Collection items starting with M

Jeanneau, the parent company of Microcar, began as a builder of fiberglass pleasure boats, but soon turned to the production of sans permis microcars – cars small enough to not require many of the legalities of full-sized cars.

In 1965, Marcos Cars Ltd. produced a Mini-Marcos coupe with Mini running gear and a fiberglass body and monocoque. It was based on a design by Paul Emery and was sold as a kit. 

Weight- and space-saving was the goal of Henri Mignet when designing the HM.16, itself a derivative of the earlier HM.14. Even though Mignet did fly the HM.16, he himself did not feel it was very safe. He never sold the plans and therefore never authorized anyone else to fly this model.

Colonel Albert Eon, head of the French resistance in Brittany, approached Henri Mignet in 1944 with a set of criteria for a small military plane. Devastated by his wife’s death during the design phase, Mignet was only able to complete the prototype, designated the HM.280 “Pou Maquis” (maquis was the name given to French Resistance Fighters).

The Flying Flea was designed by Henri Mignet, a French designer/builder, in 1934, and was one of the first home-built airplanes. (Can be seen in hanging in the museum parking garage)

Mikrus (pronounced Meekroos, meaning: “little tyke” or “midget”) is a Microcar built in Poland between 1958 and 1960.  The design brief titled “4 x 4” called for a 4-wheeled car,able to carry 4 people (2 adults and 2 children) while achieving 4 liters/100kilometers (59 mpg) and weighing 400 kilograms (882 lbs).