AutoCult Porsche Tempo Mikafa Sport Camper (1955) (Germany)

About the Original

The quick Matador

The MIKAFA plant – the abbreviation stood for ‘Mindener Karosserie und Fahrzeugbau GmbH‘ – was founded in 1949 and devoted itself to the construction of motorhomes from 1951 onwards after initially producing single-axle caravans. After a short time, the company had earned a reputation as a first-class manufacturer. Right from the start, the Düsseldorf-based company used the chassis of the Tempo Matador as the basis for its mobile homes. Due to own tubular space frames, some of the camper vans could even be built wider and longer than the standard Matadors had left the factory. Form 1955 onwards, two orders were placed in which Matador motorhomes were equipped with a different engine – the 4-cylinder boxer of a Porsche 356.

Contrary to the arrangement in the sporty original vehicle, the former 356 drive, as usual with the Matador, was installed at the front under the two front seats. The power was also not distributed to the rear axle, but to the front axle. With this engine, the Matador was of course a much faster contemporary than its colleagues. But the increased driving pleasure at that time also had a considerable disadvantage – the price. The Porsche-powered MIKAFA motorhome cost up to 40,000 DM. However, this purchase price also took into account the interior fittings carried out by MIKAFA, which were considered very high-class quality at the time.