Core77

Carl Jurisch's 1957 Motoplan Concept: Personal Transportation Via Self-Propelled Sidecar

By Rain Noe - January 7, 2014

in Cars

Many American cities have this problem, but it's most obvious in sprawling Los Angeles: When you're trapped in bumper-to-bumper on the 405, you look around and observe the brutal 1:1 ratio of cars to drivers, as far as the eye can see. The absurdity of lone humans each ensconced in their own two-ton rectangle of steel, and the space each person's vehicle consumes relative to the drivers' size, is difficult to find unremarkable. Four wheels, one driver, and from one to five empty seats.

That's how it's turned out, but in the 1950s German engineer Carl Jurisch had a different vision. According to the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum, Jurisch "became convinced that the future of transportation lay in a personal single-seat vehicle" and so, using a motorcycle sidecar as his starting point, he designed his single-occupancy Motoplan.

The one-cylinder, four-speed, 173cc engine put out just under ten horsepower and could reach a top speed of 88 k.p.h. There was one less tire to worry about, as Jurisch opted for an economical three-wheeled design. And the droptop would've been perfect for Los Angeles.

Sadly, Jurisch chose the other coast and "tried to market the tiny car in New York City at the height of the tailfin craze, hugely misjudging the market from his vantage point in rural Germany." Not that he would've' done any better in L.A.—no one in 1957 America was interested in economy and efficiency. Of three prototypes Jurisch built, two have disappeared over time, and we're only getting to see this one because it was restored by a collector and auctioned off last year. (It fetched $103,500.)

o

Favorite This
Q
5

Comment

Comments

ZACHARY MOHRMANN

10 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

I love this car it reminds me of the Messerschmidt, that is now in production in a electric velomobile version ... But if your interested you need to go to Germany to get one even though it is built in Japan...! And the cost well I would say it is within reason, although I can't remember the exact price at the moment... Sorry...!

!Report as spam
Fred

11 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

I've owned and driven city cars for decades, and have loved micro cars just as long. Of course, living in the USA, the statists do not allow me to purchase any new. That is why I am so excited to get my hands on my two new ELIO cars that I have reserved for myself! I might have them as soon as the end of this year. I hope. http://www.eliomotors.com
!Report as spam
Austin

11 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

Apothicus: Super-sizing (and adding a wheel) would look a bit like the Nissan Figaro, a really fantastic (my personal opinion) offering from Nissan in 1991:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yYm06omFtmk/TrlBdU42Q4I/AAAAAAAAAf4/1pBdR3CRzJo/s1600/IMG_1285.JPG
!Report as spam
Apothicus

11 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

Classic lines in every sense, and the color? Perfect! Now if someone was smart, they'ed super-size it up a bit and electrify it and wha-la! the hipsters would be drawn to it like a vespa.
!Report as spam
Tom Mc

11 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

I always thought this was a great idea but it would require dedicated lanes on highways to separate these smaller and lighter vehicles from truck and regular vehicle traffic at high speeds.

!Report as spam