AutoCult SFM Smyk B30 (1958) (Poland)

About the Original:

For Creatives and Constructors

Germany had the small vehicles Isetta, Janus, bubble car and others, and Poland could have the Smyk.

The vehicle was constructed in the testing department of the Szczecinska Fabryka Motocykli-Junek in Szczecin and was tested on drivable prototypes from 1958. The most striking feature of the vehicle was the entrance door. The entrance door could be opened to the front, like the German vehicles, however it did not swing sideward, but it could be folded forwards at an angle of 35 degrees. This form of opening was not only a complete design failure but also small and therefore out of touch with reality. To reach the rear row of seats the passenger seat had to be laboriously folded down, this also proved as very unpractical.

A borrowed engine of a Junek motorcycle was used for power with a maximum performance of just 15 hp. The motor was mounted in the rear of the small vehicle with a length of just under 3 meters. The maximum speed was closely 80 km/h and was only possible because the Smyk only weighed 470 kg. The complete car body was produced of plastic and thus made the low weight possible.

But all of this did not help, and the unusual entrance by the very strange design of the front door was primarily responsible for the Smyk not entering series production. In the end, only 20 prototypes were built.