Real Road Test: Trojan 200 aka Heinkel Kabine bubblecar!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ก.ย. 2019
- IT'S TINY! This is a 1963 Trojan 200, a UK-built Henkel Kabine, produced near the end of production. It has a single-cylinder, 198cc, four-stroke, air-cooled engine and a four-speed gearbox, with reverse! The front lifts up to allow access. I also discover that this little three-wheeler is mid-engined!
Huge thanks to the Heinkel Trojan Club (www.heinkel-trojan-club.co.uk) and the National MicroCar Rally. This one really was a dream drive.
HubNut can be supported at / hubnut or via our store at hubnut.org - thank you!
Bond Minicar: • Real Road Test: Bond M...
Messerschmitt: • Real Road Test: Messer...
National MicroCar Rally 2019: • Event Report: National...
National Microcar Rally 2018: • HubNut at the National...
#Bubblecar #ThreeWheeler #Oldcarsarethebest - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
![[Full Episode] MasterChef Junior Thailand มาสเตอร์เชฟ จูเนียร์ ประเทศไทย Season 3 Episode 2](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YpQnHoQvZt4/mqdefault.jpg)
Let's all celebrate the passing of a time when it was possible to create the most imaginative cars.
I know Im quite off topic but does anyone know a good site to watch new series online?
When the camera fell off its mount I thought you'd rolled the car. Heart was in my mouth - too much excitement for a HubNut video.
Yes, they have been known to roll, if 'hooned'. Sharp turns when doing 50 mph, you need brown trousers.
My father did. In an Isetta. Walked away from it fortunately.
This was the best road test so far! You can really see the aircraft influence in the design, minimalist and lightweight. I don't think this is mad at all; it's as sensible as it gets. If only cars had developed along these lines instead of taking the unnecessarily massive, heavy, fuel guzzling SUV route.
They are extremely unsafe and would never be allowed as new vehicles today. They are not practical since you can't take passengers or luggage except a minimal amount on a rear luggage rack. Basically these 'cars' are motorcycles with an enclosed body for weather protection.
It is clever to a point but this sort of motoring is way too ascetic...plus Issigonis loathed them and that is good enough for me.
however, it would struggle to accommodate a 2.5m length of mdf shelving - which fits comfortably in my nice C3 Picasso.......!
@@glennpowell3444 in what reality are you using the word 'practical'....?!!
@@xyz2121 As a city car, a modern version of something like this would be ideal. Motorcycles and bicycles are no better in terms of safety, yet we allow those. People go much faster on motorbikes.
When someone says "Bubble Car" , this is the car that always springs to mind . I'm envious , always wanted to drive one !
Brings back memories, in the 60's I ran an Isetta for a few years, always wondered which bubble was best. My Isetta was a three wheeler, 300cc, which meant it had a couple of more horses than the Trojan. The Isetta was great fun to drive. Mine had tinted windows air horns, wider wheels than standard, in fact Austin Mini tyres. One day it was parked and a Lamborghini Miura, driver stopped to have a close look.
The isetta was a two stroke motor as well
I think you may be confusing with the Messerschmitt, the Isetta was a 4 stoke, at least the three that I had personal experience were.
Air horns are practically essential with a bubblecar in overcrowded Britain. 130dB horn and lights on all the time.
The Isetta was far better. It had larger 10 inch wheels and Mini front brakes, which were mighty powerful on this lightweight car. The Isetta also had more space inside and was faster and smoother. Heikel/Trojans were very easy to roll on bends, unlike the Isetta which used to slide across the road on its 3 wheels if you went round too fast. The main Isetta faults were a propensity for the exhaust valve head to break off, usually causing piston and con rod damage, and for the rubber doughnuts on the drive shaft to break . The latter was a design fault because the drive shaft was too short, which caused the doughnuts to run out of alignment. That drive shaft was unique to the British market, as all other Isettas had 2 rear wheels and a different drive shaft.
@@replevideo6096
The Trojan was better looking by far.
No triangle of doom with this car. :)
From above the entire car is a "triangle of doom".
Just an entire arc of doom.
I used to have a red one, safer than grey. The best colour would be fluorescent red, orange or viper green.
@@rogerhudson9732 Perhaps vindscreen viper green ?
A sweep of delight?
I don't know what it was like up there, but it was terrifying back here!
Built in Croydon on the Purley Way (A23).There is a road called “Trojan Way”in its memory near to where they were made!
To Kevin Jacobs from Nygel Miller. Actually, it's more amazing than you think! Trojan Way isn't actually just a tribute to the Trojanworks. I went to Currys superstore to buy a fridge , and was thinking I had never been to such a huge store. Then I realised that the reason the store is so huge, is that it occupies the actual site of the Trojanworks! And before Trojan took over making these, Heinkels entered this country nearby. Croydon Airport was still functioning, and the Heinkels were flown in there!
As a Highlander born and raised, I appreciate the Nairn registration plate! (7 miles from where I was born, many moons ago).
It's a re-registration. A lot of the old Scottish county letters have been used for this purpose as they didn't issue many numbers pre 1964/5 when they changed to the letter suffix. FYO Nairn was one of the slowest issuing counties reaching only AS 4097 by the end of 1964.
@@cornishhh - Many thanks for that information. Hmmm. Nairn has _always_ been a slow town. As for being slow to issue registrations, I think it's because even back then, they didn't like the modern ways with new fangled motor technology, and preferred using Dobbin to haul the cart to the shops. LOL (it's not as bad as that, but sometimes you begin to wonder)
I lived in Nairn for a few years, and even made the mistake of getting married to a person from there. Thankfully, I didn't have kids to her. _Perish the thought!_
I think it's a _wee_ bit more modern now, despite the ongoing objections to every suggestion by the local Council to improve the place. _(If a solitary bunch of Daffodils have been growing in the same spot for 30 years, and the council want to dig 'em up and plant rose bushes, there's petitions, public meetings and banner waving.)_ And gawd help anyone who wants to paint their front door a different colour.....or wear trousers on a Sunday.....
Aye, it's a (well known) sad place to live, and the people are more miserable than a suicidal Goth. The tourists love the place, as it's like time has stood still since the 1960s. Think of Nairn like the village _Royston Vasey_ in The League of Gentlemen.
Gave me a great thrill to see your video on the Trojan 200. From 1963 to 1969 I owned a left hand drive Heinkel. The sound and everything you described brought back the vehicle to me. I had the dubious honor of driving mine from Worcester Park, Surrey to Gorran Haven, Cornwall, overnight in a heavy rain storm in 1967. It took me 12 hours to cover the 250 miles with a mate of mine as passenger and much luggage. The fuel consumption was 90 mpg and the speed up some of the Cornish hills was 10 mph in 1st gear. The cars behind were not amused! I was fortunate to work just up the road from the Trojan factory as I could always get spare parts for it. These were fairly regularly needed at times. Got through 3 crankshaft assemblies over the years and several silencers. Nearly rolled it once on the roundabout at Tolworth Broadway/Kingston By Pass when an Austin Cambridge shunted it. Fortunately it only bent the rear cowling. Must say I pretty much go along with all you said in your video. By the way the funny brake problem was likely to be the metal liner vibrating in the aluminium brake drum. Mine had one evil habit of the real wheel centre locking nut becoming loose and the car wandering all over the place. Oh bubble motoring was such fun!!
The difference between LHD nd RHD is almost irrelevant. The advantage of LHD is the door access. They didn't reverse the hinging for RHD .
That is actually rather beautiful and I'm in love with it.
Very much inspired by aircraft technology. The teardrop body shape is good for low drag.
Companies like Heinkel, Messerschmid and BMW had considerable aircraft experience from their war effort. From 1945 onward they were not allowed to produce weapons or war machinery so they switched to production for the civilian market. But civilians did not have a lot of cash. The 1950's were the rebuilding years afterall. At most they had just enough for a moped or a motorcycle. But thanks to Marshalplan help and 'das Wirtschaftwunder' people soon started to earn more and they wanted family transport free from weather influences. They still couldn't afford the high end luxury cars that BMW made in pre-war times. So BMW took a motorcycle drivetrain and made a cheap bubble car, the Isetta. Messerschmid and Heinkel had similar ideas and made their own. Others started to make them under license.
Brilliant designs for the short era in which they were produced.
Imagine one of these micro cars with a modern fuel injected 500cc motorcycle engine with a 6speed sequential gbox! Or an electric drivetrain. Cheap fun!
Zero crash protection though... oh well, can 't have it all.
I had a Corgi Toy of one of these. I've always wondered how they were to drive. Thank you so much
So did I! Mine was orange! :-)
One to one scale model? 🤔
Linsey Young 😂
..Oxford diecast do a really nice 1: 18 scale, available as a trojan (rhd) or heinkel (lhd)
The Corgi toy is probably worth more than the car.
In the 1960s there was a girl who drove a red Trojan to and from the place where I worked. At that time you could still order spare parts from the factory agents and get repairs done at specialists. All these microcars are now sought-after collectors items which makes them impractical as everyday transport. There are 4-wheel versions of this car
Achingly gorgeous. Sooo very envious!
We live in a world where we are so bombarded by the dramatic and sensational, that we become numbed to what really matters. This great little video has cheered me up. Lovely charming account, and oh, so, so down to Earth. True great minds appreciate that which is little in life.
Who needs to go more than 40mph, I ask you. Bless it's little heart. That was so much fun and what a perfect little commuter/shopping car. I could see me popping down to Aldi in it. My Goggomobil had the same blinker ears. Thanks for the ride. Cheers.
Another test of a car I never knew existed and now really want. 6’ of pure engineering, style and ingenuity. Modern cars have nothing on this age of motoring.
my uncle had a Heinkel bubble car in the very early 60's and well did it serve him to the extent of touring Scotland in it. In those halcyon days there was the British tough 'just get on with it' attitude, which today seems somewhat, sadly, diminished.
Love the edit at 16.33 that makes a truck coming towards you seem to de-materialise :-) Great vid, you clearly loved that one...
John Ward video proof of a glitch in the matrix 😂
you can pretend you are in a very small helicopter flying very low. Put this one in your hand luggage for NZ 😉
It sounds like a drone too lol
Actually it was an He 162 Volksjager but the wings fell off.
My dad had 1 in the 60s. It was great.
Had one of these for 3 years or so, drove it to school (16+ ) and polytechnic circa 1969-70. One time it stopped with an alarming rattle - turned out the single spark plug had unscrewed! Fond memories. I'm now 68.
I had one of these about 1961. Once had eight people in it! Quite a squash!
More genuine and unselfconscious character in it's steering wheel boss than in the entire design and execution of the Nissan Juke.
I couldn't agree more. The bland anodyne guff that's turned out these days is put to shame by a little gem such as this.
@@davebicker8618.... By which, presumably, you mean comfortable, quiet, safe, efficient, spacious, good load carrying, err, room for more than 1 person, etc etc........?!
@@davebicker8618 err, make that room for more than 2 people......!
Andy, I'm sure it isn't beyond the wit of designers to engineer a little character into a vehicle. The new Fiat 500 for example has the joy of the original, without going into BMW MINI obesity levels.
It is possible.
I've always thought this the best looking of the 'bubble' cars...
Yeah johno4521 better interior and instruments as well.
Nice review looks like you enjoyed that drive.
Very enjoyable ride and review. Well done Ian.
Rich and carnivorous cats LA California USA
Hi. I was with the 2cv lot. We all had a great time at the Micromaniacs camp. I was a Bond driver back in the day and hanker after one now. Thanks for a fun video.
Love it hubnut thanks 👍😎👍.
Mr Hub Nut, yet another excellent video. I'm binge watching all your output. Bought a Matiz SE plus, new on an S plate, loved that car. So pleased to hear you talking with so much affection about yours and all the other cars you feature. Foxanne series has been brilliant. Keep up the good work.
I was watching an episode of Wheeler Dealers yesterday evening on Quest channel ironically they were restoring a messerschmitt microcar
I've seen that episode a couple of times, felt bad for Edd China when he cracked the plastic 'dome' and had to get another new one.
@@ferrumignis Edd was really upset about that, £800 for another dome
I found that TERRIFYING!!! You're a braver man than I, Ian...
Beautiful, very interesting. I love it👍 but one question, where does the the tail gunner sit? You should of got a Triumph Spitfire to chase you 😁
It was an He177 but the wings fell off.
A chap in our village had one of these in the sixties,we had a trip to the seaside in it,two adults and three five year olds! It shared a big shed with a beautiful blue Bentley Continental.
Lovely Jubbly Mr HubNut, very quirky little thing.
Thanks for another Great video , it must of been exciting to drive because it felt scary just watching the image online You were so brave even going on the main road. really shows you how refine the Mini was compared to a lot of the small cars available at the time of it's release in 1959.
I want one!! What a fabulous little car. That looked like a really fun ride. Every journey would be an adventure in a Trojan 200:)
you have been in the cabin cockpit, you are one of a few brave pilots
No triangle of doom to worry about with a single wiper blade!
Cracking and Amusing video - Cheers
Bare bones it may be, but what a remarkable little vehicle, and thank you for sharing your video Sir 👍 Tam.
TWC will feel like a stretch limo yo
What a fascinating little machine. I’ve only seen these in books and photos, so the road test was greatly appreciated.
Great review Mr Hubnut. Keep them coming.
I love these sorts of cars and their concepts.
I wonder to myself how much car do we really need?
My father had one in the early sixties. He took our family, two adults and two small children + baggage in it on holiday to the seaside. God knows how we all fitted in, but I have the photos to prove it.
Thank you Ian I`ve always wanted to have a closer look at one of these
Great video, I had one of these in 1964, I used to go all over in it, my Reg was yee 880, it's now in the Haynes motor museum in Somerset.
The rear view mirror work is exceptional in this video!
Really enjoyed this. Thanks for sharing the experience.
A friend of mine used to work for Trojan. Really enjoyed your review, Ian.
I haven't seen you have that much fun on a road test before!
Ian, HubNut stop straining the fuc out of these fantastic epics. You, yes you are fantastic. Cheers
If I lived 1000 lifetimes I would never learn as much as you know about cars. I love your videos. Thank you Hub Nut. Great guy, great shows. Pete UK
"Small but perfectly formed Trojan". Another great line.😂😂 I hear they come in small packets.👍
One of the greatest episodes, Absolutely
We had a 2nd hand one (£120!) which took the 2 of us and my 4 year old, on a camping holiday from Portsmouth to the Mediterranean. Ferry to Cherbourg. They packed us in so tightly on the ferry, that we had to get out through the top! We had to pay to bring the child back, as she had had her fifth birthday.
Pont du Gard, Gorges of the Tarn, the Dordogne etc.,
Uphill down dale, never faltered, to a camp site on the shore at Sete.
Cautionary note: Never run out of petrol in the Carmargue! Always take a Bidon!
Tremendously stable. Fine braking, hydraulic very reliable. 3 wheels so reduced Tax!
We were side swiped and shoved off the road by a French learner driver: never rolled as we slid across grass and gravel! We saw some crazy driving. Also, the scrap yards seemed to be full of newer cars than the average UK traffic.
www.heinkel-trojan-club.co.uk/Cars.aspx
I wish these were still in production.
Pure Hub - Nuttiness ! Thanks Ian - I am now convinced I do not want to go out onto the open road in one of these - no matter how much fun overtaking a cyclist might be :) .
When I was very young my dad bought a non running example of one of these and set about doing it up.He was about half way through restoring it but afterwards had loads of other house projects to get on with and it just sat in the garage under a sheet until we sold it. Great shame really it could’ve been great fun.
Brilliant, took me back to 1967, unfortunately the battery wouldn’t charge so I reluctantly sold it, but really loved it.
The rear view mirror is like an additional face cam ha! Great little car though!
I had a brief fifteen minute or so ride in one of these around 1969.
Thanks for the ride in this one.
Driving down single track roads in a tiny car with only your knees as the crumple zone and the chance of an SUV hoofing it round the next corner in the middle of the road, Sir, you have balls or steel!
Love these tiny cars and I really enjoy your road tests. One can hear how much you enjoy them yourself. When you first drove over that field, I thought that this does not sound like a four stroke and a couple of seconds later you talked about that : )
Brilliant! Twenty two minutes of Mr HubNut grinning! Great overtake...... of a cyclist! Got a bit worried when the camera fell off the mount. Seriously, this is one of the best test drive vids from you! Super fun little car!
Ian - by 'eck - you're so correct: entertaining and a proper giggle. Charming. What a characterful car. Superb gearbox and gear changing scenes. Love your videos. And I always love your driving and driving style - keep up the good work (though I know your clutch foot was only hovering and not touching the clutch... though a bit worrying!!!). Many thanks indeed for your GREAT content. Very best wishes.
This is the sort of car that would suit "Mini HubNut!"
I love the wheel steering!
I was expecting handle bars like twk.
Great upload!!!
I'll always remember my uncle taking me for a ride in his sky blue bubble car in the sixties.
These cars have become collector's items today . Great memories .
That looks like great fun Ian. I 'm glad you didn't meet that other car at 9:20 actually on the bend. :-|
You should take one with you to New Zealand. It should fit in your hand luggage no problem ;-)
I love these mini/micro car road tests! :)
I remember these when I was a teenager in the fifties. They were absolutely lethal. No protection in an accident and absolutely abysmal handling.
fistpumped the air at the Peel! i love them... you should see if you can get a drive in one
Great review 👍
I remember a friend of my mother having one of these when I was a small boy. I actually rode in the back, while the ladies sat in the front.
The old ones are the best.Bubble cars always remind me of the 1960's :) Love them !
Ok in the country lanes until it snows; then forget it. Another interesting road test...thank you.
Many Happy Returns of the day
you were definitely enjoying yourself in this one :-)
I used to own a Henkel Kabine
built by the Dundalk Engineering Company in Ireland
it was a great little car although i wouldn't drive it on the motorway again lol
i also owned a Henkel Tourist Scooter (same engine & gearbox but only 175cc)
well designed and made ,great fun :-)
I think they should start making these cars again love that gear change never heard a 1 cylinder engine so good !
That looked like a lot of fun, it gave the impression the car was going really fast down the country lanes and i cringed at the braking performance,but that said the car is old, another great video thankyou.
A noble spirit embiggens the smallest car!
Thanks for the ride! I’d LOVE to go for a ride in one of these.
I never thought I'd pine for TWC's engine and CV transmission!
Two further points, it was a very slick gear change and very fast off the lights, beating all others! Final point, a friend and I drove from Essex to north Wales and back on a camping holiday. The car held all our kit and performed beautifully. Loved it!
Petrol was a factor, but the main reason was the fact they could be driven on a motorcycle license, and road tax was very little for 3 wheelers. Some of the 3 wheelers of the day didn't have reverse, but were light enough to push backwards. My brother John summed it up perfectly when he said: "Second class driving is still better than first class walking!" A Great review, thanks for posting.
That was where the "no reverse" thing came from. On a m/c licence in UK, my brother wasn't allowed to use reverse until he passed a driving test, so there was a plate which prevented moving it back into reverse. When he passed, he changed the gear quadrant :-)
(Red Trojan 200, BMT409A from memory)
Enjoyed that!
In the late 50's to early 60's the Trojan was my dads car. I distinctly remember going with him in the Trojan from our home in North Herts to both Snetterton and Silverstone race tracks to watch motorbike racing - good times.
Magic! I am green with envy.
I'm quite jealous. This looks like very good fun.
Wow! It's the future, but only if everybody else has one as well. I liked the radio doubling as a side impact bar . . .
In those days going for a drive was an actual adventure.
My grandfather bought his first car when he was in his late 40s, it was a Simca 1000.
I also had twin exhaust , on a 50 cc Malaguti Olympique cafe racer moped . Just thought I'd throw that into the mix .
Endless fun! The Henkels I remember from the 60s were much narrower at the front and possibly single seaters. There was no clearance to enter the car, as the steering wheel sat centrally blocking the way. But the trick was that the wheel stem was attached to the door and allowed to swing with it. Opening the door would pull the wheel to one side to make room for entering the car. Cool!
Never been a fan of micro cars but since Ive been a fan of HN im changing my opinion and seeing the fun and attraction well Done Ian very interesting seeing these cars
Looking so cute that car!
Another great video. I would love one of those to go to work in.
David Jason drove one of these in a programme he did called ‘Lucky Feller’ - his character was called Shorty and his was red.
One was used in two Ealing comedy films of 1959, 'Double Berth' and the greatest film of the era " I'm all right Jack". Both driven by Ian Carmichael . The scene where he tries to 'romance' Liz Fraser shows how spacious the car is/isn't.
My pre-Invacar 500cc transport was a 200cc 2 stroke invalid carriage, and once I managed, sightly downhill, just over 50mph. Scary but fun. When I drove up to Scotland I had to stop every 30 miles for 15 minutes to let the engine cool down. It took eight hours to do the run, which I did every summer to visit relatives.
Amazing. Different times!