Biscúter
Encyclopedia
Microcar
A microcar is the smallest automobile classification usually applied to standard small car . Such small cars were generally referred to as cyclecars until the 1940s. More recent models are also called bubblecars due to their egg-shaped appearance.-Definition:The definition of a microcar has varied...
manufactured in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
during the mid-20th century.
Background
Raw material shortages and general economic difficulties in Europe following the Second World War made very small, economical cars popular in many countries. In Spain, following the Civil War and the embargo declared by the United Nations to the General Francisco FrancoFrancisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's dictatorship, the situation was similar. As Spain's economy was relatively isolated
Autarky
Autarky is the quality of being self-sufficient. Usually the term is applied to political states or their economic policies. Autarky exists whenever an entity can survive or continue its activities without external assistance. Autarky is not necessarily economic. For example, a military autarky...
from the developed world, the post-war economic situation lasted for almost two decades. The country operated at a lower economic level than the rest of Western Europe, and was forced to develop domestic substitutes
Ersatz
Ersatz means 'substituting for, and typically inferior in quality to', e.g. 'chicory is ersatz coffee'. It is a German word literally meaning substitute or replacement...
for hard-to-get imported products and technologies. The Biscúter, tiny, simple, and cheap even by microcar standards, was a product of this economic environment and was well suited to its time and market.
Origins
The car actually had its origins in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the late 1940s, where aircraft designer Gabriel Voisin
Gabriel Voisin
Gabriel Voisin was an aviation pioneer and the creator of Europe's first manned, engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft capable of a sustained , circular, controlled flight, including take-off and landing. It was flown by Henry Farman on January 13, 1908 near Paris, France...
had designed a minimal car called the Biscooter. The playful name implied that it was about the size of two motorscooters, or a scooter with four wheels. The design drew no interest from either manufacturers or consumers there, however, and he eventually licensed it to Spanish firm Autonacional S.A. of Barcelona. By the time it was introduced in 1953, the marque had been hispanicized to Biscúter. The first car had no formal model name and was called simply the Series 100, but it soon became known as the Zapatilla, or little shoe (clog
Clog (shoe)
A clog is a type of footwear made in part or completely from wood.The Oxford English Dictionary defines a clog as a "thick piece of wood", and later as a "wooden soled overshoe" and a "shoe with a thick wooden sole"....
), after a low-heeled peasant slipper popular at the time.
Technical information
The Zapatilla was minimal indeed, with no doors or windows or reverse gear. The 1 cylinder, 197 cc, two-stroke motor produced 9 horsepower (7 kW), had a crank starterStarter
- Science and technology :* Starter motors, used to start internal-combustion engines* Motor starters, used to start large electric motors* Fluorescent lamp starters, used to initiate operation of fluorescent lights- Food and meals :...
, and drove only the right front wheel. Braking was by an unusual three-point system involving the transmission and cable ties to the two rear wheels. One genuinely advanced feature was an all-aluminum body, although steel was later used.
History
Biscúter flourished for about ten years and the cars became a common sight on Spanish roads, as well as a part of popular culture. ("Ugly as a Biscúter" was a common joke.) Amenities such as doors and windows did eventually appear, and several different bodystyles were produced, including trucks, an elegant woodieWoodie
A woodie is a car body style, especially a station wagon, where the rear bodywork is constructed of wood framework with infill panels of wood or painted metal....
station wagon
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
, and a toy-like sports car called the Pegasín (little Pegaso
Pegaso
Pegaso was a Spanish make of trucks, omnibuses, tractors, armored vehicles, and, for a while, sports cars. The parent company, Enasa, was created in 1946 and based in the old Hispano-Suiza factory, under the direction of the renowned automotive engineer Wifredo Ricart...
).
In 1950 the Spanish auto maker SEAT
SEAT
SEAT, S.A. is a Spanish automobile manufacturer founded on May 9, 1950 by the Instituto Nacional de Industria , a state-owned industrial holding company....
was set up as the country's national car manufacturer, but at first even the most inexpensive of its designs were considered luxury cars, out of reach of the average Spanish consumer. As time went on and a greater degree of prosperity developed, though, SEATs began to take more of the market and crowd out the cheaper marques. In 1957 the company attempted to produce a sports car
Sports car
A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
, the Biscuter Pegasin
Biscuter Pegasin
Biscúter Pegasin was a sports car from Autonacional. It was revealed in 1957 in an attempt to attract the wealthier buyers. It was more upscale then the very basic Biscúter and it had two-colour plastic body, hard- and soft-top. The styling was similar to the Pegaso Z-102...
in an attempt to attract the wealthier buyers. The styling was similar to the Pegaso
Pegaso
Pegaso was a Spanish make of trucks, omnibuses, tractors, armored vehicles, and, for a while, sports cars. The parent company, Enasa, was created in 1946 and based in the old Hispano-Suiza factory, under the direction of the renowned automotive engineer Wifredo Ricart...
Z-102
Pegaso Z-102
The Pegaso Z-102 was a sports car coupé produced in Spain between 1951 and 1958.-Background:Pegaso was an established company noted for its trucks and motor coaches, but also produced sports cars for seven years...
, but it didn't help much. By the early 60s, Biscúter sales and production stopped, after a total production run of about 12,000. It is thought that almost all of the cars were eventually scrapped.
Today
Now Biscúters are mostly museum curiosities, although like many vanished marques they have some following among auto enthusiasts. The name is little-known outside Spain, however, and most materials pertaining to it are in Spanish. Their extreme rarity makes it likely that any surviving example would be a genuine collectible, although probably not one of an extremely high value.External links
The Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum
The Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum is a museum in Madison, Georgia, United States that holds the largest single collection of microcars in the world...
in Georgia has probably the best Biscúter collection in the United States:
A history of the marque in Spanish, with some interesting photos: