Microcars from france..Aixam, Ardex, Arola, Avolette, 2CV, Prototype C, Ligier JS4, VLV, Vespa 400.

Aixam

Aixam-Mega is a French automobile manufacturer based in Aix-les-Bains, Savoie. It was founded in 1983 to make microcars following the acquisition of Arola. On April 11, 2013, US based Polaris Industries announced that it had acquired Aixam-Mega.

The company currently produces the Aixam A.7XX series (powered by Kubota diesel engines), a microcar comparable with the Smart. A notable difference is that some of the smaller models are restricted to 45 kilometres per hour (28 mph) and can be driven without a driving licence in some European countries (including Belgium, Estonia, France, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, and Slovenia).

In Britain they are classified as a category L7e quadricycle (quad bike) because of their weight and power output.This requires a category B1 licence to legally drive them. In January 2013, the law changed such that special restricted low power versions of the car (Aixam 400) can now be driven by full AM licence holders in the UK.

In 2006 Mega launched the electric Mega City at the British International Motor Show and in 2009 acquired the assets of NICE Car Company, which went into administration in 2008.

Ardex

Ardex was a small French automobile manufacturer controlled by Marcel Tamine and based in Nanterre.

In 1934, Ardex produced its first cyclecar, which followed the form of the Morgan three-wheeler and was powered by a V2 500 cc engine. A four-wheel car followed in 1937 which was at the time the cheapest car on the French market, priced at 5,500 francs: 10,900 francs were needed to buy a Simca 5.

In September 1939 France declared war on Germany and in June 1940 the German Army rapidly invaded and occupied Northern France. The war years were characterised by a desperate shortage of raw materials for civilian industry and of petrol. Their experience of producing very small lightweight cyclecars now encouraged Ardex to develop several little cars powered initially by electric batteries and later by pedal power during 1942 and 1943. The first significant order came from the Fulmen Company, then a leading French producer of electrical goods and equipment. The early wartime cyclecars came on four wheels, but the number of the wheels was quickly reduced to three since during 1942 tyres became increasingly hard to find and, where found, hard to afford..In October 1942 the occupying power banned the construction of electric cars, following which Ardex were restricted to pedal powered cyclecars until after the war.

In 1953, Ardex introduced a four-seater microcar. The engine was a Société Anonyme BriBan (S.A.B.B) single cylinder two stroke unit of 100 or 125 cc.

Arola

Arola SARL was a small manufacturing company based in Lyon-Corbas, France, which manufactured a range of microcars, designed to be driven without a licence. Arola became part of the Aixam group in 1983.

Models 10, 11, 12

Model SP

Models 14, 15

Models 18 and 20

Avolette

Avolette is a former French auto-maker.

The Société Air Tourist company, with its little factory at Paris in the rue de Ponthieu, began production of a small three-wheeled car in 1955. Production probably never progressed beyond the prototype stage and ended in 1958.

There was a single model, manufactured under license from Brütsch of Stuttgart. The car featured three wheels, with the single wheel at the back. Also at the back was a single-cylinder engine of between 125 cc und 250 cc. Engines came from various suppliers including Lambretta, Maico, Sachs and Ydral.

Citroën 2CV

The Citroën 2CV (French: "deux chevaux" i.e., "deux chevaux-vapeur" (lit. "two steam horses", "two tax horsepower") is an air-cooled front-engine, front-wheel-drive economy car introduced at the 1948 Paris Mondial de l'Automobile and manufactured by Citroën for model years 1948–1990.

Manufactured in France between 1948 and 1988 (and in Portugal from 1988 to 1990), over 3.8 million 2CVs were produced, along with over 1.2 million small 2CV-based delivery vans known as fourgonnettes. Citroën ultimately offered several mechanically identical variants including the Ami (over 1.8 million); the Dyane (over 1.4 million); the Acadiane (over 250,000); and the Mehari (over 140,000). In total, Citroën manufactured almost 9 million 2CVs and variants.

Citroën Prototype C

The Citroën Prototype C was a range of vehicles created by Citroën from 1955 to 1956 under the direction of André Lefèbvre. The idea was to produce a water drop-shaped, very lightweight vehicle, which would be more modern and smaller than the 2CV. One of the prototypes, the Citroën C-10 has survived and is still owned by Citroën.

The overall look of the vehicle was quite similar to the Messerschmitt bubble car. It was equipped with the same 425 cc engine as the 2CV.

The vehicle was also nicknamed Citroën Coccinelle

Ligier JS4

The Ligier JS4 is a four-wheeled, two-seater microcar manufactured from 1980 to 1983 by Ligier, the street vehicle branch of French Formula One manufacturer Equipe Ligier. It marked a change in Ligier's priorities as they had recently ended manufacture of the Ligier JS2 sports car. It is a "Voiture sans permit", a light vehicle which did not require a driver's license and was thus popular with the elderly, the young, or with those who had lost theirs. It was first presented on 25 July 1980.

Peugeot VLV

Peugeot VLV was an electric microcar made by Peugeot in 1942. VLV stood for Voiture Légère de Ville (Light City Car). The car's announcement, on 1 May 1941, triggered some surprise, since Peugeot was the only one of France's large automakers to show interest in electric propulsion at this time.

It was powered by four 12V batteries placed under the hood giving it a claimed top speed of 36 kilometres per hour (22 mph) and a range of 50 miles (80 km).

The VLV was built during the war as a way to side-step fuel restrictions imposed on non-military users by the occupying German forces. Yet, it was banned after only 377 examples were built.

VELAM Isetta

In 1954, VELAM acquired a licence from Iso to manufacture a car based on the Isetta. Since Iso had sold the body making equipment to BMW, VELAM developed their own body but used the original Iso engine. The VELAM body was rounder and more egg-like than Iso's Isetta and was known by the French as the 'yogurt pot'. Instead of a chassis like the Italian and German versions, there was a sub-frame bolted to the body at the rear, which held the rear tires, engine, and transmission. The front suspension was bolted to the front of the body. The front door was opened by push button instead of a handle, and the speedometer was mounted in the center of the steering wheel.

VELAM started production of the car in 1955 at the old Talbot factory at Suresnes, France and the car was introduced at the 1955 Paris car show. All told, five versions of the car were built: the standard Isetta, a convertible version, a luxury version, a one-off "Sport" version, and a race car. Due to competition from the Renault Dauphine, production ceased in 1958.

Vespa 400

The Vespa 400 is a rear-engined microcar, produced by ACMA in Fourchambault, France, from 1957 to 1961 to the designs of the Italian Piaggio company. Three different versions were sold, the "Luxe" , "Tourisme" and "GT".

The car made its high-profile public debut on 26 September 1957 at a press presentation staged in Monaco. The ACMA directors ensured a good attendance from members of the press by also inviting three celebrity racing drivers to the Vespa 400 launch.

The 400 was a two seater with room behind the seats to accommodate luggage or two small children on an optional cushion. The front seats were simple tubular metal frames with cloth upholstery on elastic "springs" and between the seats were the handbrake, starter and choke. The gear change was centrally floor mounted. The rear hinged doors were coated on the inside with only a thin plastic lining attached to the metal door panel skin allowing valuable extra internal space. On the early cars the main door windows did not open which attracted criticism, but increased the usable width for the driver and passenger. Instrumentation was very basic with only a speedometer and warning lights for low fuel, main beam, dynamo charging and indicators. The cabriolet fabric roof could be rolled back from the windscreen header rail to the top of the rear engine cover leaving conventional metal sides above the doors. The 12 volt battery was located at the front of the car,

behind the dummy front grill, on a shelf that could be slid out. The spare wheel was stowed in a well under the passenger seat.

Velocar

Velocar was the name given to velomobiles made in the 1930s and 1940s by Mochet et Cie of Puteaux, France and colloquially to the company's recumbent bicycles.

Charles Mochet was the inventive maker of lightweight powered cyclecars (Le P'tit Auto) and pedal-powered cars (quadricycles), mainly two-seaters, built on a tubular-steel chassis with bicycle-sized wheels, variable gears, and aerodynamic bodywork, in effect a faired-in "sociable". The popularity of the little cars declined in the late 1930s as cheaper, powered cars became available, only to rise rapidly when petrol became almost unobtainable during World War II, 1939–1945.

However, Mochet's stroke of genius was to make what was the first performance recumbent bicycle, or vélo couché, using a design that was based on half of his four-wheeled Velocar. This machine, called by the factory the "Velo-Velocar", or "V-V" for short, broke many world cycling records in 1933. Although Mochet had verified with the UCI and the UVF that his recumbents were completely legal for competition, they were declared ineligible at a later hearing and permanently banned from competition by cycling's governing body, the UCI, it is thought at the behest of the makers of standard upright cycles. Mochet had perhaps also broken an unspoken rule that only "First-Category" riders could attempt records, his rider, Francis Faure, being only a second-category rider. Competition use was carried on in a limited fashion in UVF-governed events.