A. Ellados Poker 126
Autokinitoviomihania Ellados was a Greek manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1975 in...
Small Cars of the 1970s: A–Z List
The oil crisis of 1973 renewed interest in small, economical cars, and the decade brought electric experiments, kit cars and city-car concepts alongside the last microcars. This page lists models from the 1970s in the catalog.
Models appear here when the catalog gives a production or presentation year (or a decade tag). Models without a known year are not listed, so use the catalog A–Z for the full list.
Other decades: Before 1950, 1950s, 1960s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s.
52BRANDS
73MODELS
A
ACOMA Comtesse Break Type 790
In 1979, ACOMA itroduced a new 4-wheel model Comtesse Break Type 790. It shares the chassis with Super...
ACOMA Comtesse Type 770
In 1977, ACOMA presented an improved version of successful but dangerous Mini Comtesse Type 730E. The new...
ACOMA Mini Comtesse First Version
The very first ACOMA Mini Comtesse was presented in 1972. This rare photos give us the idea how the shape of...
ACOMA Mini Comtesse Type 73 / Type 730E
After the first prototype, in 1973 ACOMA presented its most known model Mini Comtesse Type 73, which later...
ACOMA Super Comtesse Type 780E
In 1978, ACOMA presented its first 4-wheel microcar Super Comtesse Type 780E. It shared the same fiberglass...
Addax Charly
In 1977, French company Société Anonyme d’études et de Construction Automobiles et Motocycles...
AMC Concept Electron
In 1977, the AMC Amitron prototype was updated, and was re-announced by AMC as the Concept Electron to become...
American Electric Urban Runabout
In 1979, American Electric Company created a prototype of the electric microcar Urban Runabout. It had...
Amphicat
At the 1971 Barcelona Auto Show, the “Gato Montes”, a 6-wheel drive ATV designed by Artes de...
Ant Amphibious
The “Ant” is a wheel-known three-wheeled scooter with a cargo body from in the USSR. But there was...
Arola SP
In 1978, the model range of Arola 3-wheelers was increased by the new model SP, which was technically closely...
Arola Type 10 / 11 / 12
One of the most successful of all French microcars was the Arola. First presented in 1976, it was the...
Arola Type 14 / 15 / 20
When Arola presented its first range of quadricycles in 1979, they bore close resemblance with the earlier...
Automirage 3
Automirage was one of Italy’s biggest beach buggy manufacturers in the 1970s, but it soon abandoned...
Automirage 595 Pickwick
The Automirage 595 Pickwick was a lightweight Italian beach buggy introduced in 1974 by Automirage of...
AWS Shopper
The 2-seat AWS Shopper was created in 1970 by the German entrepreneur Walter Schätzle, a former...
B
Baldi Riky
1972 Baldi Riky was a Fiat 850 Special with an original open buggy body. Similar to Betty and Tilly, it had 2...
BET 500
In 1973, BET introduced its second passenger three-wheeler called the ‘BET 500’. It had slightly...
BMA Amica
One of the earliest Italian microcars, the BMA Arnica was first seen in 1971. Produced in Alfonsine, Ravenna,...
Bond Bug 4-wheel prototype
At least one prototype 4 wheeler Bug using, presumably, Reliant Rebel front suspension and steering is known...
Bond Bug 700 / 750
Production of Bond Bug 3-wheeler started in February 1970. The first 17 vehicles were all to 700E...
Bouffort Minima
As Europe recovered from the devastating World War II, the idea of car sharing emerged as a logical solution...
Bulanti Mini
Brian Rawlings gained valuable experience building sports cars while working for Nom Engineering. By the time...
C
Commuter Vehicles Comuta-Van
In 1979, the Sebring-Vanguard CitiVan, a limited production extended-wheelbase version of the CitiCar, became...
Copper Electric Runabout
With every dramatic surge in oil prices comes renewed interest in alternative fuels for cars; the intense...
D
Daihatsu BCX
The BCX was an early electric concept car and the first in a planned series of BCX prototypes, although the...
Daihatsu BCX-II
The 1972 Daihatsu BCX-II concept was powered by a small electric motor mounted at the rear. The vehicle’s...
Daihatsu EV1
At the 1973 Tokyo Motor Show five Japanese manufacturers joined forces to create a full lineup of electric...
Duport Onyx
The Duport Onyx was a French-built microcar developed by ski lift engineering company Duport to keep factory...
E
Electraction Rickshaw
Electric cars of the 1970s were heavy and slow. They had small weird fiberglass bodies. The Electraction...
F
Felber Rubis 112
The Felber Rubis 112, built on the foundations of the Autobianchi A112, elevated the compact city car to a...
Fiat 126 Cavalletta
At the 1976 Turin Motor Show, the Fiat stand was adorned by a curious little creature. The car was called the...
Fiat 126p
The Fiat 126p, the first of which rolled off the assembly line on June 6, 1973, was a fixture on the streets...
Fiat 500 Minimaxi Moretti
Fiat 500 Minimaxi Moretti was created by the Italian automobile company Moretti Motors. This company began...
Fiat Ecos
The Fiat Ecos made its debut at the 1978 Turin Motor Show as a forward-looking study in environmentally...
Fiat ESV 1500
The impetus for Fiat’s attempt to create the safest possible city car came from the US. In 1970, the...
Fiat X 1/23
Unveiled at the 1974 Turin Motor Show alongside the new Fiat 131, the Fiat X 1/23 was a compact electric...
Fissore 127 Scout
The Fissore 127 Scout was an open leisure vehicle based on the front-wheel-drive Fiat 127. Designed for...
Ford Urban / Max by Ghia
The Ford Urban (later called the Max) was a forward-thinking Ghia concept from the early 1970s, built around...
Formula Mini Plus
Open-wheel single-seater formula racing has always been popular, especially when it’s affordable and...
H
Holden Cub
The Holden Cub Concept, developed in 1973, was an ambitious attempt to rethink the city car. Created as a...
Home built roadster from Siberia
This tiny home-made car was made in Siberia. It was created in 1971. According to the author, the biggest...
Honda Hondina by Zagato
The Honda Hondina by Zagato was a small open sports-car concept created around Honda kei-car mechanicals. It...
Honda Hondina Zagato
The Honda Hondina sports car was created in 1970 by the Italian studio Zagato, commissioned by the Japanese...
J
Jinlu SH740
In 1979, a front engine Jinlu SH740 with an air-cooled engine was introduced. Jinlu means Golden Deer. The...
L
Lada 1801 Pony
The 70s of the 20th century was a time of fun buggy cars that were very fashionable at the time. Many...
Lawil Willam City A3
It’s hard to believe that this micro-car called Lawil Willam City comes from Italy, the country that...
Lepoix Ding
The French-born industrial designer Louis Lepoix was probably best known for his commercial vehicles and...
Lucas Electric Taxi
While many suppliers of car parts tried to move from a supplier to a full-fledged automaker (for example,...
M
Mazda EV3
The Mazda EV3, introduced in 1973, was one of Japan’s earliest forays into electric mobility. It emerged...
Melex 102 / 112 / 202 / 212
Founded in Mielec, Poland in 1970, Melex golf cars entered the U.S. market in June 1971. Their first cars...
Melex City Car
In April 1973, the construction of a prototype of an electric car, named City car Melex, was completed. It...
Michelotti LEM
The Michelotti LEM—short for “Mobile Electronic Laboratory”—was an innovative electric city car...
Mini Puma
In the mid-1960s, Puma sketched out the project for a popular national car, taking advantage of the...
N
Nissan 315X
Nissan may have brought electric cars to the mainstream with the Leaf back in 2010, but its EV heritage...
R
Renault VBG
The Renault VBG Prototype was the first major assignment Robert Opron tackled after joining Renault from...
S
SEAB Flipper
This is 1978 SEAB Flipper — the car that you can drive without a driving license. The Flipper is...
Sebring-Vanguard CitiCar
In the early 1970s, Robert Beaumont, founder and owner of the Sebring-Vanguard company in Florida, was...
Sebring-Vanguard CitiVan
The CitiVan, was a limited production extended-wheelbase version of the CitiCar. Produced and sold from 1977...
Shanghai SK720
A batch of 30 microcars Shanghai SK720 was produced in 1979-1980. The engine was the Changjiang motorcycle...
Siva Llama
The Siva Llama was a British multi-purpose kit car from the 1970s, designed by Neville Trickett of the Siva...
Skoda Buggy type 736
In 125 years of existence, Skoda has created not only cars for motorsport but also cars for fun and joy. This...
SMZ-1101
The history of the Soviet microcar Lada-1101 “Oka” did not begin at AvtoVAZ at all, although the...
Stimson Scorcher
Britain’s licensing authorities weren’t too sure what to make of the Stimson Scorcher in 1976,...
T
Tiny 70
As part of the 1968 transformation experiment known as the new economic mechanism in Hungary, the Electricity...
Tiny I
As part of the 1968 transformation experiment known as the new economic mechanism in Hungary, the Electricity...
Toyota EV2
At the 1973 Tokyo Motor Show, five Japanese manufacturers united to showcase a complete range of electric...
U
UrbaCar
The UrbaCar, a niche, do-it-yourself (DIY) kit car design from the 1970 – the design was featured in...
V
Velorex 435-O
Producing of Velorex 3-wheelers was stopped in 1971, when the factory presented four-wheel microcar for...
Volkswagen Chicco
The Chicco prototype was developed by Volkswagen Design as an experiment in packaging, usability, and...
Volvo Elbil
In 1976, Volvo created Elbil prototype that could carry four passengers, despite taking up less space than...
Z
Zagato Zele 1000
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Italian coachbuilder Zagato was a byword for motoring excitement—a dream...