Hoffmann (automobile)

The 1951 Hoffmann is a three-wheeled car created by Michael Hoffmann, a shop foreman from Munich.

Only one Hoffmann was ever made; it is currently part of the collection at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

Design
The car is notable for its plethora of unconventional and often user-hostile design elements. These include:


 * Windows that are raised or lowered with a strap that the user pulls, and held in place with eyelets and pegs
 * Suicide doors and a driving position that make ingress and egress extremely difficult
 * A starter awkwardly placed by the driver's right hip
 * A fuel filler tube which goes from the roof, directly through the cabin of the car
 * Front wheels that are farther apart than the length of the wheelbase
 * A linear rather than H-shaped shift pattern with a neutral between each gear
 * The rear wheel is placed immediately behind the driver, with a large portion of the car behind it
 * Rear-wheel steering
 * The combination of the previous two features mean that the car has an extremely high tendency to slew.
 * An engine located on the same pivot as the rear wheel steering mechanism, so that the engine moves with the wheel when the car is steered
 * Rearview mirrors positioned so that they are perfectly blocked by the A-pillar
 * Two-stroke engine, which requires engine oil to be continuously mixed into the fuel supply
 * Single-cylinder engine, which causes greater vibration than multi-cylinder engines
 * Rear-mounted engine that is dependent on air cooling, but the lack of a fan causes overheating when idling