Most liked posts in thread: The 1951 Hoffmann

I love it! I'm a 1951 model too although I was made in Cleveburg. No jokes about my track & wheelbase please. Two stroke engine propelled by smoke what's not to love?

 

I wounder how he really feels about it?

 

Did you notice that Nathan edited the OP? Maybe the whole thing wasn't as bad as it was made to look.

 

Since there were no cars in Germany right after the war, I'd think anything that would keep you dry and warm and allow you to get from A to B would be better than what they had, but the engineering compromises on this are astounding, and not in a good way.

However, I think all cars should be celebrated for the time and place for which they were intended, this guy was hard for me to watch.....our coveted classic Minis are not good cars either when looked at thru the lens of modern times and cars.

 

A girl 2 years ahead in H.S. had an Isetta, would have been around '60 or '61. Some guys got ahold of it, up the stairs to the school door, removed the center door post, down the hall to the freight elevator and up on the roof where it could be seen from the whole campus.

 

Wow, that looks worse than a Fiat, even.

 

The front view reminds me of a airliner. Right after WWII, I doubt that Europe had any freeways and people did not drive very far or very fast, so it might not have been that bad back then.

 

Well said Dave.

 

I like the shape of the Hoffman too, although it would be really tough to get in and out......seems like if you turned the motor around and put the wheel at the back it would help the handling considerably.......that and steering the front wheels instead of the rear!

BTW, is that Martinette in the Curtis Museum? Seems like I remember seeing it there......

 

And honestly, it's not just Classic Minis that could be thought of as "not good cars" with a narrow, short-sighted approach. We love our modern MINIs around here, but we all recognize they are not for everybody's needs or tastes.

Of course, all those people who don't like MINIs (or Classic Minis) are totally wrong. And stupid too.


:biggrin5:

 

Damn straight!

 

Reminds me of
http://wodumedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Dim-is-voiced-by-Brad-Garrett-in-Walt-Disneys-A-Bugs-Life-1998-10.jpg

 

It sounds like the Hoffman should be described as 'heroically bad' - and with that much wrong with it, it acquires charm.

I reposted the video on a microcar site and got the response that this Hoffmann is really only a Hoffmann motorcycle engine/gearbox in a prototype car - it never made it into production, perhaps not surprisingly.....

Hoffmann did however build a mircocar using their engine that looked suspiciously like the Isetta but without the front door. BMW legal action stopped them from building many.

 

I kinda want an Isetta. With a roll cage, and an RMW TVS Stroker. And a big drag slick on the back.