The Weakest Cars Ever: 10 Lowest-Horsepower Cars, Head to Head

Category winners

• WeakestPeel P50 / Peel Trident4.2 hp
• Slowest 0–609 of 10 cars never get theretop speed under 60 mph; no published 0–60 for the rest
• Lowest top speedPeel P50 / Peel Trident38 mph
• LightestPeel P50130 lb
• Worst power-to-weightCitroën 2CV Type A8.2 hp per 1,000 lb
• Cheapest newKing Midget Model I$350 assembled (1951)
• Fewest horses per seatPeel Trident2.10 hp per butt

The table

How we ranked them: Ranked by rated horsepower, weakest first. European PS figures are converted to hp (1 PS = 0.986 hp). Ties go to the older car.

• * Messerschmitt KR175: 9 PS.
• * Heinkel Kabine 175 (Type 150): 9.2 PS.
• * Messerschmitt KR200: 10.2 PS.
• ‡ Peel Trident: advertised figure per Audrain Automobile Museum; Lane Motor Museum lists 30 mph.
• ‡ King Midget Model I: 1948 advertising claim.
• ‡ Heinkel Kabine 175 (Type 150): tested, auto motor und sport 19/1956.
• § Bond Minicar Mark A: per Microcar Fan; the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum lists 340 lb.
• § Messerschmitt KR200: per German Wikipedia; Conceptcarz lists 230 kg (507 lb).
• "Sold in the US" means the car was offered new here. The BMW Isetta badge comes with an asterisk: US cars were mostly the 13-hp Isetta 300.
• — means we couldn't verify that number from a manufacturer or test source, so we left it blank instead of guessing.

The ground rules

• Production cars sold new to the public and legal on the road. No concepts, no one-offs, no pure kit cars. Microcars absolutely count.
• Ranked by rated horsepower, weakest first. European PS figures are converted to hp (1 PS = 0.986 hp). Ties go to the older car.
• 0–60 is labeled claim or tested where a source exists. Cars with a top speed under 60 mph get "Never", because physics. A dash means nobody published a number we could verify.
• Original price is the launch price in US dollars for cars sold here, otherwise in the original currency and year. The ≈ $ figure is a rough conversion at fixed 1950s official exchange rates (£1 = $2.80, $1 = DM 4.20, 625 lire or 350 francs) so the table can sort. It is not adjusted for inflation.
• Missed the cut: the prewar-designed Fiat 500 Topolino also made 13 hp, so it ties the Nuova 500 for 10th and loses the tiebreak to the newer car. The Goggomobil T250 (13.6 hp) finishes just outside.

The contestants

1. 

   No. 1 · 1963

   Peel P50

   4.2 hp · 49cc DKW two-stroke single · 0–60 Never · 38 mph · 130 lb · £199 (1963) · 4.20 hp per seat

   Read its Quirk DB entry →

   The smallest production car ever made, and it also sits at the top of the weakest list. It has one door, one headlight and three wheels, and no reverse gear: you get out and drag it around by the handle on the back. At 130 lb it wins the lightest award by a mile. With 4.2 hp per 130 lb it actually has the best power-to-weight here, which shows how low this bar is.

   Sources: BBC Isle of Man: the Peel P50 · National Motor Museum: Peel P50

2. 

   No. 2 · 1965

   Peel Trident

   4.2 hp · 49cc two-stroke single · 0–60 Never · 38 mph · 330 lb · £190 (1965) · 2.10 hp per seat

   The P50's two-seat sibling, with a flip-up bubble canopy that looks like it came off a fighter jet. It has the same 4.2 hp as the P50 but 200 lb more car to haul, plus a passenger, which means 2.1 hp per butt. It also cost less than the P50.

   Sources: Lane Motor Museum: 1965 Peel Trident · Audrain Automobile Museum: 1965 Peel Trident

3. 

   No. 3 · 1949

   Bond Minicar Mark A

   5.0 hp · 122cc Villiers 10D two-stroke single · 0–60 Never · 45 mph · 310 lb · about £200 (1949) · 2.50 hp per seat

   Postwar Britain wanted cheap wheels, and Lawrie Bond delivered: an aluminum tub, a motorcycle engine bolted to the single front wheel, and no rear suspension because the tires were the suspension. Five horsepower and a lot of optimism.

   Sources: Bond Owners Club: Minicar Mark A · Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum: Bond Mk A · Microcar Fan: Bond Minicar

4. 

   No. 4 · 1948 · Sold in the US

   King Midget Model I

   6.0 hp · Wisconsin air-cooled single · 0–60 Never · 45 mph · 330 lb · $350 assembled (1951) · 6.00 hp per seat

   Ohio's answer to the Jeep, if the Jeep had been shrunk in the wash. It was sold mostly as a kit, but Midget Motors also sold it fully assembled, which is the version we ranked. At $350 it is the cheapest new car here, and it is the only one that is all-American.

   Sources: King Midget Car Club: Model I · Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum: King Midget Model I · Microcar Fan: King Midget

5. 

   No. 5 · 1953

   Messerschmitt KR175

   8.9 hp · 174cc Fichtel & Sachs two-stroke single · 0–60 Never · 50 mph · 485 lb · DM 2,100 (1953) · 4.45 hp per seat

   Read the Quirk DB entry for its KR200 sibling →

   Yes, that Messerschmitt. With no warplanes to build, the company made a tandem two-seater with a canopy, handlebar steering and the aerodynamics of a cockpit with the plane removed. Your passenger sits directly behind you and gets to watch you drive.

   Sources: Wikipedia: Messerschmitt KR175 · Wikipedia (de): Messerschmitt Kabinenroller · Microcar Fan: Messerschmitt KR175

6. 

   No. 6 · 1949

   Citroën 2CV Type A

   9.0 hp · 375cc air-cooled flat-twin · 0–60 Never · 40 mph · 1,091 lb · 228,000 francs (1949) · 2.25 hp per seat

   Read its Quirk DB entry →

   Famously designed to carry four farmers and a basket of eggs across a plowed field without breaking an egg. Nobody said anything about doing it quickly. It's a real four-door car with real seats for four, which makes it the heaviest car here, so its 9 hp gives it the worst power-to-weight of the lot.

   Sources: Citroënët: 2CV Type A · 2CV Légende: prices

7. 

   No. 7 · 1956

   Heinkel Kabine 175 (Type 150)

   9.1 hp · 174cc four-stroke single · 0–60 Never · 54 mph · 536 lb · DM 2,750 (1956) · 4.55 hp per seat

   The other German aircraft maker that turned to bubble cars. You get in through the front, like an Isetta, and The only torque figure on this list, all 9.5 lb-ft of it, came from a real road test.

   Sources: Microcar Fan: Heinkel Kabine (citing auto motor und sport 19/1956)

8. 

   No. 8 · 1956 · Sold in the US

   Messerschmitt KR200

   10.1 hp · 191cc Fichtel & Sachs two-stroke single · 0–60 — · 62 mph · 529 lb · about $1,073 (US) · 5.05 hp per seat

   Read its Quirk DB entry →

   The KR175 grown up, with 1.2 more horsepower. It's the only car here with a top speed over 60 mph, by 2 mph, but nobody published a 0–60 time, so it might get there someday. To go backward you restart the engine so it runs in reverse, and then you have four reverse gears.

   Sources: Conceptcarz: Messerschmitt KR200 · Wikipedia (de): Messerschmitt Kabinenroller

9. 

   No. 9 · 1955 · Sold in the US

   BMW Isetta 250

   12.0 hp · 247cc four-stroke single · 0–60 Never · 53 mph · 772 lb · DM 2,550 (1955) · 6.00 hp per seat

   Read its Quirk DB entry →

   It saved BMW. Built under license from Iso, the egg with a fridge door for a front end kept the company afloat while its V-8 limousines lost money. The whole front swings open, steering wheel included, so park nose to the curb and step right out onto the sidewalk.

   Sources: BMW Group Classic: Isetta 250 Standard · Isetta Club e.V.: technical data

10. 

    No. 10 · 1957 · Sold in the US

    Fiat Nuova 500

    13.0 hp · 479cc air-cooled twin · 0–60 Never · 53 mph · 1,036 lb · 490,000 lire (1957) · 6.50 hp per seat

    The car that put Italy on wheels, and the strongest car here at 13 whole horsepower. The 1957 launch car only had two seats and a fabric roof that rolled all the way back. It sold so badly at first that Fiat quickly gave it more power and a back seat. It's still the cutest thing on four wheels.

    Sources: Wikipedia (it): Fiat Nuova 500 technical data · Microcar Fan: Fiat Nuova 500

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