, which results in a range of 350 kilometers. In accordance with the legal requirements for mopeds, the top speed was recently given as 45 kilometers per hour.

The further career

Egon Brütsch and his vehicle company from 1957

The 2.55 meter long Brütsch V-2 (people's two-seater) from 1957, the last doorless model before Brütsch gave up vehicle construction in autumn 1958

When Georg von Opel withdrew from the Mopetta / Opelit project as a sponsor and organizer in the spring of 1958 , the project ended. Neither Brütsch nor Horex had the opportunity to start the prepared mass production of the Mopetta without Opels' involvement. At that time, Brütsch owned ten of the miniature car.

In October 1957, Brütsch had its own stand at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt am Main. He sold the manufacturing rights for the Mopetta sister model, Pfeil , to a Frankfurt VW dealer for 10,000 D-Marks , but again no production preparations followed. With the model V-2 , also known as the Volkszweisitzer , Brütsch presented a new type in Frankfurt. The four-wheeled chariot was larger than the dwarf from 1955 and smaller than the arrow from 1956; it was offered either with the 98 cubic centimeter engine of the Rollera or the Maico engine from the most powerful dwarf variant with a displacement of 247 cubic centimeters. Once again, there was no licensee for the new model. However , after the 1957 IAA , a foreign entrepreneur, the French-based Indonesian Ngo, acquired the manufacturing license for the Mopetta sister model Rollera ; In this case too, production ended after a few individual pieces.

In March 1958, Brütsch abandoned the further development of the Pfeil model , also in the spring of 1958 for all remaining Brütsch models - in addition to the Mopetta , the sister models Rollera and Bussard as well as the youngest model V-2 . After his last new project, the two-seater roadster V 2-N with two doors and the engine of the Fiat Nuova 500 presented in July 1958, had also failed, Brütsch finally withdrew from the automotive industry in autumn 1958. At the age of over 50 and with almost exhausted funds, he dared a new start in business. He used the experience he had gained in the meantime with plastics, initially in the construction of plastic spherical houses for playgrounds and garden design and finally in prefabricated plastic houses he developed himself. He finally had economic success with the establishment of the company POLA prefabricated house .

Georg von Opel, the Opelit boat yard and Horex after the end of the Mopetta project

A Horex Imperator : with her and the single-cylinder resident , motorcycle production at Horex ended in 1959

After leaving the Mopetta project, Georg von Opel was no longer involved in developing and building his own automobiles. Until his death he mainly looked after his numerous Opel dealerships in Hesse. He used his own production halls, which were intended for the Mopetta production, especially the bodywork, for the manufacture of other plastic products. Opelit existed as a shipyard with production and headquarters in Frankfurt at least until the beginning of the 1970s.

Fritz Kleemann , the owner of the motorcycle manufacturer Horex , where the Mopetta / Opelit was to be built in large series, could no longer find enough buyers for his motorcycles and stopped production in 1959. Friedel Münch took over part of the engine production , the remainder of the plant was taken over by Daimler-Benz AG.

The individual Mopetta vehicles

Although only 14 Mopettas were made, it was the most popular Brütsch model, ahead of the dwarf and the V-2 with 12 each and the buzzard with 11.

How many original Mopettas still exist today has not been reliably clarified, especially since several replicas that are true to the original, sometimes indistinguishable from the original, were made in later decades. In the various sources, four, five or six vehicles are sometimes mentioned. The information also fluctuates in that it is unclear whether the mere existence of the vehicles is considered or whether they should also be ready to drive, whether they must also have an original chassis or it is sufficient that a vehicle is built with an original body.

General

In the case of the individual vehicles, the originals can be differentiated according to whether they were manufactured solely under the leadership of Egon Brütsch by the company Egon Brütsch Fahrzeugbau Stuttgart under the Brütsch brand , temporarily by the manufacturer Mopetta GmbH under the Mopetta brand, or finally as Opelit or Opelit Mopetta in Hessen.

Other vehicles were retrofitted with an original GRP body, although the exact origin is not always completely clear. It is known that at the end of the 1950s surplus bodyshells, including those of the Mopetta model , were stored in the open air on Egon Brütsch's property and in the vicinity, for which he had no use at the latest after the car production was discontinued in autumn 1958; they could just be taken with you. Several fiberglass car bodies were Brütsch on his property as reinforcement of concrete - base plate used. Around 1975 the foundation was removed again; Here two Mopetta bodies were salvaged, which went to the manufacturer and small car collector Martin Sauter.

Individual GRP bodies, including those that had been temporarily freed of all attachments in the course of extensive restoration work , have served as the starting point for creating new negative molds since the 1970s . This means that new GRP bodies that are true to the original can be manufactured individually or in small series by hand. The English entrepreneur, restorer, former museum operator , small car collector and Mopetta owner Andy Carter took advantage of this opportunity for the production of individual bodies or the complete assembly of entire replica vehicles. The Bittner brothers, also Mopetta owners and operators of a small car museum, took a similar path ; They were responsible for the detailed reproduction, which was exhibited in the renowned Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum until 2013 .

The original vehicles from the 1950s

There is no further information on the whereabouts of the early Mopetta prototypes with a front grille, for which a front-wheel drive engine was intended. Images of a bright, side-engined, rear-wheel drive demonstration car presented in Great Britain with the Mopetta emblem and registration number "784 EPE" suggest that this body was created by reworking an early prototype; the closed front oval appears to have been added later.

On the basis of contemporary black and white photos of demonstration cars, several rear-wheel drive Mopettas from the Stuttgart era can be distinguished; What they have in common is the light, presumably white paintwork with dark decorative stripes, aluminum-colored rims and dark, presumably black painted rear undercarriage arms. The whereabouts of the individual vehicles is unclear.

• One example shown in 1957 is characterized by a decorative strip that widens towards the front; Side lights are missing, as is an exterior mirror, a windshield wiper, instruments and switches on the dashboard and devices for a convertible top. There is a Brütsch emblem on the front and Mopetta lettering on the left on the front . The vehicle bears the (unstamped) license plate S - L 50.
• Another example shows a folding top, an atypical single-cylinder two-stroke engine with a horizontal cylinder, air cooling without a fan, radially arranged cooling fins and (temporarily) a kick starter, also an elongated concave body indentation for cooling air with a correspondingly shortened chrome trim and a modified body cutout for the Engine. The vehicle bears the (unstamped) license plate S - P 98.
• From the sales brochure of Mopetta GmbH , among other things , an example is known with a largely straight, wedge-shaped decorative strip, exterior mirror on the left and a windshield wiper pointing to the left. It has no front brand emblem, no further lettering and the (unstamped) license plate S - AA 50.
• From the same source, a largely identical copy with a top made of transparent plastic is known; the weather protection seems to be lashed with thin straps on the upper and inside on the lower edge of the disc. The (unstamped) license plate is S - CX 74.

From the later period there are black and white photos of demonstration cars with straight, wedge-shaped decorative strips, side lights, left exterior mirrors, right-facing windshield wipers and side brackets next to the windshield and press studs behind the cockpit for the convertible top. On the front is a Mopetta emblem and a "license plate" with the words "1958" for the model year. The rear axle arms appear to be painted partly light, partly dark. At the 1957 IAA, a Mopetta had the registration number F - DC 232.

One of presented in England demonstration shows notwithstanding, the like placed acting Front Oval, an outside mirror right, a left-facing window wiper, a small balloon horn left, an additional rubber bar at the top edge of the disk, a canopy made of transparent plastic and the official British flag "784 EPE ".

The exact whereabouts of the ten Mopettas that were with Egon Brütsch when the vehicle project ended in the spring of 1958 is not known in detail . Of the total of 14 mopettas , five were exported to Great Britain; they were mostly sold through MPHW Sales , a sales company specializing in small cars of various brands, whose owner Froggatt also ran Bruetsch Cars England, Limited . It is also documented that Brütsch offered at least individual Mopetta vehicles at exhibitions during 1958 and sold them to customers.

The current stock

The Brütsch Mopetta exhibited in the Museum of the Inventors in Schramberg

• A Brütsch Mopetta has been on display alongside a Brütsch V-2 in the Museum of the Inventors' Times in Schramberg since 2010 . The white vehicle has a red, straight-wedge-shaped decorative strip, a red interior, side indicators, an exterior mirror on the left, but neither convertible top devices nor a windshield wiper. In its current condition it has a Brütsch emblem on the front and Mopetta lettering on the front left and back. The vehicle belongs to the entrepreneur and museum initiator Martin Sauter and was previously exhibited in Engstingen - without the front emblem and Mopetta lettering .
• Another German collector owns a very similar white and red Mopetta. Differentiating features are a decorative strip that widens more towards the front and a more heavily roofed headlight. The vehicle is registered as a moped for public road traffic in Germany.
• Another, outwardly very similar Mopetta is in the collection of the Opel Museum in Rüsselsheim and comes from the previous possession of Georg von Opel. The unrestored original mobile is probably the only Opelit still in existence ; Special features are the hood with a cover made of transparent plastic, the special front fork developed by Horex and different attachments. The vehicle is occasionally shown at special exhibitions, for example in Bad Homburg in 2010.
• A white Mopetta with blue wedge-shaped decorative stripes, blue wheel rims and a red interior belongs to the operator of the Eppelheim vehicle collection , Bert Grimmer. Special features are a special folding top without metal struts on the windshield, a light gray painted chassis and, at times, whitewall tires. The vehicle with the Brütsch emblem on the front, Mopetta lettering on the front right and rear, side lights and two exterior mirrors is part of the permanent exhibition and is approved as a moped in Germany.
• An outwardly very similar vehicle has a blue interior, has a Mopetta emblem on the front instead of one from Brütsch and is registered as a passenger car in Recklinghausen .
• Another, outwardly very similar Brütsch Mopetta with a blue interior was located in the well-known and renowned Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum in the US state of Georgia until 2013 . The vehicle is a detailed reproduction made by the Bittner brothers from Stopfenheim .
• A white Mopetta with blue, wedge-shaped decorative stripes and red interior, which, however, is missing many attachments, was not known to experts until 2016. Instead of the usual round engine cutout, it has an unusual, more rectangular cutout. The vehicle, which was in great need of restoration, was sold from Saarland to Berlin at the end of 2016 "for the price of approx. 3  Dacia Logans ".
• 

  The Brütsch Mopetta in the Franconian small car collection in Stopfenheim
  A red Mopetta with a red interior, wheel rims painted in the vehicle color and white wedge-shaped decorative stripes, but without a device for a convertible top, is the property of the Bittner brothers, the operators of the Franconian small car collection in Stopfenheim. The vehicle with the Brütsch emblem on the front, Mopetta lettering on the front left and rear, side lights, an exterior mirror on the left and a windshield wiper pointing to the left is part of the permanent exhibition and is approved as a moped in Germany.
• An outwardly very similar Mopetta with the same color scheme belongs to the Japanese small car collector and museum operator Kouichi Yamanobe. Special features are a folding top with a covering made of transparent plastic, two horizontal, parallel chrome trim strips within the front oval and the rear axle arm, which has meanwhile been painted red. On the other hand, a manufacturer's emblem within the front oval and Mopetta lettering are missing , as are some add-on parts (the side lights, an exterior mirror and the windshield wiper). The badly damaged vehicle had been restored by an enthusiast who, however, was unable to obtain road approval. He therefore sold it to a collector in the United States who later sold it to Japan.
• In England there is a Mopetta in unrestored original condition with body, wheel rims and chassis in light blue, a wedge-shaped decorative stripe in white and a dark red interior. The vehicle, which was registered for the first time in November 1957, has side lights, a windshield wiper pointing to the right and - although it was intended for England - an exterior mirror only on the left side. On the front there is a Mopetta emblem and on the cockpit devices for attaching the convertible top, consisting of two metal struts on the right and left of the windshield as well as an atypical metal bracket around the rear half of the cockpit. The vehicle is still registered for road use with the British registration number "408 EPD".
• A Swiss man owns a dark blue Mopetta with a blue interior, wheel rims painted in the vehicle color and a white wedge-shaped decorative stripe; it has side lights and a mirror on the left, but no windscreen wipers and no devices for a convertible top. The vehicle has a Brütsch emblem on the front, but no Mopetta lettering. It was restored over four years, has an engine that has been upgraded to 3 HP (2.2 kW) and has been approved for use on public roads in Switzerland in Zurich since 2004.
• 

  A Mopetta the Mopetta GmbH from 1957 at the Museum PS memory in Einbeck
  In the former small car museum in the Störy district in Bockenem , Lower Saxony , a dark blue Mopetta could be seen until 2004 ; Instead of the usual wedge-shaped decorative stripe, it has fine white lines above and below the chrome trim strip on the side, side lights, a windshield wiper pointing to the left and a folding top covered with transparent plastic, but no rearview mirror. A Mopetta emblem is attached to the front ; the vehicle still bears the former British registration number "UXO 117". Furthermore, a red body shell and a black-painted Mopetta frame were exhibited in the museum. The Mopetta was sold in 2012 and is part of the portfolio of the PS-Speicher motorcycle and automobile museum in Einbeck, which opened in 2014 .
• 

  A replica of Mopetta the Mopetta GmbH of 2010/2011 at the NEC Classic Motor Show 2017
  At the end of 2010 / beginning of 2011, another detailed, high-quality reproduction was made by Andy Carter for a Dutch collector and museum operator. The vehicle was initially black with a white, straight-wedge-shaped decorative stripe and red interior, an exterior color that was never used ex works. In 2017 the vehicle was exhibited with a paint job in light blue and white. It bears a Mopetta emblem on the front as well as the British registration number "784 EPE", which was originally used for the British demonstration car with the front oval that appears to be retrospectively attached.

The Mopetta in the media

Because of its minimalist concept and its rarity, the mopetta is occasionally the subject of mostly popular scientific and documentary-entertaining treatises. There is evidence of a representation in the British documentary Goodwood Revival Meeting in 2006 on the Goodwood Circuit , as well as a performance as part of the British television series James May ’s Cars of the People produced from 2014 to 2016 (episode 1.02).

The Brütsch Mopetta is sometimes used to depict automotive contrasts. In April 2010, Auto Bild magazine compared it with the Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 Roadster and described it as "probably the slowest convertible in the world."

In its time, the Mopetta was shown unusually often on trading cards popular at the time, such as those enclosed in cigarette packets . In 1958, the British cigarette maker Ewbanks Ltd. from Pontefract in West Yorkshire a series of 25 trading cards from the series "Miniature Cars and Scooters". The vehicles are painted artistically alienated; The 6th card gives a more detailed description of the Opelit (Mopetta) model , incorrectly names Opel as the manufacturer and shows a version with a front radiator grille according to the front engine prototype from 1956. A more realistic drawing of such a Mopetta shows card number 14 of the series “De auto in de modern tijd ”from the Dutch cigarette brand Full Speed ​​Virginia Cigarettes . The unique Mopetta with the unusual recumbent top hat is shown in Micky's Auto Album , episode 30, which was included in the Mickey Mouse books of the time.

Today's prices of the Mopetta

Because of their rarity, mopettas are rarely auctioned or sold in the conventional way, so current prices can hardly be given reliably. Value-creating factors such as the extent to which a vehicle is in its original condition, the specific state of preservation, the correctness and completeness of the add-on parts, the documentation of the vehicle history and the question of possibly well-known previous owners are too different for generalized information.

On August 19, 2005, the Bonhams auction house in San Francisco , California auctioned a Brütsch Mopetta replica dated 2003 with a more modern single-cylinder two-stroke engine from Suzuki and an automatic transmission . The replica built by the British Andy Carter with a true-to-original body shell, but whose attachments differ from the original in many ways and whose engine is installed on the right, fetched 14,375  US dollars .

On July 14, 2012 the auction house Coys auctioned off the original light blue Mopetta from 1957 with the British registration number "408 EPD" from the former vehicle collection of the British Malcolm Goldsworthy. The estimated price for the unrestored, comparatively poorly preserved and non-drivable vehicle was £ 40,000 to £ 50,000. Because of the condition, it "only" fetched 37,760 pounds. On September 23, 2017, the vehicle was again for sale unchanged from the outside, now in the Brooklands Motor Museum and with an estimate of 45,000 to 55,000 pounds; this time it was sold for £ 46,000.

On 15./16. In February 2013 the auction house RM Auctions / Sotheby’s auctioned the white and blue Brütsch Mopetta replica, which had been on display for years in the renowned Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum in Madison , Georgia. The estimate was between $ 25,000 and $ 35,000. In fact, the lavishly rebuilt vehicle fetched $ 66,125.

The smallest automobile in the world?

Competitors of the Mopetta for the "title" "smallest automobile in the world" : The British Peel P50 and ...

... the Fend Flitzer , forerunner of the Messerschmitt cabin scooter

The Brütsch Mopetta is often referred to as "the smallest" or - to a limited extent - as "probably the smallest automobile in the world". Sometimes it is supposedly more precisely dubbed the "smallest convertible in the world". Brütsch himself had set this goal and in its time the Mopetta was actually the smallest automobile in the world. Over time, however, such designations in books and Internet publications are sometimes also assigned to other vehicles.

Whether or not the classification is correct depends to a large extent on objective requirements and subjective ideas. The delimitation question is of decisive importance as to whether a certain model is still classified as an automobile or passenger car, with a view to road traffic regulations as a (three-wheeled) moped or in other cases as a pure work machine or a mere disabled vehicle / motorized wheelchair . Sometimes publications come to different results by explicitly or implicitly only including large-series vehicles from a certain number of items in the selection or also small-series vehicles, one-offs or prototypes not even approved for road traffic.

For example, the British Peel P50 from 1962 with a closed, high driver's cab was 1350 millimeters long and significantly shorter than the 1700 millimeter long Brütsch Mopetta ; on the other hand, the Mopetta was significantly lower and with a weight of 78 kilograms lighter than the Peel P50 with 80 kilograms. The original version of the Fend Flitzer , built in around 30 copies from August 1948 to March 1949, had an even smaller Victoria engine with a displacement of only 38 cubic centimeters and 1 DIN HP (0.74 kW) and weighed only 75 kilograms empty.

The Brütsch Mopetta as a replica

A Brütsch Mopetta replica at an event in Haselünne with an atypical green paint

Replica of a Mopetta made by Andy Carter at the Techno-Classica 2018 in Essen

The idea of producing replicas of the Brütsch Mopetta can be traced back to the 1970s: collectors of small cars and museum operators were increasingly interested in the Mopetta as an unusual product from the economic boom and one of the smallest automobiles in the world; However, the number of surviving vehicles was small and most of them were in steady hands. The incentive were found original bodies, those of unclear origin or first reproductions, as they are comparatively easy to manufacture due to the GRP material. The situation with the mechanics was more difficult:

Original motors of the Ilo Piano three-speed V50 type with pull starter were only produced in very small numbers; they were and are only extremely rarely available for restorations and new builds. Those interested in a replica therefore initially resorted to more modern single-cylinder two-stroke engines from Honda or Suzuki , some with automatic transmissions; In some cases, for structural reasons, they are on the right instead of the left outside. Suitable Ilo engines are now available again from a Dutch Ilo museum, where the more commonly available two-speed version can be converted.

The chassis are also problematic: even in the Brütsch era, they were considered immature due to the lack of directional stability, the front and rear suspension and the front damping. They have to be manufactured largely independently because they were an in-house design by Egon Brütsch without any noteworthy recourse to tried and tested two-wheeled components. Those interested in a replica initially resorted to modified chassis components from modern mopeds and motor scooters, mostly made in Japan. For the majority of the replicas that exist today, however, the earlier chassis were painstakingly recreated by hand using originals.

The replicas follow different ideas: Initially, the focus was often on being able to experience the previous driving experience with a vehicle that was visually and technically only remotely similar to the original; Fitness to drive, low costs and the possibility of causing a stir in traffic were more important than a true-to-original appearance and contemporary correct attachments. Other replicas, such as the one previously exhibited in the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum , are intended to reproduce the original as precisely as possible without necessarily being able to drive. Other owners also want to take part in classic car trips and try to improve the original concept selectively.

One of the best known and oldest manufacturers of Mopetta replicas was the Englishman Andy Carter. As the former owner of an original, restorer and operator of the former bubble car museum in Byard's Leap near Cranwell in Lincolnshire , he built individual vehicles in his company Andy's Modern Microcars according to customer requirements . According to the no longer active website, a ready -to- drive Brütsch Mopetta replica last cost from £ 14,950 in July 2014.

One of the most famous replicas of the Brütsch Mopetta was in Bruce Weiner's small car collection until it was sold in 2013. It was created by the owners of the Franconian small car collection in Stopfenheim, the Bittner brothers; in addition, they made at least two other replicas, according to one source even 14.

Occasionally, replica bodies or replica projects that have been started appear on sales platforms and in forums. Occasionally, projects are known with which a reproduction on a larger scale is sought.

The Brütsch Mopetta as a miniature model

Because of its unusual concept and small size, the Brütsch Mopetta has long been a popular model for miniature models. They serve less as toys in the narrow sense of the word, but, depending on the scale, to design model railroad landscapes and, above all, as sometimes high-priced collectibles for automobile enthusiasts.

On a scale of 1: 87, the front-engine prototype of the Mopetta has been available in small series since the early 1980s with a length of around 20 millimeters - until 1983 as a Ganther model by Uwe Ganther, then until around 2005 as a Ganther model by Eberhard Schmidt (EMS) . For several years, Saller has been selling the rear-wheel drive Mopetta in small series on the same scale.

Since the end of 2015 , Schuco has been offering a set limited to 1000 copies on a scale of 1:43 : It shows Egon Brütsch's typical "piggyback" transport with a Mercedes-Benz 170 V and a Brütsch Mopetta on the roof and on the trunk. Since 2017, Schuco has been offering the Brütsch Mopetta in the color combinations blue / white and red / white also on a scale of 1: 18.

A Mopetta miniature model on a scale of 1: 24 comes from Japanese production . Other miniature models of the Mopetta are mainly known from the People's Republic of China and Japan.

literature

Books

• Hans Peter Rosellen : German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , pp. 176-197, in particular pp. 184-189 and 193 f.
• Adam Quellin: The little Book of Microcars . Veloce Publishing, Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset, United Kingdom 2015 (e-book), ISBN 978-1-84584-894-1 , Chapter 4: The automotive Tiddlers .
• Clive Gifford: DK - Cars, Trains, Ships & Planes - A visual encyclopedia of every vehicle . Dorling Kindersley, London, United Kingdom 2015, ISBN 978-1-4093-4850-4 , pp. 92 f. (English).
• Jeff Clew: Motorcycling in the 50s . Veloce Publishing, Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset, United Kingdom 2016 (1995 e-book version of the printed edition), ISBN 978-1-84584-754-8 , Chapter The bubble that burst .

Magazines

• Popular Mechanics. Volume 107, No. 4, April 1957, p. 97. (English)
• auto motor and sport . No. 20/1957, September 21, 1957.
• The moped. No. 10/1957, small car 1957 .
• Popular Mechanics. Volume 109, No. 4, April 1958, p. 133. (English)
• Automobile and motorcycle chronicle . Issue 5/1977, pp. 10-11, 17 and 37.
• Classic car market . Martin Brüggemann: small art; Egon Brütsch - the dream of a big breakthrough with small automobiles . Issue 6/2002, June 2002, pp. 10-18.
• Car picture . Jörg Maltzan: Two convertibles, two worlds - Lamborghini Murciélago / Brütsch Mopetta (comparison test) , April 14, 2010, reproduced here , accessed on January 14, 2017.

Web links

Commons : Brütsch Mopetta  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• The comprehensive private website mopetta.rollermobilclub.ch about the Brütsch Mopetta with many contemporary images and documents , accessed on January 5, 2017.
• The Brütsch Mopetta and the Opelit Mopetta on the web portal autolexikon-thyssen.de , accessed on January 5, 2017.
• The Brütsch Mopetta on the web portal motorroller-info.de , accessed on January 5, 2017.
• Comprehensive report on the racing cars driven by Egon Brütsch and the cars he designed on the oppositelock.kinja.com web portal with many pictures , accessed on January 5, 2017 (English).
• Description of the Brütsch Mopetta from the former Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum (detailed high quality replica) on the website of the auction house RM Auctions / Sotheby’s with many pictures , accessed on January 5, 2017 (English).
• Video report on a Brütsch Mopetta from October 10, 2017 on the petrolicious.com web portal , accessed on October 13, 2017.
• Description of the Brütsch Mopetta with images on the Silodrome web portal , accessed on January 17, 2019 (English).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Hanns Peter Rosellen : German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , p. 193 f.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p} Reproduction of various original Mopetta sales brochures on the mopetta.rollermobilclub.ch web portal , accessed on January 5, 2017.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Egon Brütsch on the web portal autolexikon-thyssen.de , accessed on January 5, 2017.
4. ↑ Information and images on small German racing car manufacturers in the post-war period, including Brütsch / EBS / Westenrieder on the web portal 8w.forix.com , accessed on February 10, 2017 (English).
5. ^ Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , p. 176.
6. ↑ ^{a b} The EBS Maserati by Egon Brütsch on the web portal autolexikon-thyssen.de , accessed January 5 2017th
7. ↑ ^{a b c} The Brütsch automobiles on the oppositelock.kinja.com web portal , accessed on January 5, 2017 (English).
8. ^ Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , pp. 176-179, 182 and 190 f.
9. ^ Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , pp. 180, 182-185 and 189.
10. ↑ Roger Gloor: All cars of the 50s - 1945-1960 . 1st edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-613-02808-1 , pp. 75, 90 f. and 326.
11. ^ Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , pp. 176 f., 179, 181, 183 f. and 193.
12. ^ ^{A b} Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , p. 180.
13. ^ Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , p. 178.
14. ^ ^{A b} Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , pp. 180, 183, 185 and 202.
15. ↑ Popular Mechanics Magazine , Volume 103, Issue 2, 1955, p. 133.
16. ^ ^{A b} Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , pp. 180, 182-184 and 191 f.
17. ↑ ^{a b} The Brütsch 200 Spatz on the web portal autolexikon-thyssen.de , accessed on January 5, 2017.
18. ^ Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , pp. 184 and 191 f.
19. ↑ Roger Gloor: All cars of the 50s - 1945-1960 . 1st edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-613-02808-1 , p. 75.
20. ^ ^{A b c} Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , p. 183 f. and 192 f.
21. ↑ ^{a b} Roger Gloor: All Cars of the 50s - 1945-1960 . 1st edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-613-02808-1 , p. 91.
22. ^ Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , p. 185 f. and 194 to 196.
23. ^ Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , pp. 184-189 and 193 f.
24. ^ Adam Quellin: The little Book of Microcars . Veloce Publishing, Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset, United Kingdom 2015 (e-book), ISBN 978-1-84584-894-1 , Chapter 4: The automotive Tiddlers .
25. ^ Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , pp. 184 and 187.
26. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Reproduction of the sales prospectus for the BRÜTSCH-MOPETTA from October 1956 on the mopetta.rollermobilclub.ch web portal , accessed on February 8, 2017.
27. ↑ Auto Revue catalog 1957. P. 248 f.
28. ^ Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , pp. 184 and 186 f.
29. ^ Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , pp. 187 and 194.
30. ^ Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , p. 187.
31. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , p. 186.
32. ↑ Jeff Clew: Motorcycling in the 50s . Veloce Publishing, Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset, United Kingdom 2016 (1995 e-book version of the printed edition), ISBN 978-1-84584-754-8 , Chapter The bubble that burst .
33. ↑ Popular Mechanics (magazine), April 1957 issue (Volume 107, No. 4), p. 97 (English).
34. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Reproduction of the sales brochure for the Brütsch MOPETTA luxury version from March 1957 on the mopetta.rollermobilclub.ch web portal (the illustration shows two more Mopettas with a front engine) , accessed on February 8, 2016.
35. ↑ ^{a b c} Photo of two front-wheel drive Brütsch Mopettas on the mopetta.rollermobilclub.ch web portal , accessed on February 8, 2017.
36. ^ ^{A b} Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , p. 194.
37. ↑ Werner Oswald : German Cars 1945-1975 . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart. 12th edition. 1987, ISBN 3-87943-391-7 , pp. 32 f., 280 and 424.
38. ^ Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , p. 210 f.
39. ^ Jan Leek: Type compass BMW motorcycles since 1945 . 1st edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-613-01955-8 , p. 18.
40. ^ The motor catalog 1955/56 - motor vehicles in words and pictures, volume 7, 100 mopeds . 1st edition. Verlag Auto und Kraftrad, Graefelfing 1955, p. 61.
41. ↑ ^{a b} Details about the Ilo-Piano-Motor on the web portal rollermobilclub.ch , accessed on January 5, 2017.
42. ^ ^{A b c} Paul Simsa: All of this drove on our streets - forgotten cars of the 50s . 2nd Edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-613-01025-9 .
43. ↑ ^{a b} Picture of a Brütsch Mopetta on the occasion of a presentation around the spring of 1957 on the mopetta.rollermobilclub.ch web portal , accessed on February 8, 2017.
44. ^ ^{A b} Brian Laban, in: Nick Baldwin, GN Georgano, Michael Sedgwick, Brian Laban (eds.): The World Guide to Automobile Manufacturers . Facts on File Publications, New York, New York, United States / Oxford, United Kingdom 1987, ISBN 0-8160-1844-8 , p. 76 (English).
45. ^ Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , pp. 186 and 189.
46. ↑ The car models 1957/58. No. 1, 1st year. Vereinigte Motor-Verlage, Stuttgart 1957, p. 31.
47. ^ Hans Günther Hockerts, Franz Menges: New German Biography . Volume 23 (Schinzel - Black). Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-428-11204-3 , p. 546.
48. ^ Automobil Revue (magazine), price list 1957.
49. ↑ ^{a b} Historical photo of a Mopetta for the model year 1958 on the mopetta.rollermobilclub.ch web portal , accessed on February 9, 2017.
50. ↑ ^{a b c} Historical photo of a Mopetta as a demonstration car in Great Britain on the mopetta.rollermobilclub.ch web portal , accessed on February 9, 2017.
51. ↑ ^{a b} Another historical photo of a Mopetta for the model year 1958 on the mopetta.rollermobilclub.ch web portal , accessed on February 9, 2017.
52. ↑ ^{a b c d} Details on Georg von Opel's Mopetta plans through to the Opelit on the rollermobilclub.ch web portal , accessed on January 5, 2017.
53. ↑ Cf. Werner Oswald: Deutsche Autos 1945–1975 . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart. 12th edition. 1987, ISBN 3-87943-391-7 , pp. 460 f.
54. ↑ Cf. Brigitte Podszun: The German motorcycles of the economic miracle . Podszun engine books, Brilon. 3. Edition. 1989, ISBN 3-923448-22-8 , p. 8.
55. ↑ ^{a b} Details about the Opelit from the former possession of Georg von Opels, today in the museum fund of Adam Opel AG , on the web portal rollermobilclub.ch , accessed on January 5, 2017.
56. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Pictures and backgrounds of unusual mopettas , including the one-off with a horizontal single-cylinder engine and the Opelit chassis compared to the standard version, on the rollermobilclub.ch web portal , accessed on January 5, 2017.
57. ↑ The Opelit Mopetta on the web portal autolexikon-thyssen.de , accessed on January 5, 2017.
58. ^ Auto motor und sport (magazine), issue 20/1957 of September 21, 1957.
59. ↑ Nicolae Sfetcu: The Car Show . Self-published, e-book 2014, ISBN 978-1-4478-7635-9 (English).
60. ↑ The Engineer , Volume 202, Morgan-Grampian Publishers 1956, p. 701 (English): "... brilliantly styled, ... are ornamented in a manner disastrously reminiscent of showman's Dodg'em cars."
61. ↑ ^{a b c} Report on the Brütsch Mopetta on the web portal occ.at , accessed on January 5, 2017.
62. ↑ Malcolm Bobbitt: Bubble Cars and Microcars . Crowood Press, Ramsbury, Marlborough, United Kingdom 2003, ISBN 1-86126-567-0 , pp. 138 and 140 (English).
63. ^ Car and Driver (magazine), Hachette Magazines, Volume 16, 1970, p. 106 (English).
64. ↑ Details on the front suspension of the Brütsch Mopetta on the rollermobilclub.ch web portal , accessed on January 5, 2017.
65. ↑ ^{a b} Details on the rear suspension of the Brütsch Mopetta on the rollermobilclub.ch web portal , accessed on January 5, 2017.
66. ↑ Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten. Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , pp. 191–196.
67. ^ The motor catalog 1955/56 - motor vehicles in words and pictures, volume 7, 100 mopeds . 1st edition. Auto und Kraftrad publishing house, Graefelfing 1955, p. 93.
68. ^ Mike Dan: The AZ of popular Scooters & Microcars: Cruising in Style! Veloce Publishing, Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset, United Kingdom 2015, ISBN 978-1-84584-088-4 , p. 199 (English).
69. ^ ^{A b} Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , p. 189.
70. ↑ Katja Simon: Prefabricated house architecture in Germany since 1945 . Athena, Oberhausen 2005, ISBN 3-89896-233-4 , pp. 92 and 229.
71. ^ Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , pp. 190–197.
72. ↑ ^{a b c d e} The black Brütsch Mopetta replica with Suzuki mechanics built by Andy Carter from 2003 in the auction catalog of the Bonhams auction house from August 19, 2005 , accessed on January 5, 2017 (English).
73. ↑ ^{a b} Report on the Brütsch Mopetta on the wokry.com web portal ( memento of the original from December 27, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on January 5, 2017.  
74. ↑ Klaus Eichmüller: From Maserati to Mopetta made of plastic . Stuttgarter Nachrichten (newspaper), February 11, 2010 , accessed on January 5, 2017.
75. ↑ Background information on recovered Mopetta bodyshells from the rollermobilclub.ch web portal , accessed on January 5, 2017.
76. ↑ ^{a b} The archived website modernmicrocars.co.uk on Andy Carter's former company ( memento of July 15, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on February 13, 2017 (English).
77. ↑ ^{a b c d e} The white and blue Brütsch Mopetta replica from the Bruce Weiner collection in the auction catalog of the RM Auctions / Sotheby’s auction house from 15./16. February 2013 , accessed January 5, 2017.
78. ^ Contemporary picture of a Mopetta at the IAA 1957 on the web portal flickriver.com , accessed on February 13, 2017.
79. ↑ Oldtimer Markt (magazine). Martin Brüggemann: small art; Egon Brütsch - the dream of a big breakthrough with small automobiles . Issue 6/2002, June 2002, pp. 10-18.
80. ↑ The Brütsch Mopetta by Martin Sauter on the web portal mopetta.rollermobilclub.ch , accessed January 5 2017th
81. ↑ The Brütsch Mopetta by Georg Lenner on the web portal mopetta.rollermobilclub.ch , accessed January 5 2017th
82. ^ The Opelit in the temporary small car exhibition in Bad Homburg on the rollermobilclub.ch web portal , accessed on January 5, 2017.
83. ↑ The Brütsch Mopetta Bert Grimmer on the web portal mopetta.rollermobilclub.ch , accessed January 5 2017th
84. ^ The Brütsch Mopetta from the Eppelheim vehicle collection on the vehikelsammlung.de web portal , accessed on January 5, 2017.
85. ↑ ^{a b} Jörg Maltzan: Comparative test of Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 Roadster against Brütsch Mopetta . In: Auto Bild (magazine). April 14, 2010, accessed January 5, 2017.
86. ↑ Pictures and background information on the white and blue Mopetta registered in Recklinghausen on a private web portal , accessed on March 2, 2017.
87. ↑ Pictures of the white and blue Mopetta approved in Recklinghausen on the web portal picssr.com ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed March 2, 2017. 
88. ↑ More pictures of the white and blue Mopetta, approved in Recklinghausen, on the web portal picssr.com ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed March 2, 2017. 
89. ↑ ^{a b} Report on the auction of the Brütsch Mopetta replica from the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum from 2013 on the web portal rollermobilclub.ch , accessed on January 5, 2017.
90. ^ Report on the white-and-blue Mopetta, unknown in specialist circles until 2016, on the web portal rollermobilclub.ch , accessed on January 5, 2017.
91. ↑ The Brütsch Mopetta from the Bittner brothers on the mopetta.rollermobilclub.ch web portal , accessed on January 5, 2017.
92. ↑ The Brütsch Mopetta from Kouichi Yamanobe on the web portal mopetta.rollermobilclub.ch , accessed on January 5, 2017.
93. ↑ A Mopetta registered in Great Britain on the web portal mopetta.rollermobilclub.ch , accessed on January 5, 2017.
94. ↑ A Brütsch Mopetta approved in Switzerland on the mopetta.rollermobilclub.ch web portal , accessed on January 5, 2017.
95. ^ The Mopetta , which was previously exhibited in the Störy small car museum, on the mopetta.rollermobilclub.ch web portal , accessed on January 5, 2017.
96. ↑ ^{a b} Details on the genesis of the Mopetta replica for a Dutch collector on the web portal rollermobilclub.ch with additions here , here  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. and here  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed January 5, 2017.    
97. ↑ Entry on the Mopetta on the imcdb.org web portal (Internet Movie Cars Database) , accessed on January 5, 2017 (English).
98. ↑ The Opelit (Mopetta) model on the Ewbanks Ltd. trading card . on the web portal rumcars.org , accessed on January 5, 2017 (English).
99. ↑ Trading card number 14 for the Full Speed ​​Virginia Cigarettes on the rollermobilclub.ch web portal , accessed on January 5, 2017.
100. ↑ The Mopetta as episode 30 of Micky's car album on the web portal rollermobilclub.ch , accessed on January 5, 2017.
101. ↑ Report on the auction of the original Mopetta from the former Goldsworthy collection from 2012 on the web portal rollermobilclub.ch , accessed on January 5, 2017.
102. ↑ Auction catalog for the auction of the original light blue Mopetta in Brooklands on the web portal historics.co.uk , accessed on December 3, 2017 (English).
103. ↑ Brütsch in the Lexicon of Car Brands of SWR TV , accessed on January 5, 2017.
104. ↑ Roger Gloor: All Cars of the 60s . 1st edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-613-02649-X , p. 282.
105. ^ Hanns Peter Rosellen: German small cars after 1945 - loved, praised and unforgotten . Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-89350-040-5 , p. 40.
106. ↑ Example of a repeatedly offered Mopetta body from a reproduction, picked up by the rollermobilclub.ch web portal here and here  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed January 5, 2017.  
107. ↑ See, for example, the Mopetta Replicas project by the Australian Clark for the planned replica of one thousand vehicles on the angel.co web portal , accessed on January 5, 2017 (English).
108. ↑ Information on models of the Brütsch Mopetta in scale 1: 87 on the web portal h0-modellbahnforum.de , accessed on January 5, 2017.
109. ↑ Information on the 1:43 scale model set with two Brütsch Mopettas and a Mercedes-Benz 170 V as a "piggyback" van on the auto-und-modell.de web portal , accessed on January 5, 2017.
110. ↑ Auto Bild Klassik (magazine), issue 8/2015, p. 158 (The Brütsch Mopetta as a Schuco model).
111. ↑ Information on models of the Brütsch Mopetta in a scale of 1: 18 on the manufacturer's web portal schuco.de ( Memento of the original from October 24, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed October 24, 2017. 
112. ↑ Image of a Japanese Mopetta miniature model on a scale of 1: 24 on the web portal rollermobilclub.ch , accessed on January 5, 2017.

Remarks

1. ↑ In German-language sources, the female article is predominantly used for the vehicle model ("the Brütsch Mopetta "), rarely the neuter ("the Brütsch Mopetta ") and only in very rare individual cases the male article ("the Brütsch Mopetta "). The vehicle model thus deviates - similar to the BMW Isetta  - from the basic rule that passenger cars are usually given the male article in German.
2. ↑ Because of the historical and technical context, this article deals with the Brütsch Mopetta in a broader sense, analogous to various sources . On the one hand, it deals with the Brütsch Mopetta in the narrower sense, which the designer in his company Egon Brütsch Fahrzeugbau Stuttgart built from October 1956 under the Brütsch brand in Stuttgart. On the other hand , it deals with the Mopetta , as manufactured by Mopetta GmbH , based in Frankfurt am Main, between the late spring and autumn of 1957 under its own Mopetta brand . Finally, the article deals with those vehicles that were further modified from autumn 1957 in Hesse under the brand Opelit and the model name Opelit Mopetta or just Opelit .
3. ↑ According to the regulations for mopeds, an annual tax of only 15 D-Marks was due for the Mopetta ; A driving license of the old class 4, for which only a theoretical test had to be taken, was sufficient for operation on public roads.