Mival, 1956, Mivalino 175

Mival “Mivalino 175”, 1956

In the early ‘50s the so-called micro cars had a large diffusion in Europe. These were curious little cars with three or four wheels and able to carry two people and their luggage. They usually were fitted with a motorcycle engine and therefore, to many people, they represented the first means of transport after the motorcycle. As the Italian Isetta was manufactured abroad under licence (i.e. in Germany by BMW), even cars designed abroad were then produced in Italy under licence.
It was the case of this little car that the Mival of Gardone Valtrompia started producing from 1953 under licence of the German Messerschmitt, the famous aircrafts manufacturer which after the war converted its production to popular cars.
The KR 175 and later 200 (or Mivalina, as called in Italy) showed the feature of the two-seats in tandem: the transparent roof made the little car look like a fighter airplane cockpit.