Scootacar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scootacar was a British three wheeled microcar built in Leeds by Scootacars Ltd a division of the railway locomotive builder, the Hunslet Engine Works between 1957 and 1964.
It was allegedly built because the wife of one of the directors wanted something easier to park than her Jaguar. The shape of the car was designed by Henry Brown who did it by sitting on a Villiers engine and then having an assistant draw an outline around him. The body was built in glass fibre and was very tall for its size being 60 inches high, 87 inches long and only 52 inches wide. It was nicknamed "the telephone booth". Two people could be carried with a passenger behind the driver or alternatively just squeezed in alongside. Power came from a Villiers 9E 197 cc single cylinder 2 stroke engine coupled to a four speed motorcycle type gearbox and chain drive to the single rear wheel. Steering was by handlebars. The top speed was 50 mph.
In 1960 came the De Luxe or Mark 2, with a totally redesigned body with more room and seating for three, but it appeared too late to sell in any great numbers.
In 1961 the De Luxe Twin Mark 3 cars appeared fitted with a 250 cc twin giving a top speed of 68 mph.
Production stopped in 1964 after a total of about 1000 Scootacars were made, but only about 20-30 had the larger engine.
