New tooling in 1:18
th scale brings the right
hand drive three-wheeled Trojan into the Oxford series, making its
debut in a lovely summery pale blue with black masked sunroof and lots
of contrasting chrome exterior trim. The large scale shows off all the
detail to great effect, too! Registered 527 ERX, the interior boasts
intricately applied red tartan seating with grey trim, black flooring
and cream steering wheel and gear knob.
The Heinkel Trojan started life as a microcar designed by Heinkel
Flugzeugwerke of aircraft fame in Germany under the name Heinkel Kabine.
It was manufactured there between 1956 and 1958 before production was
transferred under licence to Dundalk Engineering Company in Ireland in
1958. However, the licence was revoked due to poor quality control
shortly afterwards. Happily, Trojan Cars Ltd in the UK gained the
licence in 1960 to restart production of the car under the Trojan 200
name and manufacture continued until 1966.
With a steel unit body, the interior was accessed by an opening
front. The Trojan featured a four speed gear box plus a reverse gear,
unlike some other bubble cars, with a top speed of 56 mph. The fabric
sunroof, in addition to being a great fine-weather feature, also served
as an escape hatch should the vehicle’s only door at the front become
jammed in a collision.