Mikrus MR-300

Friday 26 March 2010
The Mikrus MR-300 was a Polish microcar produced between 1957 - 1960 with a body built by WSK Mielec and engines by WSK Rzeszów. Only 1,728 units were built. One of few cars of entirely Polish construction, the Mikrus was designed to be a high-volume low-cost car for the masses. Towards the end of 1956 the Polish Central Bureau wanted to find a way of utilising all the spare manufacturing capacity of two aviation works - WSK (Wytwórnia Sprzętu Komunikacyjnego - Communication Equipment Factory) Mielec and WSK Rzeszów. These two factories had previously only produced aeroplanes and motorcycles but were able to be adapted for car manufacture. The project was introduced at the National Automotive Meeting at the start of 1957 and the first prototypes were shown on the 22 July in Warsaw. The car was named Mikrus MR300 with the initials M and R taken from the two city names of Mielec and Rzeszów. The first production cars were ready by the end of 1957.

Technical data:
- engine: 2 cylinders
- capacity: 296 cc
- horsepower: 15 HP
- gearbox: 3+1
- top speed: 90 km/h